Hiring at Public Accounting Firms Hits All-Time High: As the Profession Continues Its Remarkable Growth, Students Flock to Accounting Programs, While Firms Prepare for More Hiring

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's a great time to major in accounting. Unlike many in their Millennial cohort, who face continued underemployment, accounting graduates find themselves in high demand from employers. Top students are often recruited, offered jobs during or after their internships, and enticed with signing bonuses. According to the AICPA report 2015 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits, hiring at public accounting firms jumped 7% to reach record levels in 2013-14. Ninety-one percent of all firms said they expect to hire accounting graduates at the same or higher levels in 2015. Coming out of the economic recession, firms are working to grow their staff and are finding increased competition to hire top talent, said Joanne Fiore, AICPA vice president-Professional Media, Pathways, and Inclusion. Firms are hiring to both help fuel their growth and replace turnover. On the supply side, enrollment in accounting programs also reached record highs in 2013-14, the Trends survey found. More than 253,000 students enrolled in accounting at all levels, 5% more than in 2012-13. And universities expect this trend will continue: 97% of bachelor's programs and 70% of master's programs anticipate that enrollment will be the same or higher than it was in 2013-14. While enrollment has seen a steady increase for more than a decade, there has been some easing in the momentum of undergraduate and graduate accounting degrees awarded. Degrees awarded held steady at the previous record high level (less than a 1% decrease), owing to a sharp increase in master's degrees awarded (31%) and a decline in bachelor's degrees awarded (11%). data in the Trends report is very positive overall, and the outlook for accounting students entering the profession is bright. At that same time, we've continued to see a slight widening of the gap between the number of students who are graduating with accounting degrees and the number of candidates sitting for the CPA exam, although the growth of the gap has slowed, said Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, the CEO and president of the AICPA. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] is critical that we re producing enough CPAs to replace the retiring Baby Boomers and that the profession is continuing to meet the ever-changing needs of the U.S. capital markets, Melancon said. We've been looking into this issue in great detail and are considering a number of professionwide initiatives to complement our existing programs and ensure that qualified accounting graduates are earning their CPA license. Complementary AICPA research has found that accounting programs that stress the importance of the CPA and on-campus employer recruiting increase students' interest in becoming a CPA. Once students graduate, the single greatest influence on whether they sit for the CPA exam is support from their employer to pursue their license, including time off to study and financial compensation. Conversely, accounting graduates who are recruited by companies directly out of college, and foreign accounting students who return to their home countries after graduation, are less likely to earn their CPA license than those who begin their careers in public accounting. The AICPA has conducted the Trends survey since 1974. It polled hundreds of firms and universities from January through April 2015 about data from the 2013-14 academic year. The AICPA is also exploring the demand for accounting graduates in business and industry, Fiore said. ENROLLMENT IN ACCOUNTING PROGRAMS AT RECORD LEVEL The excellent job prospects in accounting, among other reasons, draw young people to the field. No. 1 thing that attracts people to accounting is job security, said master's degree candidate Nilisha Patel. That was something my classmates always talked about. 'If our classes are difficult,' we said, 'at least it means we'll have jobs when we graduate. …