Telling Our Story Beyond the Numbers and Balance Sheets

Brian Blaha, CPA
Strategic Insights for Today’s Firm Leaders

Through the ongoing efforts of stakeholder organizations like the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS), AICPA, and the National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG), we know that the accounting profession has a branding problem—it has a bad rap. In the movies, accounting professionals are often depicted as boring or introverted math wizards, solely focused on tax preparation, always working with no family life, and the list goes on. So, with such strong stereotypes to break, how could we possibly attract the brightest students to our profession?

Those of us that have been in the profession for a long time got into accounting for various reasons, such as opportunity, career variety, lifestyle, flexibility, and long-term economic and financial stability. I recall learning about accounting disciplines from a general economic course in high school. Unfortunately, my small high school didn’t offer an accounting class, so I convinced my teacher to allow me to take an independent study class. Through that class, I chose accounting because I saw that it provided the most well-rounded business degree available. After all, accounting is the language of business—and if you understand the foundations of business, you can go anywhere.

All these reasons hold true today, but as a collective profession, we’ve done a horrible job of telling this story and all the other positive ones about choosing this career. We’ve let other professions, such as finance, engineering, computer science, and data analytics, become more attractive in the eyes of high school and college students. Having two college-aged children and one in high school, I often ask their friends, classmates, and parents what they’re majoring in—very few bring up accounting as an option. This is likely because the value propositions for a career in accounting are simply not known. Most of us in the profession know that a career in accounting offers:

• Better job prospects coming out of school.
• A decent starting salary.
• Economic stability (recession proof).
• Career advancement opportunities:
  • Firms are dynamic organizations with career mobility opportunities.
  • Entrepreneurship opportunities.
  • Formal training and ongoing education (e.g., service skills, industry experience, and leadership and personal development).
• Professional support, mentorship, coaching, and networking.
• Purpose-oriented business resource groups (BRGs).

Unfortunately, branding of a profession, just like the branding of any company, can’t be fixed by one advertising campaign. It requires a strategic, consistent approach over time.

For most professionals, a career needs to provide a direct link to a sense of purpose. Therefore, that’s where our North Star must begin.

In our profession, our purpose has historically been built on the key elements of trust, integrity, care, and a helpful posture. Yet, our clients’ needs have changed, and what worked in the past isn’t the profession’s future. It’s time to address this problem with a sense of urgency before the profession that we know—and love—becomes a shadow of itself. The current generation of leadership must drive new service elements that position the next generation to realize the same successes we had—think driving value creation, advising clients on their goals, being future looking and skilled in technology, and serving as a resource through all aspects of a client’s business lifecycle.

ICPAS, AICPA, and NPAG have studied all angles of the accounting talent pipeline issue. Every accounting professional should familiarize themselves with the work these groups have done and are doing. Most recently, NPAG published a report that offers various solutions to the pipeline issues, including how to fix the profession’s branding problem. There’s widespread belief that if accounting professionals band together to form a collective, positive voice, we have the opportunity to change our brand for the better, one interaction at a time.

If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to participate in NPAG’s pipeline pledge (accountingpipeline.org) and take action in the coming months. I also encourage firm leaders to promote the pledge internally and create space so employees can coach and mentor others inside the firm and get out into our communities to spread the word about what we actually do, along with the many career opportunities the accounting profession offers.

Of course, telling a compelling story will only go so far—we actually have to live it. The experience of young professionals must align with the story we’re telling. Therefore, firms will also need to ensure the employee experience:

• Includes real meaningful work where young professionals can see the contributions they’re making.
• Creates entrepreneurship opportunities inside the firm—let ideas flourish and create space for the ideas to be carried out.
• Encourages multifaceted career paths through an apprenticeship program that runs through various service lines, including audit, tax, transaction advisory, client accounting services, etc.
• Promotes community engagement, diverse teams and work environments, and the positive impacts we make to society.
• Promotes BRGs to activate outside of the firm (think engaging high schools, community colleges, and universities).
• Encourages the next generation to get involved in the profession by promoting young leader involvement and networking, as well as community day activities.
• Creates ongoing education for advisory skills early in employees’ career paths and ensures there are opportunities to put these skills to work.

To ensure the viability of our profession, we need to act with a sense of urgency that’s aligned to where the economy is going. We need to lean into our advisory skills and address the complex business and personal issues plaguing the accounting talent pipeline. We must realize that we have the opportunity to adapt to new opportunities, such as sustainability, blockchain, and artificial intelligence, to carve out even more career paths that’ll appeal to the next generation of accounting talent. Above all, we need to change and find our collective voice to showcase all the good the profession offers.

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• What the Future of Accounting Really Needs: If the accounting profession is to remain relevant to future generations of workers, changes in work-life balance, diversity, and pay are needed now.