Chair's corner.

AuthorFletchall, Randy

One of the most important issues we're facing today is increasing the flow of qualified candidates into the CPA profession, or what we call "filling the pipeline." Simply, it's making sure there's a steady stream of people coming in to the profession--and staying once they get here.

All professions are experiencing human capital challenges because of the aging population. Fortunately, we identified the impending staffing shortage many years ago and have been working to address it ever since. Not that our actions have solved the problem--we still face many challenges and the CPA pipeline remains a top priority--but our efforts have helped.

For 36 years, the AICPA has been tracking the supply of CPA candidates and firms' hiring of them in its study, Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits.

The 2008 edition, which came out last month, found more than 64,000 students graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting in the 2006-07 school year. the largest number of graduates since this reporting began. At the same time, more than 203,000 students enrolled in accounting programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Both numbers represent 19% increases over the previous survey, which covered the 2003-04 school year.

CPAs competing to hire talented staff members won't be surprised to hear that hiring by firms in 2006-07 was significantly higher than in the last study, soaring 83% over the previous three years. And that trend is likely to remain strong, as 67% of responding firms expected continued growth in hiring.

Given this intense demand for CPA professionals, it's important to make sure we retain high levels of competency and a rich diversity of candidates. Competence and diversity also are part oft he preliminary human capital recommendations of the...

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