Brain drain; Academia asks the profession: is there a doctor in the house?

• Author: Fleming, Damon M.
• Position: ACCOUNTINGEDUCATION

It's no secret that there is a shortage of new doctoral faculty to meet the increasing demand at universities across the country. In 2003, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business predicted a major shortage of all business faculty with Ph.D.s over the next 10 years, and a recent study commissioned by the American Accounting Association (AAA) predicts that nearly half of the estimated demand for new doctoral accounting faculty will go unmet over the next two academic years.

Anecdotal and survey evidence offer some possible causes of this shortage and ways in which the accounting profession, state CPA societies, accounting professional organizations and universities can work together to remedy the problem.

THE CURRENT ACADEMIC JOB MARKET

According to the Report of the AAA/APLG Ad Hoc Committee to Assess the Supply and Demand for Accounting Ph.D.s released in December, only 56 percent of the 590 anticipated positions for new doctoral faculty will be filled for the 2006-08 academic years. Even more alarming is the finding that only 27 percent and 32 percent of the expected demand for audit and tax positions, respectively, will be met, making the shortage for these specialty areas of accounting particularly critical. The report is available at http://aaahq.org/temp/phd/index.cfm.

While the number of students earning bachelor's degrees in accounting is rising, fewer are getting doctorates. Only 96 accounting doctorates were awarded nationally in 2004, according to the Hasselback Accounting Faculty Directory, a steep decline from the 172 degrees awarded on average during the 1990s. Meanwhile, the number of accounting bachelor's and master's degrees awarded is climbing, from 44,695 in 2002 to 53,760 for 2004.

The AAA report, however, indicates that the number of new Ph.D. graduates is expected to reach 145 and 187 in 2007 and 2008, respectively. But this surge is overshadowed by the continually increasing demand for new faculty.

In July 2004, The Wall Street Journal noted, "while many academic fields are suffering from professor shortages, the issue is more acute in accounting because of the pull toward high-paying public accounting jobs" ("Accounting in college lures more students," July 29, 2004).

The lure of higher-paying jobs is one reason for the shortage of accountants entering doctoral programs. Other reasons include the three- to five-year commitment to earn a doctorate, the cost of attending a doctoral program, the salary and professional advancement opportunities available in other jobs, the professional opportunity cost of being...