The State of the Profession

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According to Rosenberg, accounting and the CPA profession are going through major technological changes. Fees are continuing to increase which in turn increases consulting related matters. As it seems to be going, it is because of the lower cost of cloud based software systems which allow for clients to send their accounting matters to an accountant without needing to actually meet in person. Because of this, in 5 to 10 years it is feasible for accounting to be almost 100% dependent on cloud based software systems and almost completely drift away from the accounting firm as it has always been known. The increases also seem to be in Audit review services and consulting services which also makes fees increase. The cloud based software lets the clients handle some of the simple processes without needing additional outside help from the actual accounting firm. There is also the fact that tax services remain flat but it is a wonder if this is more due in part to the unknown in potential federal tax reform and wondeing if clients will want to pay for any planning when things aren't so easy to understand. One of the biggest issues is the people who do the work, the employees. Most employees don't want to work full-time in office work they prefer to work part-time, flexible, and nontraditional schedules.

IRosenberg, Marc. "The State of the Profession," The CPA Journal, December 2017 pp 25-27

One big question I still have after all this information is that if things are really going to be 100% cloud based software problems will there be issues down the line of needing that written backed up information that isn't available anymore? I also wonder if these changes are going to result in needing additional employees or there being less of a need for accounting professionals? Will the need for a Master's degree or Bachelor's degree in Accounting be necessary to actual be able to work in the industry?


Comments

  1. Prof. KossApril 12, 2018 at 12:50 PM

    Hi Jen,

    This is a very interesting topic to me, as I hold a BS in Accounting. It's interesting that despite the increases in availability and these software programs that costs are going up. Are those related to people needing to meet with an accountant to correct issues or problems, or are they related to something else? Is it making it more expensive to meet with a person? I also wonder, in your opinion, are the large accounting firms needed anymore? Would moving to smaller, even individual accountants working flexible schedules to meet their clients' needs be a bad thing?

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  2. UnknownApril 15, 2018 at 7:06 PM

    Hi professor
    In my opinion I thing that large accounting firms aren't necessarily needed as much. I am working part time doing "virtual bookkeeping" for a CPA who has moved to offering virtual CFO services. I find that with all the things the software we use (Xero) does for you it frees up time for actual consulting and advising. There are also a lot of things the clients choose to do themselves and then we do other things. I think we are able to provide more personal service because it is tailored to what individual clients need and want. I think the reason costs are increasing is because instead of charging an hourly rate there are different pricing reasons, depending on the type of business and what is being done for them.

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