Purdue Expert: Accountant Shortage

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Troy Janes is a clinical professor of accounting in the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business at Purdue University. In this video, he explains what is causing the current accountant shortage and how it might impact tax filing this year. Recruiting accountants has become more difficult and enrollment has been declining for accountant programs over the past several years. Janes says that part of the problem lies in how the field of accounting is perceived. Accounting is sometimes seen as a boring field to go into compared to other fields in finance, such as working on Wall Street. As a result, less people are applying for accounting jobs. Accountants also need additional education and are required to pass a difficult exam in order to get their license. These barriers to entry can turn people away from pursuing accounting as a career. Janes encourages people to file their taxes electronically to avoid any problems. Paper returns are currently taking a long time to process compared to digital tax services.

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[lynnw]

Workload, pay, excessive unpaid overtime, high leadership turnover, dismal to get promoted, contract to hire job’s ending abruptly, makes this profession a never ending journey. If I could get out of this after ten years, I would jump out of it asap. I am disappointed that this is what the profession has come to. Lean and completely detached.

[dudemeister]

so I calculated my salary as an auditor per the hours i work. I ended up making a few cents more than minimum wage per hour. Yeah I wonder people leave accounting and audit. lets not forget the amazing work life balance.

[helsingor]

Most accounting jobs have been offshored to Manila, Guatemala. Bulgaria/Romania etc. Cos. Have laid off thousands of accountants in the US. Harder to do that in EU because of laws. The pay has dropped significantly. Why waste your time doing accounting when Ups truck drivers make 150k with no college loans. An accountant i know became a truck driver as he makes more money with job security

[tommyjackson]

I have an accounting degree and I chose not enter the industry because I got a much larger offer from a different industry.

[LittleBahamutGTR]

I would also say another barrier to entry is how hard it can be to just get a staff accountant position. Managers are so hesitant to pick up and have someone train. Now you got graduates with 4 year degree fighting over AP/AR/clerk type jobs with low pay and hoping it can at least fill a couple of years to meet some 3+ years of experience. I know people should apply anyways when asked 3-5 years of exp for a staff role, but management needs to be realistic with “entry level” role and stop waiting for those unicorn senior who is desperate for a job to fill in

[CPATuttle]

How about they pay accountants more. Ever think about that?

[geraldmedrano]

This accounting “expert” conveniently forgot to mention the 80 hour weeks at B4

[pratippatel]

Accounting and auditing is boring and pay peanuts.

[chaldean]

There's no shortage of accountants. I can't get an accounting job because I don't have experience. Stop lying!