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Let’s make accounting great again

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In recent years, there’s been growing concern about the future of accounting. Discussions around AI replacing accountants, overworked staff and the ongoing talent shortage have all contributed to a less-than-ideal perception of the profession.

But I believe in the future of accounting, and I also believe that it’s up to us, as accountants, to make it great again.

The question is: Where do we begin? The first and most important thing is to start sharing the amazing opportunities that this career has to offer. 

Because, after all, accounting is more than just numbers. 

Accounting builds a foundation for flexibility and success

Far too often, accountants get put into a box, and people assume this is a single-path career. But that is far from reality. 

In fact, some of the most recognizable and successful names in business, like Arthur Blank (Home Depot), Phil Knight (Nike) and John D. Rockefeller, all began their careers as accountants. 

Today, they are among the most respected business leaders in the world.

Undoubtedly, their accounting skills helped pave the way for their success. 

After all, accounting is more than just number crunching — it’s understanding the language of business. As you pursue an accounting degree, you develop skills and expertise that open the door to a wide range of career opportunities, many of which can be quite lucrative. 

We need to start sharing how:

  • Accounting teaches valuable skills, such as financial literacy, attention to detail and problem-solving. These are in-demand skills that are crucial for any career.
  • Accounting equips you with the tools and knowledge you need to succeed, whether you want to continue working as a public accountant, transition to an executive role or launch your own business. Your ability to develop creative solutions to tough problems and your meticulous nature will serve you well in any field or in the pursuit of your own entrepreneurial venture.
  • Accounting can serve as an entrepreneurial springboard, allowing you to pivot into a variety of industries or launch your own operation. After all, accounting helps you understand some of the most important financial aspects of running a business, like cash flow and managing finances, to drive business growth. An estimated 82% of businesses fail because of cash flow problems, so your accounting skills will give you a significant advantage.
  • Accounting pays well. I just read a post from Dave Ramsey on the top careers of millionaires. Accountant (CPA) ranked number two on this list. Yet, we don’t see many people talking about this. 

Even if your goal is to stay in public accounting, it’s important to remember that large firms aren’t the only path to a successful career. There are countless other firms that offer the work-life balance you crave. At my firm, for example, we encourage our team to take vacations, pursue hobbies and achieve personal goals.

And as technology continues to evolve, more firms will offer a better work-life balance as mundane tasks become automated. 

Accounting can open the door to so many opportunities, but as an industry, we have a serious messaging problem when it comes to the future of our profession. 

Contrary to what you’ve heard, accounting is not extinct

It’s a common misconception that accounting is becoming obsolete. Yes, there’s a talent shortage. Yes, technology is rapidly evolving. But neither of these things will render the accounting profession obsolete.

The reality is that demand for accountants is on the rise, and as the profession continues to evolve, demand will continue to rise.

Let’s put a few things into perspective.

  • Many accountants are approaching retirement age. While this contributes to the talent shortage, it also creates massive opportunities for anyone entering this profession right now. Projections show that the accounting profession could have a deficit of over 3.5 million accountants by 2025.
  • Technology is rapidly evolving, but it’s not replacing accountants. Technology is helping accountants pivot their focus to more meaningful and rewarding work. Successful firms are leveraging technology to elevate the value they provide to their clients. Only 8% of firms are using AI right now, and they are using it primarily to streamline mundane tasks — nothing more.

Far too many would-be accountants are being turned away from this career path because they believe it’s on the path to extinction. But a shift in perspective allows you to see the true potential of this career and the wealth of opportunities it provides.

So, where do we go from here?

To make accounting great again, we must come together as professionals and spread the word about the vast opportunities that accounting offers. Whether you prefer to stay in public accounting or use your knowledge to springboard into new industries, there are so many pathways to build the life you want and dream of with an accounting degree.

But how do we spread the word and shift the perspective on the future of accounting?

  • We must become a voice for the future and promote the great things that can come from this profession — both online and offline.
  • We must shed light on the firms that are doing incredible things for those who want to stay in this profession. Yes, there are still firms that have toxic work cultures, but not all firms are like this. Those that offer great work-life balance can help attract more professionals to this field.
  • We must remind aspiring accountants that there are other avenues they can explore outside of accounting, including the entrepreneurial route. 

As accounting professionals, we have a responsibility to shift the message and show aspiring accountants that this career path offers virtually unlimited growth in almost any field you can imagine.

The future of accounting is bright

The accounting profession is far from extinction. In fact, it’s an industry that offers flexibility and limitless opportunities, whether you want to become a partner at a firm, pivot into a new industry or even start your own business. The knowledge and skills you gain as an accountant will equip you with the tools you need to succeed wherever life takes you.

Let’s make accounting great again by embracing its true potential and sharing it with others. I am committed to this goal, and I hope you’ll join me.

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Accounting

IAASB tweaks standards on working with outside experts

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The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board is proposing to tailor some of its standards to align with recent additions to the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants when it comes to using the work of an external expert.

The proposed narrow-scope amendments involve minor changes to several IAASB standards:

  • ISA 620, Using the Work of an Auditor’s Expert;
  • ISRE 2400 (Revised), Engagements to Review Historical Financial Statements;
  • ISAE 3000 (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information;
  • ISRS 4400 (Revised), Agreed-upon Procedures Engagements.

The IAASB is asking for comments via a digital response template that can be found on the IAASB website by July 24, 2025.

