"An All Points Bulletin (APB) has been issued for individuals meeting the following description: enjoyed brain-teasers as kids; skilled at communication and problem-solving; maintains a healthy sense of skepticism, rather than being prone to accept things at face value; comfortable with math, particularly algebra; detail-oriented; in search of order and answers; willing to work hard; and with a high degree of integrity.
Who are these individuals, and who is looking for them? They are potential accountants, and they are being sought by public accounting firms and corporate offices in need of qualified talent, according to Professor Robert Ramsay of the University of Kentucky's accounting program and Paula Hanson, partner at local accounting firm Dean Dorton and Ford and past president of the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants.
There's a shortage of certified public accountants these days, but degree programs abound for those who wish to pursue the accounting profession. Locally, in addition to UK's program, Eastern Kentucky, Transylvania and Kentucky State universities offer undergraduate degrees in accounting, as does Georgetown College.
Much has been written in recent years about this national shortage. In the wake of the Enron scandal and other such business nightmares, financial reporting regulations grew and created a field day for CPA firms. However, within the last ten years, professional licensing requirements for new accountants changed, requiring five full years of study (150 credit hours) instead of four and proving a deterrent to some. Further, the licensing exam changed from a traditional paper-and-pencil test given at an appointed time to a computer-based test that students could schedule at will. Immediately after that switch, Kentucky experienced a 68 percent decline in the number of new licensees. Consider, too, that over 50 percent of today's CPAs are over 50 years of age, signaling a huge wave of imminent retirements, and you begin to gain an understanding of the challenge the profession faces.
Penny Gold, executive director of the Kentucky Society of CPAs, is eager to identify solutions and demonstrate that recent years' efforts have resulted in a reasonable rebound in the number of exam-takers. For starters, she points to the change in Kentucky law that now allows accounting students to sit for the exam after their fourth year of study, although the fifth year is still required for licensing purposes. The University of Kentucky's accounting program is developing attractive incentives for fifth-year students. KYCPA is building a scholarship fund with a goal of providing $100,000 annually to accounting students throughout Kentucky. Although the campaign is still under way, 35 scholarships were awarded last year.
For far younger students, KYCPA has teamed up with Junior Achievement to expose fourth and fifth graders to the profession through JA's Biztown in Louisville: a CPA office is now included.
For high school students, a new elective course, Accounting and Finance Foundations, has been designed to supplant the "old-school" accounting courses. No longer on the vocational track, the new course is considered a college-prep elective that enables students to see that accounting is the language of business. Whispers are even in the air about an Advanced Placement course in accounting being designed; surely this will convince college-bound students and parents that accounting is a field worth considering, if it comes to pass. Also worth noting is the Speakers Bureau: the president-elect of KYCPA often arrives for speaking engagements on his motorcycle, clad in black leather, eager to spread the message that accountants are not boring!
As a college advisor, I have had few students express an interest in an accounting career to me. Is it that they just don't know enough about the field? Or do they think it is limited to working with numbers and papers, with little human interaction? Jan Colbert, an accounting professor at Eastern Kentucky University, dispels that myth. She says that close work with clients is a key part of any accountant's work. There is plenty of fun with numbers, Colbert said, but great people skills and a finely tuned intuitive sense are also crucial.
The talented CPA of today is a great candidate for a CFO position in a corporation, or if in an accounting firm, will have access to a clear structure laid out for understanding the path to partnership. Why aren't my students clamoring for information about accounting programs? I think I'll ask them.
Jane S. Shropshire guides students and families through the college search process, drawing on over a decade of college admission experience. Send questions or suggestions to JShrop@att.net or visit Shropshire Educational Consulting, LLC at www.ShropEd.net" www.ShropEd.net. "