Research Center >> August 2009

CPAs Prove to Be Recession-Resilient
Coming soon: A job change bonanza for accounting vendors.
by Rick Telberg/For the CPA Channel Marketer
AICPA Custom Media Solutions

Deep into the worst recession since the Great Depression, you wouldn't expect employers to be worried about suddenly losing their best people to hungry and growing competitors.

But that's exactly what's happening in the CPA profession. And the CPA profession is not alone. Highly skilled knowledge workers remain much in demand through this downturn and the profession is proving as recession-resilient as expected. A Deloitte survey reports that 65 percent of CEOs are worried they'll lose their best people at the first signs of an economic upturn.

In fact, a lot of CPAs may be happy to have a job these days. But that's not deterring them from plotting their next career move. And the job market could explode as soon as the recession eases — maybe sooner.

This is important news for vendors to the profession. Instead of postponing or throttling back on sales and marketing initiatives, smart vendors are following the trends closely and positioning themselves strongly for the next big market move.

To be sure, a number of firms and finance organizations have been forced into painful layoffs — although the latest jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a net seasonally-adjusted 4,000-job increase from June to July at accounting and bookkeeping services — bringing the industry workforce to about 940,300. Still, that's down from a year-ago July, when the BLS reported 947,500 jobs in the industry.

But, despite the recession or because of it, the CPA profession is attracting unprecedented interest from college students. The AICPA reported a couple of weeks ago that the number of students graduating with bachelor's or post-grad degrees in accounting rose 3.5 percent to more than 66,000 in 2008, a new record. And there are 213,000 more in the pipeline.

A new survey of AICPA Insider readers by Bay Street Group LLC shows a startling degree of unrest in the ranks. The survey of 466 readers shows 47 percent say they would "consider changing jobs for better working conditions — even if it means a pay cut."

One major accounting firms estimates the cost of a single turnover is $100,000 in getting a new employee fully equipped and up to speed.

With almost half the profession looking to change jobs at their next opportunity, the dollars get large, fast.

More for CPA Channel Marketers by Rick Telberg:

RICK TELBERG is president of Bay Street Group LLC, which provides research and marketing and communications services to CPA firms and the vendors who serve them. He is the founding editor of the Insider newsletters and serves as AICPA Editor at Large and Director of Online Content. In his two decades in media and marketing for the finance, tax and accounting industries, Telberg has played pivotal roles in the development and operation of the leading media and e-commerce outlets in the business, including Accounting Today, The Practical Accountant, Accounting Technology, WebCPA.com, SmartPros.com, and CPA2Biz.com. Contact Rick at rtelberg@baystreetgroup.com or (914) 674-4531. He blogs at cpatrendlines.com.

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