New accounting grads enjoy a hot job market. Can you offer what it takes to land the best and brightest?
by Rick Telberg
(For AICPA/CPA2Biz)
If you’re looking to new college graduates to ease the CPA staff shortage, you may need to up the ante a bit.
Overall, hiring for new graduates is up 13 percent over last year. And, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, accounting majors are in hot demand. In fact, four of the top 10 most sought-after majors are in accounting, finance or consulting.
Accounting graduates posted a four percent increase to their average starting salary offer since last spring, raising it to $43,809. Graduates with business administration or management degrees saw their average jump three percent, boosting it to $39,448. Salary offers to economics and finance graduates increased five percent, bringing their average starting salary offer to $42,802. Many of these grads were offered financial or treasury analysis positions, which averaged $44,825.
Accounting Among Top 10 Jobs for 2005 Graduates
What do these newly-minted graduates want? NACE has an answer for that, too. And the top answer is not necessarily just money.
The grads’ most-preferred benefits include:
1. Medical insurance
2. Yearly salary increases
3. 401(k) retirement plans
4. Tuition reimbursement
5. Dental insurance
There is no underestimating how frustrated and flummoxed CPA managers are about the difficulty in hiring accountants.
“We just can’t get enough qualified personnel. The increase in work is great for business, but bad on morale,” added Kerensa Butler, a mid-level accountant at the Daszkal Bolton CPA firm in Boca Raton, Fla.
Fully three-quarters of accountants from all segments of the profession seem seriously concerned about the issue. And even more – four in five – are worried about the shortfall deepening in the future.
“We are at a critical point today in that the demand is far ahead of the supply” of CPAs, said Kay Freund, chairman of the Board of the Minnesota Society of CPAs, when asked about major issues facing the profession earlier this year.
“SOX is having a profound impact,” said one private business chief executive, who asked to remain anonymous. “I fear the quality of work will only suffer because of the inability to meet demand.”
Meanwhile, Dale L. Flesher, Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor of Accountancy at the University of Mississippi, predicted, “It will be a great year for students to find jobs in accounting.”
So far, he’s been right. But the profession may need more than one or two good years to fix what had been a long slide.
4 Responses to “Can Flood of New Grads Ease CPA Shortage?”
Editor
LOOKING FOR A RECENT GRAD?
If anyone in the NY area is looking for a Dean’s List college graduate with a degree in accounting, let us know at rtelberg@telberg.com.
We received this email and a resume, and would love to make a match
Dear Mr. Telberg:
I am writing because I need your help. I just finished reading your article “Can Flood of New Grads Ease CPA Shortage?”. I myself am a recent graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in accounting. I just moved to New York City and I am currently looking for an entry-level position with a CPA firm, but I’m not having much luck. I’ve attached my resume, is there any advice you could give me?
Many thanks,
(name withheld)
Rick T
CR Ross, You make a good point. Thanks for sharing.
C R Ross
The problem is not will there be enough graduates, sure there will be. The problem is giving the expectation that they will be paid $41,000.00 a year with no experience and a BA degree. I have been working 20 years, I have a QPA, EA, CPA, MBA and I am working on my second masters degree and I earn $60,000.00 a year. That is the problem, everyone can not be trained to earn $41,000.00 a year with a BA degree. There is no shortage of students; there is a shortage of jobs paying $41,000.00 as a starting salary. Stop publishing the high middle! Yes I am shouting. I am sick of the propaganda. I as an accounting manager can not pay anyone $41,000.00 a year and teach them everything they need to know so that they can go work somewhere else. Stop publishing the high middle. It is not true.
Kevin Festner
I do agree with you. However, there may not be enough qualified graduates to meet demand. The problems is the ageism in the field. For example, I am a late comer to accounting. I am in my 40s and retrained myself through an Accounting program at UCLA. No firm wants to touch anyone over 30. Firms rather hire a young person who may be getting mediocre grades than someone out of his/her prime makinng a 4.0 GPA in accounting courses, and willing to take high 20Ks.
However, I am not complaining, because with my prior business experience, I am serving a client base and laughing all the way to the bank, making the low 30Ks because I have discovered that I am more disciplined, resourceful, and know how to work hard to obtain and serve clients.