Summing up: the supply and demand of accounting graduates.

• Position: Newsflash

The 2003 edition of The Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits offers a glimpse into the future demographic trends of the CPA profession. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) sanctioned report is a mix of both expected and unexpected numbers.

Accounting Ups and Downs

Master's degree graduates have risen to the highest number ever while bachelor's degrees have fallen. The 9,700 master's degrees awarded is an 11 percent increase over 2001. In contrast, bachelor's degrees are at their lowest numbers since 1974, a decrease of 8 percent from the previous year. All together, total enrollment dropped 4 percent.

A look at current enrollment numbers predicts a steady number of future graduates. Enrollment in accounting undergraduate programs is down 1 percent in 2002. Total enrollment, however, is up 1 percent after the previous year's 6 percent increase, for a two-year net growth of 7 percent.

Gender and Racial Balance

Women represent a larger percentage of new graduates with either a bachelor's or a master's degree. Over half of new accounting graduates with bachelor's and master's degrees were women. Since the 1996 graduating class, women have been gradually widening the gap. The trend continued in 2002.

The scale tips the other way with Ph.D. degrees. Only 36 percent of all accounting Ph.D.s awarded in 2001-02 were given to females. The Ph.D. is the only degree level in accounting where considerably more males than females graduate.

A look at current enrollment numbers show that the male/female gap for bachelor's and master's degrees will continue to grow, while the Ph.D. gap is shrinking. In 2002, 45 percent of Ph.D. students were female, while males only accounted for 42 percent of bachelor's degree students.

The ethnic composition of the accounting field is also changing. Non-white accounting master's or bachelor's degree graduates have increased 3 percent from last year, up to 28 percent. Minorities received more Ph.D.s in accounting than caucasians in 2002.

New Graduate Placement

Public accounting was the destination for most of the 2002 accounting graduates. Public accounting firms hired over half...