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We Asked Twitter What’s the Second Most Important Issue in the Accounting Profession Right Now, Here’s What They Said

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez
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Bored of writing and talking about the dire accountant shortage and the consequences it could have on the entire financial system as we know it, the other day I tweeted a question to find out what else folks think is plaguing accounting. Thanks to everyone who chimed in, I know sometimes Twitter feels like shouting into the void know but know that your feedback is appreciated. By me anyway.

The question:

Let’s begin with my favorite response of the bunch:

Really though.

And here’s one from the Illinois CPA Society based on what they’ve heard from their members:

ICPAS has also done some research into why accounting graduates are choosing not to take the CPA exam if you’re interested in that. For the uninitiated, CPA exam candidate numbers have been on the decline since the second half of the ’10s, with a gap between accounting graduate numbers and anticipated CPA exam candidate numbers first appearing around 2014. The number of CPA exam candidates decreased 17 percent between 2019 and 2020 and it saw a 6 percent increase from 2020 and 2021 according to the AICPA Trends report which is basically a thorough physical examination (including blood work and squat and cough) for the profession. A modest increase in examination candidates is expected for 2023 due to the launch of CPA Evolution in 2024, just as we saw in 2010 prior to the significant exam changes ushered in with CBT-e in 2011.

Back to the question of pressing issues. In no particular order, here are the rest of the responses:

  • Lack of succession planning of local firms.
  • How to leverage tech to make busy season more manageable for professionals
  • Pricing. There are still too many firms undervaluing themselves especially for D level clients. Appropriate pricing helps with compression and capacity issues.
  • Pricing, deadline work compression, and outdated mindsets.
  • Deadline compression forcing more work into q1/q2 is a pain for me.
  • I think everything is at least indirectly related to the talent shortage, but I would go with (1) work life balance and (2) credibility/audit failures #ftx and wirecard, which I think are driven in part by the talent shortage

Work-life balance or rather the lack thereof is an issue that has long served as the boil on accounting’s ass and is believed by anyone who has been paying attention to be one of the main factors that has led to a shortage of accounting graduates and public accounting talent from entry level up to senior, second only to offensively low starting salaries. The two are intrinsically tied together as there is a direct correlation between the amount of shit one is willing to take and how much one is getting paid to do it. We suspect that were accounting firms to raise salaries in a significant way, talent would follow. Because salaries did not budge much over the past 15 years and because workloads became heavier and heavier as the years wore on, the perceived value of an accounting career eroded more and more with each passing year. And now we’re where we are.

The problem now is that firms can’t just hire more people to reduce the workload. There are no people. That leaves raising salaries as the big draw, and there has been some positive movement in that area, it may not be enough.

So we’re pretty much screwed there. Anyone want to talk about succession planning?

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How to Avoid ID Problems at the CPA Exam

Although the instructions are pretty clear, this question comes up fairly often so let’s make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to ID that works at Prometric when taking the CPA exam.

Prometric is very clear about what you should have before you get to the testing center (at least half an hour early, of course, and smokers should make that an hour so they can get in as many as they can before they start – you don’t want to waste those breaks).


First and foremost, check in with them 24 hours before your exam to confirm your appointment. The night before your exam date, set out your NTS and make sure you have two forms of exactly matching ID ready so you aren’t scrambling to find it in the morning.

At least one of your forms of ID must have a recent photograph and both must be valid (i.e. not expired) and signed. Try a credit card and a driver’s license, forget about a Social Security card or a student ID as Prometric will not accept these. A passport is OK but must be accompanied by a secondary ID (like a credit or debit card).

The name on your primary photo ID must match your Notice to Schedule exactly. If you show up and both names are different (foreign candidates who use both an English name and their native name sometimes run into this problem), Prometric will not allow you to test and you will forfeit exam fees. If there are any issues with your ID, contact them in advance to see if an exception can be made or make sure you will be okay come test day. Make sure to do this within your NTS timeframe and no less than 15 days before your exam date so you can at least reschedule without losing your exam fee if need be.

Got it?

Adrienne Gonzalez is the founder of Jr. Deputy Accountant, a former CPA wrangler and a Going Concern contributor . You can see more of her posts here and all posts on the CPA Exam here.

