There’s been a lot of movement lately on the “P” word related to the future of accounting—pipeline—and we can expect further movement this month.

Along with the National Pipeline Advisory Group releasing its final recommendations to address the accounting talent shortage, the California Board of Accountancy also has advanced alternative paths to licensure to address the time and cost constraints many candidates face when working toward licensure. You can read more about those proposals in our August issue’s Capitol Beat column.

Proposals from both groups are scheduled for discussion later this month as a roundtable of stakeholders from across the profession will review NPAG’s suggestions and the CBA will further discuss its recommendations at its board meeting.

If you’ve been around the profession for any length of time, you’ve heard or read about the background and reasoning for these movements. On the one hand, employment of accountants and auditors is projected to grow 4 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with an average of 126,500 openings for accountants and auditors projected each year between 2022-32.

Yet, there are fewer students pursuing accounting degrees. Accounting degree completions have fallen steadily since 2017-18 from 75,153 to 62,318 in 2021–22, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. And of those 62,318, less than half sat for the CPA Exam.

Answering the question of “why” and working collaboratively to develop solutions has been challenging as there are multi-faceted issues involved—from the cost and time of education to making the educational experience more engaging to expanding access to the profession to under-represented groups.

And at CalCPA, we know this isn’t a challenge that “others” need to address. We take seriously our role and have thrown ourselves into this opportunity. Among our strategic priorities you’ll find shifting the identity of the profession and transform the career experience. Through various programs and partnerships at all levels of education and career, we aim to inspire diverse and talented individuals to become CPAs, showcase the diverse career paths and empower them to stay in the profession.

Our actions also extend to having a seat at the table as discussions happen that will transform the profession, including submitting comment letters to the CBA that outline our feedback and support for advancing proposed options to modernize mobility and alternative paths to licensure.

Where will all this end up? The clouds are still parting on that one. But there is strength in numbers and will an eye on the future, our investment today will help build the next generation of talented and passionate CPAs who will shape the profession and propel our collective success.