NewsNation, a Nexstar media property that reaches nearly 67 million households in the United States through their TVs, decided to dedicate two minutes and 39 seconds to the accountant shortage for its morning segment today. The full segment is embedded below if you’d like to skip the text1.
NN anchor Elizabeth Prann took to the airwaves to let your TV-watching grandma know that accountants do more than taxes and warned a shortage of them could have catastrophic effects on the economy.
Yes, we already knew this. Grandma doesn’t.
She says: “Immediately you think ‘oh my goodness, tax season is in the spring and I need my CPA to help me with my taxes. If that person is tired they’ll make mistakes, the IRS is going to come knocking.’ That’s just one of the ways that this could impact us at home. But really it’s much more than that.”
Do you feel appreciated and valued yet?
In the second half of the short segment, they discuss AI. Highlight from that:
Morning in America host Markie Martin: “How is artificial intelligence playing a role?”
Elizabeth: “Well, it’s playing a role a lot. And if you think about people going into the business, well let’s think of Gen Zers. A lot of them make their decisions based on social media, or things online, maybe an accountant really isn’t that appealing, it’s not really that sexy, it’s not being shared online.”
“And then there are other factors like the pay…The pay is not great.”
So they really didn’t address how AI is playing a role, much less a lot, except to say that people used “an AI-generated form” to fill out their taxes in TurboTax last year (?). They also made a grave error in their reporting:
Earning the title of certified public accountant (CPA) requires at least a master’s degree and passing a grueling four-hour exam.
Wouldn’t just four hours of CPA exam be lovely and hardly grueling at all? One can dream…
“Salaries for entry level accounting positions aren’t very high,” read an accompanying article about the segment. “[A]nd it can take years to build a loyal client base.” Wat? What does that have to do with accounting degrees? You know what, never mind.
I guess as far as two minute segments go it could have been worse. We didn’t really come away from that understanding how AI can solve the accounting shortage but now your grandma is going to be freaked out about her 401k and someone’s uncle may finally understand that accountants do more than taxes so maybe that was an effective use of less than three minutes of broadcast time.
2010. What a year, amiright? It got off to a bit of a rough start after our facelift but as the year went on, things stayed interesting…most of the time. Anyway, since most of you aren’t getting Jack Squat done this week, let’s take a look back at the year that was.
1. Compensation – Shocking revelation here, we realize but – YES! – it’s true, red about most in 2010. After two years of disappointment, the Big 4 and the aspiring “Bigs” (Grant Thornton, BDO, McGladrey) all returned to merit increases and bonuses this year. PwC shot out of the gate with Ernst & Young keeping pace while KPMG remained steady but slightly behind. Deloitte, lagging behind, made a late charge with the announcement of a mid-year adjustment, which may or may not have set off a rash spreading amongst the other firms to provide bonuses throughout their fiscal year-ends. Was it a successful 2010 on the compensation front? Some say “yes,” some say “no,” but there’s little doubt about what keeps your attention.
2. PwC Email Hottiegate – Unless you were in a coma during the second week of November, you were aware of the email that listed the top 10, errr 13, new female associates that came out of PwC in Ireland. The gents who passed around the list weren’t so concerned with using work email to give the ladies the Letterman treatment and the Irish brass didn’t take too kindly to the “tradition.” This story dominated our pages for a few days and the last we knew, a total of five employees had been suspended, the women weren’t planning on lawsuits and Adrienne gave her point of view (as a member of the fairer sex).
5. Large firm vs. Small firm – An anonymous reader submitted an essay on the main differences between life in the Big 4 (and aspiring Bigs) life and that of the lives working in the smaller firms. Most have wondered what life would be like in their bizarro public accounting existence and some have actually lived it. There are pros and cons to each but life at the small firm is decidedly different.
6. An auditor’s life:
7. Layoffs – 2010 saw fewer mass layoffs than the past couple of years but that doesn’t mean there weren’t spots of cuts here and there. Most notably were the nationwide cuts at McGladrey as well as the 500 cuts made by PwC in Florida. Grant Thornton was busy slimming down its exposure in smaller markets but layoffs were not always part of the “transition” as practices were often sold or employees were giving the opportunity to transfer. And last but not least, we learned that Deloitte claimed “our bad” on their cuts from May 2009.
9. PwC Houston Happy Hour – The team happy hour. Typically a festive event filled with free booze, laughs and the occasional awkward advance. The latter allegedly took form of a partner towards an associate this past summer in PwC’s Houston office that resulted in a odd pick-up line, a sloppy kiss (our vision) and then a knuckle sand. The latest we heard was there were multiple associates approached, the partner-in-question was still with the firm and that the associate(s) involved were shipped off to other engagements. So all is well in H-town. PwC never returned our calls, emails or singing telegrams on this story.
10. Accounting Career Drama – One of the most popular series on GC is the career advice that we throw out here and there. Everything from trying to quit nicely during busy season to defection amongst Big 4 firms to explaining why your fantasy football roster is constantly on your computer screen. We’re here to help you get through the purgatory that is your time on Earth so if you’ve got a problem and want advice, email us at advice@goingconcern.com.
If we missed any of your favorites, feel free to recall your fondest memories on this here site. As we head into the new year, here’s a friendly reminder of how to get in touch with us:
Good morning! Not a fan of Star Wars so I won’t be making any May […]
6 thoughts on “The Public is Now Being Informed Accountants Exist and Are Useful to Them”
Four hours, eh? They might have been in a rush to produce “content.”
1
That’s right. An accountant has to take 4 separate exams, with 4 hours per exam. This is supposed to be taken over a span of 30 months (2.5 years) from passing the 1st exam.
It’s a 16.5 hour exam over three days, and two years of sanctioned experience.
Who writes these articles?
Elizabeth Prann, the anchor in the video segment, has the byline in the article I linked but who knows. AI maybe.
1
Hah! Well, seems like misinformation runs rampant! I like how AI gets thrown around so much as the newest buzzword. Somebody told me they were using AI. They were googling something.
Sad thing is nothing meaningful is being done to fix the new blood shortage, and we’re only getting busier. I’m toying with ideas of moving on to something different.
1
4 exams, 4 hours each.
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2010. What a year, amiright? It got off to a bit of a rough start after 
Four hours, eh? They might have been in a rush to produce “content.”
That’s right. An accountant has to take 4 separate exams, with 4 hours per exam. This is supposed to be taken over a span of 30 months (2.5 years) from passing the 1st exam.
It’s a 16.5 hour exam over three days, and two years of sanctioned experience.
Who writes these articles?
Elizabeth Prann, the anchor in the video segment, has the byline in the article I linked but who knows. AI maybe.
Hah! Well, seems like misinformation runs rampant! I like how AI gets thrown around so much as the newest buzzword. Somebody told me they were using AI. They were googling something.
Sad thing is nothing meaningful is being done to fix the new blood shortage, and we’re only getting busier. I’m toying with ideas of moving on to something different.
4 exams, 4 hours each.