Why are professionals leaving a job that is stable, in constant demand, has steady work for a life-long career with the same company, plus you can retire after 30 years with the legendary “gold watch”? Because it’s boring, repetitive, tedious, with intimidating hours and unrealistic expectations. What profession is it? Accounting, especially one leading to a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Why? Here are some reasons:
Accounting majors in college and current accountant professionals are experiencing a surge of opportunities in fields like data analysis, banking, consulting and technology. Their skills and experiences can be applied while resulting in higher pay, less hours, all the while working remotely. Contrast those prospects with an 80-hour work week, a high level of travel auditing financial documents, under pressure, with short time demands.
Over 300,000 accountants and auditors have changed jobs since 2020. Some because of the pandemic, while others because of the openings in other fields, working from home, with a flexibie schedule, combined with a more stable family situation and a preferred balance in their quality of life. This dynamic has caused a supply/demand imbalance in some segments of the financial community. There’s a large recruiting gap in the big international accounting/auditing firms. One firm is currently looking for over 4,000 new hires. There’s a bidding war for talent. Entry pay on average will be 10% or more in 2023 over 2022, which in some cases are over $75,000 in the larger cities.
The accounting industry is trying to counter this transition by increasing pay, attempts to limit hours worked, use part-time or temporary workers to plug the holes, along with paying tuition for prospective employees with a one or two year work commitment. Even with these incentives, the number of college students with a major in accounting declined almost 9%. Also, employees desiring to become CPA’s and take the required exams have also declined over the past few years.
Of course, the marketplace and economy have a way of righting itself over time. But for now, employees with accounting degrees and experience are seeking other career choices. Their objective? To seek a better balance of work-life along with higher short-term compensation at the same time. However, for the ambitious professional with a longer-term outlook, there is opportunity in the counter-cycle: Go to the jobs that have a high demand but low supply in public accountanting, where the prospects for promotion, international exposure and compensation are the greatest, longer term.
Make sure that your short-term objectives aren’t an impediment to your longer-term goals. Pay and opportunity in the short-term may be outweighed by the compensation and promotions that are available in a large global accounting/auditing company.
Sort out your priorities while looking at the value in your career goals over a longer period of time.
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