In December 2023, the IESBA approved an exposure draft for proposed revisions to the IESBA’s Code of Ethics related to using the work of an external expert. The proposals included three new sections to the Code of Ethics, including provisions for professional accountants in public practice; professional accountants in business and sustainability assurance practitioners. The IESBA approved the provisions on using the work of an external expert at its December 2024 meeting, establishing an ethical framework to guide accountants and sustainability assurance practitioners in evaluating whether an external expert has the necessary competence, capabilities and objectivity to use their work, as well as provisions on applying the Ethics Code’s conceptual framework when using the work of an outside expert.  

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Accounting

Tariffs will hit low-income Americans harder than richest, report says

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President Donald Trump’s tariffs would effectively cause a tax increase for low-income families that is more than three times higher than what wealthier Americans would pay, according to an analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

The report from the progressive think tank outlined the outcomes for Americans of all backgrounds if the tariffs currently in effect remain in place next year. Those making $28,600 or less would have to spend 6.2% more of their income due to higher prices, while the richest Americans with income of at least $914,900 are expected to spend 1.7% more. Middle-income families making between $55,100 and $94,100 would pay 5% more of their earnings. 

Trump has imposed the steepest U.S. duties in more than a century, including a 145% tariff on many products from China, a 25% rate on most imports from Canada and Mexico, duties on some sectors such as steel and aluminum and a baseline 10% tariff on the rest of the country’s trading partners. He suspended higher, customized tariffs on most countries for 90 days.

Economists have warned that costs from tariff increases would ultimately be passed on to U.S. consumers. And while prices will rise for everyone, lower-income families are expected to lose a larger portion of their budgets because they tend to spend more of their earnings on goods, including food and other necessities, compared to wealthier individuals.

Food prices could rise by 2.6% in the short run due to tariffs, according to an estimate from the Yale Budget Lab. Among all goods impacted, consumers are expected to face the steepest price hikes for clothing at 64%, the report showed. 

The Yale Budget Lab projected that the tariffs would result in a loss of $4,700 a year on average for American households.

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Accounting

At Schellman, AI reshapes a firm’s staffing needs

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Artificial intelligence is just getting started in the accounting world, but it is already helping firms like technology specialist Schellman do more things with fewer people, allowing the firm to scale back hiring and reduce headcount in certain areas through natural attrition. 

Schellman CEO Avani Desai said there have definitely been some shifts in headcount at the Top 100 Firm, though she stressed it was nothing dramatic, as it mostly reflects natural attrition combined with being more selective with hiring. She said the firm has already made an internal decision to not reduce headcount in force, as that just indicates they didn’t hire properly the first time. 

“It hasn’t been about reducing roles but evolving how we do work, so there wasn’t one specific date where we ‘started’ the reduction. It’s been more case by case. We’ve held back on refilling certain roles when we saw opportunities to streamline, especially with the use of new technologies like AI,” she said. 

One area where the firm has found such opportunities has been in the testing of certain cybersecurity controls, particularly within the SOC framework. The firm examined all the controls it tests on the service side and asked which ones require human judgment or deep expertise. The answer was a lot of them. But for the ones that don’t, AI algorithms have been able to significantly lighten the load. 

“[If] we don’t refill a role, it’s because the need actually has changed, or the process has improved so significantly [that] the workload is lighter or shared across the smarter system. So that’s what’s happening,” said Desai. 

Outside of client services like SOC control testing and reporting, the firm has found efficiencies in administrative functions as well as certain internal operational processes. On the latter point, Desai noted that Schellman’s engineers, including the chief information officer, have been using AI to help develop code, which means they’re not relying as much on outside expertise on the internal service delivery side of things. There are still people in the development process, but their roles are changing: They’re writing less code, and doing more reviewing of code before it gets pushed into production, saving time and creating efficiencies. 

“The best way for me to say this is, to us, this has been intentional. We paused hiring in a few areas where we saw overlaps, where technology was really working,” said Desai.

However, even in an age awash with AI, Schellman acknowledges there are certain jobs that need a human, at least for now. For example, the firm does assessments for the FedRAMP program, which is needed for cloud service providers to contract with certain government agencies. These assessments, even in the most stable of times, can be long and complex engagements, to say nothing of the less predictable nature of the current government. As such, it does not make as much sense to reduce human staff in this area. 

“The way it is right now for us to do FedRAMP engagements, it’s a very manual process. There’s a lot of back and forth between us and a third party, the government, and we don’t see a lot of overall application or technology help… We’re in the federal space and you can imagine, [with] what’s going on right now, there’s a big changing market condition for clients and their pricing pressure,” said Desai. 

As Schellman reduces staff levels in some places, it is increasing them in others. Desai said the firm is actively hiring in certain areas. In particular, it’s adding staff in technical cybersecurity (e.g., penetration testers), the aforementioned FedRAMP engagements, AI assessment (in line with recently becoming an ISO 42001 certification body) and in some client-facing roles like marketing and sales. 

“So, to me, this isn’t about doing more with less … It’s about doing more of the right things with the right people,” said Desai. 

While these moves have resulted in savings, she said that was never really the point, so whatever the firm has saved from staffing efficiencies it has reinvested in its tech stack to build its service line further. When asked for an example, she said the firm would like to focus more on penetration testing by building a SaaS tool for it. While Schellman has a proof of concept developed, she noted it would take a lot of money and time to deploy a full solution — both of which the firm now has more of because of its efficiency moves. 

“What is the ‘why’ behind these decisions? The ‘why’ for us isn’t what I think you traditionally see, which is ‘We need to get profitability high. We need to have less people do more things.’ That’s not what it is like,” said Desai. “I want to be able to focus on quality. And the only way I think I can focus on quality is if my people are not focusing on things that don’t matter … I feel like I’m in a much better place because the smart people that I’ve hired are working on the riskiest and most complicated things.”

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