Abstract
The accounting profession is facing a staffing crisis. Addressing the causes for the decline in the number of accounting professionals and collegiate accounting majors is a multifaceted problem. To remain competitive and overcome the staffing shortage, the accounting profession must analyze the causes and make appropriate adjustments. To this point, in February 2023, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) issued a draft plan that tackles eight root causes that are negatively impacting the accounting talent pipeline. Interestingly, salary challenges are not included in the eight root causes examined by the AICPA’s plan. This article analyzes the history of accounting salaries as a possible contributing factor to the decline in the number of accounting professionals in the hiring pool. The analyses include a review of accounting salary trends for a 20-year period (2001-2021) and a state-by-state comparison of accounting salaries to salaries offered in similarly skilled professions. Nationally, the findings confirm an unfavorable trend in real-term median salary growth rates for accounting positions. On the state level, when comparing the 2021 accounting salaries to the salaries of similarly skilled professions, the accounting salaries, in all but a few cases, are lower. If slower salary growth rates and lower actual accounting salaries persist over time in comparison to similarly skilled professions, this will exacerbate the current staffing crisis as evenmore employees choose to leave the accounting profession for more lucrative external opportunities that increasingly offer better work/life balance (Ellis 2022; Iacone 2022). A further concern for the profession is the negative impact this salary deficit will have on the selectionprocess of incoming college students who may opt into better paying majors that do not require150 hours of college credits or a rigorous professional certification exam. Finally, the article concludes with recommendations for firms and the profession to stem turnover and create a robust talent pipeline into the accounting profession.
Recommended Citation
Galbreath, Susan Coomer; Chen, Han-Sheng; and Jobe, Mark
(2023)
"A Historical Analysis of Accounting Salaries as a Key Factor in the Staffing Crisis,"
Journal of Business, Industry, and Economics: Vol. 28, Article 4.
Available at:
https://roar.una.edu/jobie/vol28/iss1/4