Local CPA weighs in on accountant shortage

SALISBURY, Md – Accounting firms across the US and Delmarva are reporting a slump in hiring, recruiting, and enrollment in their field.

Accounting enrollment for the past 10 years has been declining by 16.9% according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the primary statistical agency of the Department of Education.

CPA at UHY Group Mark Welsh tells 47ABC that recruiting slowing down has meant firms are turning to AI, Bots, and international workers to help fill demand, raising prices as much as ten percent for end-users.

Welsh says the slump has to do with lower wages compared to tech or consulting, coupled with an education pathway that requires a 5th year to be able to become a CPA.

“We’ve got to do a better job of getting people excited about accounting and getting them rolled in the universities and getting the rectified that declining trend and accounting enrollment not only here on the shore but across the U.S.,” Welsh said.

He says his firm has hired two full-time campus headhunters to help fill positions that in some cases have been vacant for over 2 years across their locations.

Welsh, who sits on the CPA Advisory board for the Salisbury University Accounting Program says departments are looking to help make that 5th year less of a burden, offering paid internship credits for students to work-study in firms to hit their requirements.

However that additional 30 credits he says can be a serious detriment for students looking to get into the field.

“Fewer people are selecting accounting as their career, citing low salaries compared with industries such as tech and banking. Young workers are wary of the requirement of 150 college credit hours for getting a certified public accountant license, posing additional costs and time commitment,” Welsh said.

He tells us until that trend can be reversed they are set to see hiring continue to slump as work only piles up.