Attention Overachievers: AICPA Announces 2009 Elijah Watt Sells Award Winners

For those of you who pride yourselves on being better than everyone else, the Elijah Watt Sells Award is just about as prestigious an acknowledgment as they come for future CPAs. The award, founded in 1923 and named after one of New York’s first CPAs, recognizes the top CPA exam scores in the country and means honor, recognition and sometimes a massive bonus for those talented enough at variances and constructing statements of cash flows under a time crunch to score in the way high 90s on all four parts of the exam.

The 2009 award is unique as multiple candidates managed the same exact exceptionally high scores so this timinners. Out of 93,000 CPA exam candidates in 2009, these 15 can say they are truly special.

We doubt any of the following winners spend their time trolling Going Concern but if they do, please accept our congratulations for a job well-done!

Kimberly Anne Brant (Minnesota), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters of Accounting, is currently employed with Deloitte & Touche LLP, in Minneapolis.

Michelle Elizabeth Burket (Virginia), a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BS in Business Administration and a Masters of Accounting is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in McLean, Va.

Maria M. Goto (Hawaii), a graduate of the University of Washington with a BA in Accounting, and is currently pursuing a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Kay J. Hashimoto (New York), a graduate of Harvard University with a BA in Economics and a MBA in Accounting from Canisius College, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City.

Jeremy J. Hurwitch (Florida), a graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a BA in Accounting and Masters of Accounting, is currently employed with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Boca Raton, Fla.

Matthew Saje Kult (Wisconsin), a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee with a Bachelors in Accounting and Masters of Science in Public Accounting, is currently employed at Ernst & Young LLP in Milwaukee.

Isaiah L. Massey (Texas), a graduate of Wichita State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accountancy, and a Master in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas, is currently employed by Deloitte & Touche LLP in Houston.

Luke T. Olson (Georgia), a graduate of Brigham Young University with a BS in Accounting and Master of Accountancy, is currently employed with Ernst & Young in Atlanta.

Ryan Christopher Ossowski (Florida), a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a BS in Business Administration – Accounting, and BS in Computer Science, is currently employed with James Moore & Co., P.L. in Daytona Beach.

Andrew N. Rebstock (Wisconsin), a graduate of Marquette University with a BS in Business Administration and Master of Science in Accounting, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Milwaukee.

Abigail Lindsay Richards (North Carolina), a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, and Masters of Accountancy from the University of North Carolina, is currently employed with Duke Energy in Charlotte, N.C.

Peter William Rogers (New York), a graduate of Babson College with a BS and Master of Science in Accounting, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in New York City.

Ryan Malcolm Scadding (Massachusetts), a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Business Administration and Masters of Professional Accountancy, is currently employed with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston.

Jessie D. Wagner (Oklahoma), a graduate of Oklahoma State University – Stillwater with a BS in Business Administration and Master of Science in Accounting, is currently employed with Ernst & Young LLP in Tulsa, Okla.

Ryan F. Williamson (Illinois), a graduate of Governors State University with a BS in Accounting, a BA in Mathematics and Music from Illinois Wesleyan University, and an MS in Mathematics from Illinois State University, is currently employed with Groskreutz, Schmidt, Abraham, Eshleman & Gerretse in Kankakee, Ill.

For those of you who didn’t even come close, don’t worry, no one cares anyway.

5 thoughts on “We Asked Twitter What’s the Second Most Important Issue in the Accounting Profession Right Now, Here’s What They Said”

  1. I have been looking for a job for months!!
    If you don’t have connections, the jobs posted on the internet are a joke. The obstacle is 5+ years experience. If I had that, I would not look for a job on the internet. Despite my 3 masters and numerous certificates, I cannot get through the electronic applications.
    I am ready to work now today!!!!

    1. What kind of position? I can’t think of a single accounting firm not looking for tax and audit associates/seniors. LinkedIn has legit jobs, other site I can’t say the same.

    3. uh, what are your 3 masters in?? that’s a crazy amount of degrees and you’re still unemployable?

    4. Are your degrees in accounting & do you have any accounting experience? Why didn’t you go through campus recruiting?

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