Number of accounting majors grows for third straight year

By Richard Rabicoff
MACPA Public Relations Manager

The number of accounting majors at Maryland colleges and universities climbed 8.3 percent last year, based on data from the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

This was the third consecutive year of growth for the accounting major. The year 2002 saw a 15 percent jump, followed by 17.4 percent the next year.

As in the two previous periods, The University of Maryland University College paced all schools with an increase in major from 871 in 2003 to 1071 in 2004, up 23 percent. Towson University, Morgan State University and University of Maryland College Park also posted gains for the year.

Other schools listed in the study, 2005 Trends in Enrollment by Program, include Frostburg State, Mount St. Mary's College, Salisbury University, Loyola College, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Villa Julie College.

While the numbers tapered off from previous highs, the profession does seem to have turned a corner. The decade from 1991 to 2001 witnessed a 45.6 percent drop in accounting majors. The fruit of that period is the shortage of young professionals at firms and companies all over the state.

Also clouding the picture is the prospect of a faculty shortage.

"The challenge for colleges and universities is to recruit enough new faculty to teach these additional accounting classes," said Brian Loughlin, CPA, chair of the accounting program at UMUC. "UMUC, like many other schools in Maryland, is always looking for qualified professionals to help teach this next generation of CPAs."

TCPA numbers up, too

The MACPA is doing all it can to ensure that students with an interest in accounting pursue a major and eventually move on to the CPA. Membership in the MACPA's Tomorrow's CPA program (which includes high school students through those preparing for the exam) has grown to nearly 2,300 college students and candidates plus about 800 high schoolers. The association's aggressive recruitment program may already be paying dividends and the number of accounting majors is likely to continue its upswing.

The growth of student involvement in Tomorrow's CPA should, over time, yield a large pool of talented and savvy recruits, something that has been sorely lacking over the past decade. All hands will have to work together to ensure that the momentum continues.

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