Accounting talent pipeline: What’s the buzz from ENGAGE?

One popular discussion topic at AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE 25 is the accounting talent pipeline.

Liz Burkhalter, the AICPA’s director—CPA Pipeline, is taking part in those conversations. On this episode of the JofA podcast, Burkhalter shared encouraging news related to the pipeline and reminded CPAs of how using their “circle of influence” can help to grow the profession.

Related resources:

• National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG) report with recommendations
• JofA article on announcement of the Pipeline Pledge
• NPAG Pipeline Pledge landing page
• This Way to CPA landing page
• Next Stop: CPA podcast home page
• AICPA Student YouTube channel

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• Two hot topics at ENGAGE related to accounting talent, according to Burkhalter.
• The link between artificial intelligence and more attractive accounting opportunities
• “Exciting” news related to student enrollment in accounting.
• The reminder that established accountants can play a key role in helping address talent issues.
• A summary of resources to assist members who want to get involved.

Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:

— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.

Transcript

Neil Amato: The accounting talent pipeline has been a regular conversation topic for the Journal of Accountancy, whether that’s news articles on the website or in this show, the Journal of Accountancy podcast. I’m news editor Neil Amato, and I’m joined today on the podcast by Liz Burkhalter, the AICPA’s director—CPA Pipeline. She’s at ENGAGE in Las Vegas, and we are talking remotely, recording on Tuesday, June 10, and intending to publish on Thursday, June 12.

Liz, first, thanks for taking time, while at ENGAGE, to be on the Journal of Accountancy podcast.

Liz Burkhalter: My pleasure, Neil. I’m excited to have this chat with you.

Amato: We appreciate you making the time. You’re a repeat attendee at ENGAGE. What excites you about going back to that event each year?

Burkhalter: Neil, I love this event. Not only, in my opinion, is it a five-star event that we put on here, it’s an amazing way to connect with other professionals across the accounting profession and engage in conversations that I’m certainly very passionate about, CPA pipeline. But it’s a great way to expand everyone’s network, and I think everyone here would share the same sentiments for sure.

Amato: On this day, we’re recording, again, the second of four days at ENGAGE, you clearly haven’t heard everything, but so far, what’s the vibe? What are people saying as it relates to the accounting pipeline?

Burkhalter: That’s a great question, Neil. I think the two hot topics as it relates to the accounting pipeline are the overall talent needs of firms and the prospects of what AI can do for the accounting profession and the positive impacts or opportunities that it can have for the future generations of accountants entering the workforce.

What do I mean by that? We just had a session with some economists, and they were talking about the major opportunities that AI has in the accounting profession as it relates to workforce development and being able to increase productivity, which is certainly extremely exciting for a profession where younger professionals who are starting off are oftentimes putting in the hours. They’re doing a lot of repetitive tasks, so the opportunity that AI brings is huge and very exciting across the profession.

Amato: It is a good angle, the technology, as a way to draw interest to it. That’s a topic that’s been covered on journalofaccountancy.com. Also covered recently was data showing a rise in student interest in accounting. What are some of the highlights of that data, and why is it encouraging to you?

Burkhalter: Neil, I’m so glad you asked that question. This is incredibly exciting, and I’m thrilled to be talking about it and being able to share some good news. What we’re seeing with students is that it is starting to really resonate with them that the stability an accounting career can provide – so, not only the stability but also the career prospects of being able to grow their career in accounting.

We’ve done a bunch of student pulse surveys, and they are citing a lot of the work that the profession is doing in regard to bringing professionals into the classroom is making an impact. These students in high school, if they’re exposed to these ideas of careers and career paths in the accounting profession, they’re more likely to get excited about it and decide to major in accounting.

I think there are aspects of the work that is being done across many stakeholders across the profession that is positively impacting accounting enrollments. I think a lot of it also has to do with the economy and some of the soft changes that we’re starting to see, and the accounting profession has always been highly sought after.

Amato: Lexy Kessler, who was at ENGAGE and who was named to her one-year term as AICPA chair last month also served as chair of NPAG, or the National Pipeline Advisory Group. Clearly, an emphasis on growing the pipeline is one of her priorities. Not trying to have you speak for her, but what do you think are some of the next steps in continuing to address talent concerns in the profession?

Burkhalter: I think there is a lot of work that needs to continue to be done and progress. Here at the Association, we’re always taking a look at the recommendations in that National Pipeline Advisory Group’s report. We refer to it very frequently.

As we take a look at those recommendations, we’re looking to assess the areas in which we have an area of influence and really what we believe can have a huge impact. We’re working on really addressing and assessing those top projects and priorities that we can continue to work on. I’ll cite one of them, and I’m sure many of your listeners are really familiar with expanding pathways into the profession.

One of the key takeaways from the National Pipeline Advisory [Group] report was to address the time and cost of education, so there has been a lot of work being put into that across the profession in many states, and I believe that can certainly open up pathways for many students who are looking to enter into the profession.

Another area that I think is really key to have many professionals here, whether they’re here at ENGAGE or listening to the podcast, they each have their own circle of influence and a network that can have a positive impact on the future of the counting profession.

What do I mean by that? Each person can take the opportunity to maybe sign the Pipeline Pledge, which I’m sure we’ve covered many different times during the podcast, but being able to sign the Pipeline Pledge is your commitment as a CPA in the profession to be able to give back. That could mean doing a presentation to students. It could mean joining an advisory board. It could mean mentoring CPA candidates. There’s a lot of different things that each individual can do to make a positive impact and tell a more compelling story about the accounting profession and the amazing work that we all do.

Amato: That’s great. Thanks for bringing up the Pipeline Pledge. We’ll include a link to that and also some of the other resources we’ve discussed. Specifically at ENGAGE, what are some of the sessions or other activities that are happening that are helping to get people thinking about opening up that accounting talent pipeline?

Burkhalter: Absolutely. There is a lot of focus here at ENGAGE around what firms and organizations can be doing in order to create a more future-looking culture, a more sustainable business model, and one that wants to attract top talent and really retain top talent in their firms.

We’re seeing a lot of sessions around culture, opportunities to be able to expand their firm’s ability to create new services for their clients so that individuals in a firm can have a more complete or maybe a more interesting dynamic or aspect of things that they’re working on, so it’s really not just tax or audit.

There are so many different service lines that accounting firms are starting to introduce and provide clients with services. There’s a lot of different topics that are top of mind right now that people are getting a lot of interest in.

Amato: That’s great, Liz. Again, we will include links in the show notes to some of the news and resources mentioned. Are there any other resources you’d like to discuss or share, and anything else you’d like to add as a closing thought from ENGAGE?

Burkhalter: Yeah, Neil. If the listeners today are at all interested in getting involved in telling a more compelling story, there are countless resources available to you that we will link in the show notes. Not only are they on the National Pipeline Advisory Group’s website, they are also on thiswaytocpa.com.

We have lots of toolkits, customizable presentations, talking points, ideas for engagement with all levels of students, so whether that’s elementary school students, middle school, high school, or even college, ways for you to get involved and give back into the profession. Because what we do see is students who are enrolled in college right now that are citing that they’re an accounting major, 80% of those students have been impacted or have been present at a presentation where an accounting professional has talked about the things that they do.

We cannot underestimate the impact that your story can have in the future of the profession and getting someone interested in the work that we do, so there are a ton of resources here to support you, and I think ENGAGE is an amazing way to network and share ideas and brainstorm on ways that we can all make an impact to the future of the accounting profession.

Amato: Liz Burkhalter, thank you very much.

Burkhalter: Thanks, Neil. I appreciate you having me on today.