Number of the Day: 1%

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

1%. That is the percent of CPAs in the United States who are black.

To put that into perspective, there are 658,267 actively licensed CPAs in 53 of the 55 licensing jurisdictions as of September 2, 2020 (Hawaii and Utah aren’t included in the data we found via NASBA for some reason). I’m math-averse but I asked Alexa how much 1% of that is and she told me 6,582 or thereabouts so hopefully we can trust her. Coincidentally I looked to see if there’s some comparison I can make here, and all I could come up with is that’s about the same number of people who are injured by pillows each year. Which isn’t helpful, I know.

Anyway, back to the state of diversity in the accounting profession today. At the NASBA Annual Meeting last month, National Society of Black CPAs (NSBCPA) Chair Shannon Nash pointed out that less than 1% of United States CPAs are black, and that share of the pie has remained unchanged for 40 years.

“If we do not do something now, then when?” she asked.

Her organization, which was founded earlier this year, seeks to “increase the number of Black CPAs by providing the most relevant knowledge, resources, and advocacy; and to promote cultural competence, diversity, and inclusion within the profession.” Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of John Cromwell becoming the first black CPA in the U.S. More information on his backstory, as well as info on a scholarship in his name, can be found at the NSBCPA site.

Additional reading:

AICPA 2019 Accounting Graduates Supply and Demand Report [PDF]
AICPA CPAs of Color Publication [PDF]

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Job of the Day: Moody’s Needs a Senior Revenue Analyst

Moody’s is looking for someone to join their accounting team in San Francisco as a Senior Revenue Analyst.

The position requires a bachelor’s degree, between two and five years experience in a Big 4 firm, and a CPA license.


Company: Moody’s Corporation

Title: Senior Revenue Analyst

Location: San Francisco, CA

Description: Operate with considerable latitude in performing highly complex duties related to preparing and analyzing financial information to record transactions, prepare financial reports, and review and verify accuracy. Provide value-added expertise to consultants, auditors, and others in development of new concepts, techniques, and standards. Utilize wide-ranging experience to conduct research and problem-solving. May operate in a lead role within the team.

Responsibilities: Ensure that all invoices and key contracts are reviewed for revenue recognition compliance in accordance with US GAAP (SOP 97-2, SOP 81-1, SAB 101); Prepare Deferred Cost analysis for Costs related to SOP 81-1 revenue recognition; Maintain Project spreadsheet with up to date information on on-going and new SW arrangements; Maintain Revenue Analytics spreadsheet on a monthly basis reconciled against all recognized revenue related to on-going or completed services; Reconcile general deferred revenue account on a monthly basis and keep track of all additions and subtractions to account; Work with the Professional Services team to maintain and improve the process to monitor the progress towards completion for fixed-price arrangements; Answer questions from Legal and Sales related to draft orders with the potential revenue recognition implications; Ensure that all revenue deferrals are communicated and recorded properly, and that the recognition of revenue occurs in the proper periods; Prepare and record monthly J/E’s to recognize revenue; Prepare revenue accounting memos and/or checklists to document accounting positions for unusual and/or significant deals; Participate in revenue recognition meetings with internal and external auditors; Ensure compliance of the Revenue Recognition process with Sarbanes Oxley.

Qualifications/Skills: CPA or equivalent qualification; 2-5 years working with within a Finance / Accounting environment; Previous experience with multi-national software revenue recognition or Big 4 accounting firm experience a distinct advantage; Ability to understand legal contracts and determine the proper revenue recognition; Experience with accounting practices and knowledge of accounting rules and regulations faced by public software companies, including revenue recognition; Experience with ERP systems including Peoplesoft and Softrax as well as hands on experience with Great Plains a plus; Bachelor’s degree required. Additional education or degrees in finance or accounting are highly preferred.

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

Aspiring Big 4 Intern Needs Questions to Impress Pants Off Interviewers

We’ll kick things off a little early today as a young inquisitor has to prep for a big interview today.

Have a question about your career? Wondering if you should go back to your old firm after they dropped you like a sack of spuds? Concerned that the hours you’re working may cause you to blackmail your lover? Stop! Email us at advice@goingconcern.com before you do anything so we can put your problem before the masses prior to you doing something stupid.

Back to our interviewing intern:

What would you say could be a stomping question for these Big 4 kids? Got the internship interview Monday! I think I need/want one of those.


We had no idea what “stomping” meant, so we asked for a clarification:

I’m looking for a thought provoking question regarding the industry or the big 4 in particular. I would like an astute question to ask.

Okay, then. You want to smart, up-to-speed on the world around you, without coming off insincere or patronizing. We can help.

Despite your curiosity, you must avoid questions about money, hours you’ll be working, drug tests, hooking up with superiors and so on and so forth at all costs. We realize the temptation to inquire about the frequency of happy hours and what the hottie ratio is but please refrain from broaching these subjects.

Now, then. It’s extremely important that you ask questions that are specific to the firm with whom you’re interviewing. There are tons of thought-provoking questions out there but if you really want to grab someone by their pin-striped ass and get them to look impressed, it will help for you to devise a question that is specific to that firm, as well as the local business environment of the office’s city that you’ll be living in.

This could require some research on your part. For example, find out if there are some local charities that the firm partners with regularly and inquire about what activities employees participate in (this is where the sincerity helps) and if there are any events scheduled during your internship. This will demonstrate your desire to participate in extra-curricular activities and your interest in giving back to the community.

Another example is to be familiar with some of the major players in the business environment in your city. If you brush up on the local business news and ask a relevant question to a recent event, your interviewers will recognize that you’re cognizant of the business environment and that you’re interested to see what the angle is from the firm’s perspective.

And posing the question to the appropriate person is important. Asking the second-year associate that’s greeting you at the interview about the potential in the venture capital space probably isn’t be as effective as asking a manager or partner the same question. Also, be careful with wonky technical questions. Sure, it may help you look smart but it could also backfire if the question comes off manufactured and awkward.

Bottom line – your questions need to be sincere and detailed. It will show your interviewer that you’re genuinely interested in their firm (and not thinking about the next firm you’re meeting) and also that you took the time to prepare. Oh, and smile for crissakes. It will make your question sound far more pleasant.

7 thoughts on “Number of the Day: 1%”

  1. I’ve noticed teens of all origins, sexualities, creeds, races, and religions have one thing in common: they don’t want to grow up to be accountants. It sounds lame.

  2. Many boards of accountancy do not record race information. I am sure the percentage is low but I believe there are more than 6,300 black CPAs in this country.

  3. So what? Let’s lower the standards for black people..of they know what cash and expenses are let’s make them cpas..

    You people are a joke..the test is the same for everyone, if they arent smart enough to pass that’s on them..I mean you do have to study and bot just spit rhymes or ball.

    1. Lower the standards?….so lame for you to even think that way. There are systemic issues that they have to overcome even before sitting for the exam. Everyone can’t afford to get both a bachelors and masters in order to get licensed. That’s $100k for most people.

      1. Poor people are among all races- it’s not just the black community that needs assistance financially, if that’s what you are referring to.

    2. As a black CPA. I can attest that no standards were lowered for me to get my license. This is a common misconception perpetrated by idiots that diversity and inclusion means “lowering standards”. The reason I passed had a lot to do with having access to resources, like study materials, that would have cost me at the most over 2k. Additionally, being in a position where I can dedicate a lot of unpaid time to study without having to worry about paying bills. So to your point maybe increasing the number of black CPAs has absolutely nothing to do with “lowering standards” and more to do with providing resources.

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