Gary Boomer: On the Staffing Crisis
Four reasons why CPA firms lose young professionals. And what to do about it.
By L. Gary Boomer, CPA.CITP
CEO, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
I think there are obvious reasons accounting graduates are not sitting for the CPA exam and staying in public accounting. Some of the more relevant reasons are:
1. A large percentage are going into private accounting right out of school. (About 70% from the last statistics I saw.)
2. Firms work them too many hours and don’t provide the required technical, soft and IT training. It is all about the charge hour in most public accounting firms.
3. The exam is difficult and many candidates procrastinate. Firms need to develop fast track programs for getting people through the exam as quickly as possible. Existing CPAs de-motivate many candidates by referring to how the exam is easy since is computerized. Most CPAs can’t tell you the four parts, nor could they pass it today.
4. Many firms are top heavy and younger people don’t see their significance or buy into the vision of the firm.
Most of these are negative, but all progress starts with the truth. The one thing firms should communicate is that a CPA can have the 10 to 20 lifetime jobs talked about by the generational experts . They can even be with the same firm. The CPA certificate provides a multitude of opportunities.
