Accounting and bookkeeping sector adds 17,800 jobs in May.
In the biggest single-month gain since the recession, the accounting industry added almost 18,000 new jobs in May, bringing the total headcount to 926,300, a 29-month high. In fact, accounting was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing jobs report.
Hiring plans rebound. Heavy demand for post-grads.
via AICPA
Newly minted accountants have some of the brightest job prospects in the nation, with nearly 90 percent of accounting firms forecasting the same or increased hiring of graduates this year compared with 2010, and nearly three quarters, 71 percent, of the largest firms anticipating more hiring – an indicator of a rebounding economy.
Expansion through the downturn.
Industry research firm IBISWorld identifies the top 10 fastest growing industries from 2000 to 2016.
“After compiling the list of fastest growing industries, there were some apparent trends,” explained IBISWorld Senior Analyst Casey Thormahlen. “Each industry on the list experienced growth as a result of one or more of four drivers: Internet growth, environmental issues, cost cutting and evolving technology.”
1. Internet Growth
It is no surprise that voice over internet protocol (VoIP), e-commerce and online auctions, and Internet publishing and broadcasting top the list. Each is being supported by the increasing popularity of the Internet for communication and business transactions. READ MORE →
How big is a small firm? AICPA says $25 million.
New market intelligence has surfaced as the result of a small row between the AICPA and the U.S. Small Business Administration, suggesting the idea of a mid-sized firm may be a wishful notion. According to AICPA calculations, Big Four firms control about half the revenue and half the jobs, and most of the rest of the industry should be classified as small business.
Total industry workforce rises to 904,400 people.
April’s gain follows big jump (seasonally-adjusted) in February, with 21,500 new accountant and bookkeeper jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As busy season ebbs into memory and accounting firms start looking toward the future, top managers will be confronting a host of difficult issues.
by Rick Telberg
Many of the most pressing issues are close to home — winning a few more big clients, nurturing succession, finding adequate capital to reinvest in the business. Some other issues, however, may seem more abstract. They are, to be sure, no less real.
A host of global trends are conspiring to make this year’s retreat season just that much more complicated for accounting firm leaders.
Here are 10 top global trends that are rushing headlong toward the American accounting firm industry: READ MORE →
Although workers gain confidence in the economy, more see job opportunities narrowing.
Job confidence among U.S. accounting and finance workers dropped 4.0 points to 52.1 in the first quarter of 2011, according to Mergis Group, the SFN-owned placement agency.
More highlights: READ MORE →
Despite economic recovery, many firms seem unable to capitalize on new opportunities. Click here to join the Tax Season 2011 survey; get the results.
Tax accountants are finishing the 2011 busy season with stronger results than they expected, but – perhaps surprisingly — not as strong as last year, despite somewhat improved economic conditions.
CPA Trendlines research suggests that many accounting firms may have over-reacted to the 2007 market crash by cutting staff and billing rates, leaving them unprepared to capitalize on the opportunities of the 2011 recovery.