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NEWS

CPA Profession Facing More Battles Across the Country

Disputes revolve around required hours, definitions and “substantial equivalency.”

By Steven Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals: Thriving in Disruption

Of all the states whose legislature has run amok this past year, the Florida legislature passed House Bill 813 – Certified Public Accountants – by both the Florida House and Senate. This bill creates a new “retired status” license category for CPAs. The legislation will now be sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis for consideration for being signed into law.

MORE: 150 Hours Revisted: The Profession Needs a Makeover | How Do You Value Your Most Important Asset? | Which is Better: A Year of Education or A Year of Experience? | Sell Service, Not Hours | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm Partnership | CAS or CAAS? Getting Clarity | Fine-Tuning the Subscription Fee Model | When Cyber-Crime Hits Close to Home | How to Build a Winning Proposal | Six Ways to Fix Your Firm Agreement
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According to the Florida Institute of CPAs CEO, the thinking behind this is to “… uphold retired CPAs’ profound sense of pride and accomplishment and preserve their professional identity.” However, they cannot reflect to the public that they have an active license because many believe the public thinks that if you have “CPA” after your name, you have an active license. If an individual wants to return to public practice, they can complete 80 hours of CPE every two years as part of renewing their license.

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PRO Member Exclusive

Why Would Anyone Become a CPA?

The competition between CPAs and non-CPAs is about to get more aggressive.

With Steven Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals: Thriving in Disruption

The CPA profession, or just plain old accounting profession, is currently facing challenges of getting more people to become CPAs or even having young people think about accounting as a career.

MORE STEVE SACKS: 150 Hours Revisted: The Profession Needs a Makeover | How Do You Value Your Most Important Asset? | Which is Better: A Year of Education or A Year of Experience? | Sell Service, Not Hours | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm Partnership | CAS or CAAS? Getting Clarity | Fine-Tuning the Subscription Fee Model | When Cyber-Crime Hits Close to Home | How to Build a Winning Proposal | Six Ways to Fix Your Firm Agreement | The Great Resignation or a Reshuffling? | Listen to Learn | Build the Framework to a Solution with Five Answers | Try for Success, Not a Win
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

We hear about the slow drip of the professional pipeline; all sorts of remedies or suggestions have been offered. Is it because the profession still suffers an identity crisis exacerbated by an additional (if questionable) fifth year?  There are those already in the profession who are bemoaning low pay, long hours, and doubts about whether gaining a partnership is achievable (or worth it).

Oh, yes, there is the extra tuition load that must be taken on. So, higher debt, stagnant pay, long hours, and increased competition (think MBAs, CFAs) is a perfect storm.

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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

Would You Buy Your Own Services?

Don’t expect potential clients to if you don’t know what sets you apart.

By Steven E. Sacks, CPA, CGMA, ABC

Do you ever wonder why after spending many hours on drafting, editing, proofing, and polishing—and proofing and polishing just once more—your engagement proposal efforts did not result in winning the engagement? And if this happens on a semi-regular basis, the frustration is never easier to take.

MORE STEVE SACKS: How Do You Value Your Most Important Asset? | How to Build a Winning Proposal | Six Ways to Fix Your Firm Agreement | The Great Resignation or a Reshuffling? | Listen to Learn | Build the Framework to a Solution with Five Answers | Try for Success, Not a Win
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

You may have the requisite knowledge, experience, and perhaps even a broad view based on a diverse set of clients. However, you may have become complacent by maintaining a “cookie-cutter” approach to developing your proposals. Like the old joke defining a consultant: “A person who takes off your watch, tells you the time, and gives the watch back to you,” implies an approach that you believe is best for your potential client, yet reflects no understanding of what the client actually needs.

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FEATURED VIDEO

150 Hours Revisited: The Profession Needs a Facelift

What if pipeline issues aren’t related to education or experience but rather just image?

With Steven Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals: Thriving in Disruption

While firms and accountants continue to lament staffing challenges and research continues into finding workable solutions for firms and finance teams of all sizes, one idea that is beginning to gain more traction has less to do with education versus experience and more to do with marketing.

David Bergstein, CPA, CITP, CGMA, discussed the future of the profession, specifically the ongoing discourse surrounding the perceived necessity of a fifth year in accounting education.

MORE STEVE SACKS: How Do You Value Your Most Important Asset? | Which is Better: A Year of Education or A Year of Experience? | Sell Service, Not Hours | Private Equity vs. the CPA Firm Partnership | CAS or CAAS? Getting Clarity | Fine-Tuning the Subscription Fee Model | When Cyber-Crime Hits Close to Home | How to Build a Winning Proposal | Six Ways to Fix Your Firm Agreement | The Great Resignation or a Reshuffling? | Listen to Learn | Build the Framework to a Solution with Five Answers | Try for Success, Not a Win
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Bergstein challenged the conventional wisdom surrounding the 150-hour requirement for CPA eligibility, suggesting that the industry’s primary challenge lay not in the academic threshold but in the misperception of accounting as a lackluster career. “We’re beating a horse that’s almost dead,” he remarked, questioning the emphasis on extending education rather than redefining the profession’s image.

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FEATURED VIDEO

Which is Better: A Year of Education or a Year of Experience?

The 150-hour rule is facing harsh criticism in the accounting staffing crisis.

With Steven Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals: Thriving in Disruption

There is a movement afoot by the state CPA societies to reconsider whether the fifth year of an accounting program that offers the student a Master’s in Accounting is worth the cost, not to mention the increased complexity of business requiring as much exposure and experience as necessary to groom the younger professionals.

MORE STEVE SACKS: Sell Service, Not Hours | Fine-Tuning the Subscription Fee Model | When Cyber-Crime Hits Close to Home | How to Build a Winning Proposal | Six Ways to Fix Your Firm Agreement | The Great Resignation or a Reshuffling? | Listen to Learn | Build the Framework to a Solution with Five Answers | Try for Success, Not a Win
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

However, there is a shortage of 300,000 CPA candidates entering the profession’s pipeline. That’s why several states are seeking to eliminate, modify or enhance the educational/experiential model.

Steve Sacks, CPA, CGMA, ABC, discussed the dilemma of education versus experience with accounting expert David Bergstein, CPA, the chief innovation officer for Bergstein CPA and teaching adjunct for Valencia College.

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