Connect with us

Accounting

Wanted: Accountants in the classroom

Published

on

The landscape of accounting education is continually evolving and one of the most significant catalysts for this change is having the instructor teaching an introduction to accounting class be an individual with professional experience. These individuals, having either recently transitioned to academia from the professional world or having worked in the industry previously, bring a wealth of current industry knowledge and practical insights. 

Having transitioned from the workforce to academia, these professionals possess a unique perspective that is invaluable in the classroom, especially in disciplines as dynamic as accounting. Their firsthand experiences in applying theoretical knowledge to solve practical problems in real-world settings offer a wealth of insights to students. 

According to a recent AICPA professional insights article, appointing captivating and relevant instructors in the introductory courses is an excellent way to increase enrollment. This direct application of theory to practice aids in demystifying complex accounting principles, transforming abstract concepts into tangible and understandable elements.

Updating accounting curricula with current trends

The accounting profession is characterized by its rapid evolution, driven by changes in legislation, technological advancements, and economic fluctuations. Recent professionals, being active participants in this dynamic environment, bring fresh insights into these ongoing changes. Their involvement in academia serves as a conduit for the latest industry practices and trends to enter the classroom, ensuring that the curriculum remains relevant and reflective of current standards and requirements.

For example, with the increasing adoption of blockchain technology in financial transactions, a professional with recent experience in this area can provide students with an understanding of its implications in the accounting profession. Similarly, insights into the latest software and tools being used in the profession can prepare students to be more effective and efficient in their future roles.

College students

Gorodenkoff Productions OU/Gorodenkoff – stock.adobe.com

This constant infusion of up-to-date knowledge and practices into the curriculum not only prepares students for what awaits them in the professional world, but also positions them as attractive candidates to future employers. They emerge from their education not only with a solid theoretical foundation, but with an understanding of how to apply this knowledge in practice, armed with awareness of the latest industry developments and technological tools. 

This blend of theory and practice, grounded in current trends, ensures that graduates are well-prepared to navigate the complexities of the modern accounting landscape.

Enhanced learning through real-world examples

Having an instructor who has the ability to speak to a topic and help bridge the gap between textbook material and what actually happens in the real world can be invaluable. 

There is a plethora of benefits that students gain by applying the basic accounting foundation that they have already built into solving real-world projects and understanding real-world examples. Students can see the relevance of what they are learning in the course and how it applies in the real world, which can in turn cause them to want to have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the subject matter. 

This active learning approach aids in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are two essential attributes for any aspiring accountant.  

Networking opportunities

According to the authors experience as instructors, oftentimes if you ask an already-declared accounting student why they want to major in accounting, their answer would probably state that someone in their family or friend group is an accountant and they were influenced into this profession and the opportunities that it includes by talking to this person. This shows that students can be influenced to major in accounting by having an example to follow. 

On the other hand, not every college student has an accountant in their family or even outside of their family to influence them. Introducing students to the accounting profession who may be first-generation college graduates or those who do not know any accountants can be a challenge, but there are various steps that an instructor in an introductory accounting course can take to help influence students to the tremendous opportunities that exist in the accounting profession.

Listening to guest speakers and connecting students with current professionals broadens their understanding of the basics of accounting. It can be inspiring to students to have someone come into the classroom and share their academic and professional journey as to how they got to where they are today. 

Introducing students to guest speakers can also help to facilitate internships and future job opportunities for students. Salary expectations for any major is something that students would appreciate knowing ahead of time, before they declare their specific major. Having guest speakers openly talk about salary transparency and the increasing starting salaries for accountants can certainly peak students’ interests for the accounting profession.

Attracting and retaining top talent

Attracting and retaining top-tier students to study accounting is crucial for the continued vitality and evolution of the profession during a time when most colleges are seeing a decrease in accounting enrollment and the number of students pursuing the CPA. It is instructors’ responsibility to identify and discuss with top performing students in an introductory course about pursuing an accounting degree. 

Along with those initial conversations with students, below are some ways you can attract students to your college’s accounting program.

1. Relevance and application of knowledge. Top-tier students often seek programs that offer not just theoretical knowledge but also practical applications. The ability to bridge theory with real-world practice makes accounting more appealing, as it demonstrates the tangible impact of accounting principles on businesses and economies. This relevance is crucial for students who aim to make a significant impact in their careers. By showing how accounting is the language of business, programs can attract students who are eager to engage in work that is rewarding, secure, and compensated well. 

2. Preparedness for the future. In a competitive job market, top-tier students are looking for programs that offer them a competitive advantage. Students who are at the top of their peer group are not just looking for an education, they’re looking for a launchpad for future success. 

Updating the curriculum with current trends ensures that students are learning the most modern and relevant practices, preparing them to enter the workforce with knowledge and skills that are in high demand. This readiness for immediate contribution and the ability to navigate and lead through emerging challenges are attractive to ambitious students who aim to be at the forefront of their profession.

3. Engagement and motivation. High-performing students are often driven by engagement and challenge. Integrating professionals into the educational process as instructors who can share their experiences and insights creates a more engaging learning environment. This dynamic setting, where education is closely linked to professional practice, motivates students by highlighting the direct impact of their studies on their future careers. It also shows that the college is committed to providing a meaningful education that goes beyond textbooks.

4. Networking and professional growth. Top-tier students often value the networking and mentorship opportunities that can come from interacting with recent professionals in the classroom. These connections can provide invaluable insights into the industry, potential career paths, and even lead to job opportunities. Programs that facilitate these interactions are more attractive to students who are keenly aware of the importance of building a professional network from an early stage in their careers.

Continue Reading

Accounting

IAASB tweaks standards on working with outside experts

Published

on

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.  

Continue Reading

Accounting

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Accounting

At Schellman, AI reshapes a firm’s staffing needs

Published

on

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.”

Continue Reading

Trending