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Data and analytics pros at CPA firms
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What’s happened in hiring at firms in the last two years? Non-accounting grad hiring has exploded. According to the American Institute of CPAs’ (AICPA) 2019 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits report, issued every two years based on university responses for the 2017–2018 academic year and firm responses for the 2018 calendar year, firm hiring of non-accounting graduates is up 11 percent. Conversely, firms are hiring fewer accounting grads — those figures have dropped 30 percent since 2014. AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, says that increased demand for tech skills is shifting the hiring model. Other intriguing results: Majoring in accounting is still popular. Nearly 208,000 students were enrolled in undergraduate accounting programs in 2017–2018, the secondhighest number on record. Diversity in the profession is growing. Nonwhite students make up 44 percent of enrollees in undergraduate accounting programs, an all-time high, and 42 percent of total graduates. More new hires are focusing on audit. The portion of new accounting grad hires assigned to audit-related work grew 4 percent (9 percent from 2014).
GET MORE INFO AND FREE CPE: You can receive 1 CPE credit by attending a virtual interchange on the Trends report on Oct. 24. Visit vscpa.com/freecpe to find this and other options!
HOTTEST CAREER IN AMERICA:
tax manager
Believe it! According to a Glassdoor survey, tax managers have the strongest career opportunities in the country, with a competitive median base salary of $112,021. The report cites that tax managers are needed in a variety of industries, not just finance and consulting. Audit and accounting managers also rated highly on the survey.
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DISCLOSURES
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
The percentage of Virginia’s electric system Gov. Ralph Northam wants powered from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2030.
295 The number of Virginia companies on the Inc. 5000 list, which ranks the nation’s fastest-growing, privately held companies.
5 Virginia’s ranking among states with the most companies on the Inc. 5000 list. California was No. 1.
$37 billion The amount that the charitable donation deduction claimed by taxpayers declined from the 2017 to 2018 filing season.
14 Virginia’s ranking on the list of most states with federal government employees in 2018, accounting for 18.1 percent of the Commonwealth’s workforce.
90 The percentage of survey respondents who told the American Institute of CPAs Tax Section that the 2018 tax filing season was more challenging than previous years. (Surprising exactly ... no one.)