Students aren’t majoring in accounting because they don’t have a passion for the subject, and also because they perceive the 150 credit-hour requirement for a CPA license as a major barrier in cost and time, especially for Black and Hispanic students, according to a new survey.
For a report released Monday by the Center for Audit Quality, the CAQ and Edge Research surveyed a group of approximately 1,400 undergraduate business students and recent graduates to uncover their attitudes about accounting and the barriers they see to entering the profession.
When asked about their experiences with introductory accounting courses, only one out of three non-accounting majors who considered accounting said the content was interesting or engaging. Among the students who ultimately chose not to pursue accounting, the main reason cited was a lack of passion, followed by higher starting salaries for other majors and not wanting to pursue the additional academic hours necessary to become a CPA, specifically the 150 credit-hour requirement.
Courtesy of the Center for Audit Quality
The research indicated the 150 credit-hour requirement is seen as a barrier across the board, but it’s more conspicuous for Black and Hispanic non-accounting students, particularly students who considered accounting but opted out, meaning they looked into accounting as a major but ultimately went elsewhere due to the extra credit-hour requirement.
“These students perceive the rule as an expensive, time-consuming requirement to advance their future career,” said the report. “To be sure, these students see the CPA license as a valuable certification. It’s just not ‘worth it’ for them to pursue.”
Accounting majors were the business major cohort most likely to say they picked their major before entering college, at 66%, followed by business administration at 62%, marketing at 49%, entrepreneurship at 46%, and finance at 44%.
For most students who have already decided to major in accounting, CPA licensure is the end goal for 81% of them, with the expectation that attaining the CPA license will help with career advancement and lead to higher earnings. But while 81% of all accounting undergraduates plan to pursue a CPA license, there’s a significantly lower rate among Black (68%) and Hispanic (72%) accounting majors.
The findings are in line with the AICPA’s Trends report, which found that the number of people taking and passing the CPA licensing exam declined 36% between 2010 and 2021, plummeting from more than 50,000 in 2010 to 32,000 in 2021.
Most students favorably view the CPA credential, with 82% of accounting majors who responded to the CAQ survey perceiving the CPA license as either extremely valuable or very valuable for their career goals, and 77% of accounting majors who are not planning to, or are unsure about, pursuing a CPA license. But significantly fewer numbers of accounting majors reported confidence in their ability to pass the exam (58%).
When asked about the obstacles to a CPA license, among those not planning to pursue licensure (including those who are undecided), the extra cost and time needed to reach 150 credit hours were cited as the biggest obstacles. Among those accounting majors who have decided to pursue the CPA license, the time it takes to study for the CPA exam topped the list of concerns, followed by the complexity of the application and licensing processes.
While the time required to study for the CPA exam was seen as a top obstacle across all demographics, the costs associated with completing the 150 credit-hour requirement is perceived as the most significant hurdle by Black and Hispanic accounting majors.
The CAQ found demographic differences among recent graduates as well. Those who are working for a public accounting firm reported higher satisfaction levels. Recent graduates who are working in public accounting and have secured a CPA license are more likely to rate themselves as very satisfied with compensation, mentorship, opportunities for advancement, and purpose if they are working at a Big Four firm.
On the other hand, graduates who are undecided or not planning to pursue a CPA license reported lower levels of work satisfaction overall. Black accounting graduates who reported lower satisfaction levels with organizational culture are less likely to plan to continue an accounting career.
The report recommends engaging young people earlier in their lives and found that interest in accounting most likely is sparked before a student even enters high school and peaks by the time they graduate.
“Increasing opportunities for diverse groups of students to gain exposure to accounting prior to college will help not only in increasing diversity across the accounting talent pipeline but also in increasing the number of accounting majors overall,” said the report.
Surveying young people who decided not to become accountants can lead to insights for how to change their perceptions of the profession.
“It is important to understand the perspectives of students who were interested in accounting but ultimately did not pursue the career,” said CAQ CEO Julie Bell Lindsay in a statement. “We also need to recognize not all potential career accountants are starting from the same place.”
The CAQ launched an Accounting+ campaign in recent years to attract more diverse and younger accountants, and it plans to release more reports in the future with data to measure its progress.
“The data shows we have much more work to do around awareness and perceptions of an accounting career, and with our multi-year, collaborative, data-driven Accounting+ campaign, I am confident we can address this aspect of the continuing accounting pipeline challenges,” said Liz Barentzen, vice president of operations and talent initiatives at the CAQ, in a statement.
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