A light at the end of the talent tunnel?

More accounting grads means more opportunties for firms, companies and the profession, says one HR expert

For years, an apparent staff shortage has left everyone in the profession praying for more CPAs, and now it looks as though we’re on the verge of having those prayers answered.

According to the AICPA, more than 64,000 students graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting in the 2006-07 school year. That’s the largest number of graduates in the 36 years the AICPA has been tracking this kind of data.

Now the question is, how do we take advantage of all of this new talent? How do we turn them into leaders not only for firms and companies, but for the profession as well?

Kirsten Owings has some ideas. She's the senior human resources manager at the Timonium office of Clifton Gunderson, and she says the next generation of CPAs is thirsty for knowledge. Giving them that knowledge -- as well as a healthy dose of leadership training and mentorship -- just ensure a bright future for everyone involved.

"They want so much information," Owings says of new accounting grads, "and if we can give it to them, that's only going to help position us for the future and help them grow as leaders."

Owings spoke recently about how she thinks the profession can make the most of this influx of new talent. Here's what she had to say.

What's fueling this surge in accounting graduates?

I think there are probably a few things fueling the surge. I think largely it's due to the increase in corporate governance regulations that have come out. CPAs have become more visible because they hear about them more. They hear about the accounting field more than they have in the past. The accounting profession, in and of itself, is seen as a more lucrative field. The salaries are high, the perks are great. The students know they are in demand; they know they are not going to have a problem finding a job. I think that kind of job security is comforting to a lot of people with the economy the way it is.

I also think the accounting profession in general has evolved a lot over the past few years. The stereotypical image of what an accountant was once perceived to be -- the workaholic, pocket-protector-wearing accountant -- is an image of the past. Accounting is seen more than crunching numbers at this point; it's also about having good communication skills, being able to provide quality client service, bringing in the new clients on the business development side. It's an interesting, dynamic profession that provides a lot of great opportunities, financial and otherwise. I think CPAs have opportunities to work with a wide variety of clients now. They can travel if they want to travel. They can get involved in high-level, prestigious work. I think the accounting profession is understanding that work-life issue that a lot of people are facing, and I think we're starting to communicate that more to new graduates and students, and that's probably why there's been an increase.

The next step is to actually turn them into CPAs. How do we motivate these new accounting graduates to work toward earning their CPA?

A lot of it is providing the training opportunities, both on the job and through great mentors and great leaders who promote and encourage that development. If firms provide them with those great learning opportunities and those roles models and then support them financially with solid tuition-assistance programs or professional certification policies to help them get certified, that's what's going to help motivate them. If they watch other people do it and they're learning from their leaders who are telling them how important it is, they are going to want to pursue that themselves. It's kind of like leading by example. If you have all of those resources and support at your fingertips and your leadership is giving you the days off to sit for the exam or giving you some time at certain times of the year to study for the exam, there really is nothing holding them back from taking that next step and really going for the CPA.

There has been a lot of focus lately on generational differences. We've heard a lot of talk about four generations working side by side in the workplace. We've been hearing especially about the habits and attitudes of younger workers. Do these generational differences impact the way firms recruit and retain their accounting talent?

I absolutely believe that does impact us. I think today's professionals definitely expect a lot of flexibility; it's extremely important for them. Some of them may be finishing school to get to the 150 credits they need to sit for the exam. Accounting these days is not just a 9-to-5 job. You do what you have to do to get the job, and when you're done, that may be it. It may be time to go home for the day. I think young accounting students are expecting that flexibility; it's no longer really a choice.

I think firms have to take a look at progressive work-life balance initiatives such as flexible work arrangements to make the firm a more attractive alternative for the recent college grads. You have to look at things like four-day work weeks and flex hours and reduced schedules at certain times of the year, and maybe work-at-home options. That's what the students are looking for now.

Recently I heard a presentation and it really struck me as an important thing for retaining this new generation of accounting students. It was about the level of involvement they expect to have in the organization. It was a really interesting presentation about how professionals today want to sit in on client meetings, they want to understand the budget for a particular engagement, the timeline of that engagement. Basically, the more information you can provide them, the better off they are. They are going to suck up as much information as they can to understand what the scope of the job is. They may not need to know it in order to get their jobs done, but that's the stuff they want to know and expect to know.

The presenter talked a lot about this thirst for knowledge and the involvement that young professionals want to have today, and I really do see a lot of that. It seems like staff want to be more involved in task forces to address their issues or improve processes that they may have in place. That's probably one of the biggest generational differences that I've noticed. There's an expectation that they're going to be involved.

So salary may not be the most important factor?

No, I don't think it always is. I think there are other factors. A lot of students talk to us about salary, obviously; that's one of the main driving forces. But a lot of them will literally say to us, 'I may not consider an opportunity because I am also looking for the work-life balance issues as well, and tell me more about that in your firm. That's what I'm interested in hearing about -- the flexibility. Will you support me going to school? Do you support me leaving early for the day to do some activity that I want to do?' Those are the types of things we're hearing more frequently when we're on campus recruiting for accountants.

Another issue we keep hearing about is the fact that baby boomers are soon going to be retiring en masse, which may leave some vacancies in terms of leadership, not only for firms, but for the CPA profession as a whole. How do we turn these incoming CPAs into leaders of tomorrow?

There are probably a few things we need to do. One of the main things, obviously, is to focus on the training you're providing for people. I think you have to have pretty extensive training programs that teach them a lot of different types of things. It's not just teaching them the technical skills anymore. It may also be teaching them new manager skills or new leadership skills, teaching them what it means to motivate and mentor staff, the solid management skills and techniques you just learn through experience, but that some of these younger people coming into the profession may need to learn a little faster, since we are experiencing the issues related to the baby boom generation.

In addition, you need to put extensive succession plans in place and devote a good bit of time and effort to providing the staff with everything they need to know to advance to that next level, and having your leaders buy into that as well and delegating down and teaching them everything. That goes hand-in-hand with that involvement issue. They want so much information, and if they want it and we can give it to them, that's only going to help position us for the future and help them grow as leaders.

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