Prioritization and Implementation Efforts Will
Be Focus of Summer and Fall
NEW
YORK, Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The National
Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG), an independent advisory group
convened in response to an American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)
governing Council resolution, today released the final report of
its recommendations to address the accounting talent shortage.
NPAG began work in July 2023. The
multistakeholder group's work was facilitated by
ConvergenceCoaching LLC, a consulting firm for the accounting
profession that specializes in leadership, talent and other
issues.
NPAG's recommendations, which closely follow the draft report it
issued this spring, fall into six main categories: 1) address the
cost and time of education, 2) make the academic experience more
engaging, 3) enhance the employee experience particularly in the
first five years of employment, 4) prioritize strategies to expand
access to the profession for the underrepresented at every stage,
5) provide better support to CPA Exam candidates, and 6) tell a
better story to young adults thinking about which career to pursue
on the impact accounting has on businesses, communities and
economies.
The prioritization and implementation of solutions recommended
by NPAG and complementary efforts of other professional groups
critical to the accounting talent pipeline will be the
subject of a Sept. 23 roundtable of
stakeholders from across the profession.
The final report includes research results, data and demographic
information from a pair of surveys – one of students, the other of
stakeholders – that together encompass almost 8,000 responses used
by NPAG to field test various recommendations. The report also
includes refinements and incorporates feedback from scores of
people who commented on the draft report between May and July. More
than 15,000 people participated in briefing sessions on NPAG's
recommendations since May.
"NPAG's approach was to start without preconceptions, make
decisions backed wherever possible with relevant data, and to
emphasize collaboration," said Lexy
Kessler, NPAG's chair and vice chair of the AICPA. "The best
recommendations are meaningless, however, if they're not put into
practice. Solving the pipeline problem will take sustained,
collective action. While NPAG's main duties end with the release of
this report, our members intend to be catalysts and advocates for
changes that ensure young people will continue to view and pursue
accounting as a rewarding career choice."
A joint working group created by NPAG and the National
Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is developing a
competency-based model framework to help address time and cost of
education challenges that some CPA candidates encounter, while
aiming to preserve the mobility that allows CPAs to practice
remotely and in-person around the country with just one CPA
license. Public comment will be sought on model accountancy law
language enabling this framework later this year.
The September roundtable on pipeline issues will be convened by
the American Accounting Association, AICPA, NABA Inc. and the
National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. Goals for the
meeting are to build a strategic roadmap detailing how top-priority
pipeline solutions will be tasked and accomplished, establish a
format for maintaining ongoing collaboration and accountability
among stakeholder groups, and plan regular, transparent
communications to the profession on progress.
NPAG continues to urge individuals, employers, and educators to
take the Pipeline Pledge, a commitment to undertake at least two
activities to positively impact the talent pool, such as
participating in a high school career night or mentoring a college
student.
For more information about NPAG, its final report or other
information about pipeline issues, please visit
accountingpipeline.org.
About NPAG
The National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG) is committed to the
development of a unified accounting talent strategy that reflects
the needs of multiple stakeholders, leverages unbiased research,
and leads to meaningful change. The independent, 22-member group
concludes its term today with the issuance of its final report.
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SOURCE AICPA