The 2022 Top 100 People: The biggest issues in accounting

December 2, 2022 2:28 PM

For another year, the war for talent loomed large over the profession, according to our Top 100 Most Influential People. When asked, "What is the most important issue currently facing the accounting profession?" the most common answers were related to people. How to attract them, retain them, entice them to become CPAs and, most critically, enter the profession at all. Additionally, this year's class of influencers called for improved diversity, equity and inclusion in the profession and a move to more innovative service offerings — both of which would go a long way in helping solve the people problem.

Other issues identified by the T100 include the growing focus on ESG and nonfinancial reporting, the evolution of the audit, and the need to reevaluate business models, among many other concerns, including those expressed below.

(To see the full responses of all the candidates for the Top 100, click here.)

Talent! "The talent drain", especially in advisory is extremely concerning. Advisory consists of individuals with unique and deep skill sets. These individuals are in short supply and high demand. This continues to create obstacles as firms continue to build out and expand advisory practices.

— Jim Bourke, managing director, advisory services, WithumSmith+Brown

Burn out, mental health and the ability to hire and retain good people are all intertwined. Too many experienced professionals are leaving public accounting for greener pastures. It's one impact of COVID the profession will feel for a long time. It was already hard to find good people; the pandemic made it worse. Yet, firms still haven't figured out that they need to change, that firm owners need to look at themselves and do something differently.

— Jody Padar, VP of tax strategy & evangelism, April

The most important issue facing the accounting profession is relevance… As I have said many times, "Solve the relevance issue and you'll solve the pipeline." The declining pipeline of CPA candidates is a symptom of a profession losing relevance. Relevance impacts the profession in so many ways and at so many intersections.

— Todd Shapiro, president & CEO, Illinois CPA Society

Oftentimes, we hear digital transformation but it's really business transformation. Business transformation includes people — all people. How we attract, onboard, advance and retain the best and brightest is well aligned with inclusion objectives. The why of diversity, equity, and inclusion and the need to enable an inclusive culture is because there is an inconsistent experience as well as inconsistent application of the organization's core values. Inclusion is a strategic business imperative because it's a talent management challenge.

— Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, founder and CEO, KET Solutions LLC

I believe that one of the biggest challenges is the decreasing number of candidates seeking to become CPAs.

— Ken Bishop, president and CEO, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy

Diversity is the most important issue facing the profession. Focusing on diversity will clearly help our pipeline, and more specifically the CPA designation. Only 14% of our profession is represented by minorities, if we can move this needle, we can help our pipeline.

— Anoop Natwar Mehta, chief strategist, chair, AICPA; chair, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

We need to upskill the profession and our future members in a way that goes beyond where the current college curriculum takes them… that means developing human intelligence skills like team building, leadership, emotional intelligence, and more.

— Anthony Pugliese, president & CEO, Institute of Internal Auditors

The audit profession is at a pivotal moment. Our profession will undergo more transformational change in the next 5 years than in the past 50 years. We are facing various externalities — advanced technologies and a digital landscape — that are forcing us to change or face the alternative of becoming obsolete.

— Lara Abrash, chair and CEO, Deloitte & Touche

There is a fundamental disconnect between the business model that has been implemented by firms and the lifestyle and culture that their current or prospective team members want. Today's successful modern firm fosters a sustainable work environment that ensures teams are performing as expected and attracts and retains great team members. But because firms have not evolved their business models, they are stuck in the "old way" of doing things which leads to unhappy clients and employees.

— Darren Root, chief strategist, Right Networks

Although talent and managing complexity are clearly top issues, the evolution of the practice and services through technology advancement continues to be the greatest opportunity for the profession – and the best way to manage the talent and complexity challenges.

— Erik Asgeirsson, CEO & president, CPA.com

It's still the profession's business model. This is being challenged dramatically by the PE investments, consulting firms breaking off from traditional CPA firm services, and the massive consolidation.

— Sarah Dobek, president and founder, Inovautus Consulting

Modernizing the accounting profession is the biggest challenge and opportunity in my mind…. Modernizing the audit is about continuing to engage with past information, but also looking ahead and aligning our work with where we're going as a society — with the highest levels of quality and professionalism.

— Maura Hodge, ESG audit leader, KPMG LLP

As a result of the critical role trust plays in business, the profession — along with regulators and policymakers—is being tasked with determining how to disclose material nonfinancial information, such as ESG data on climate change, human capital management and more.

— Wes Bricker, vice chair, Trust Solutions co-leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers

DEI. If we don't start taking DEI seriously as a profession and investing resources in embracing diversity, providing equitable workplaces, and practicing inclusion, we will be left behind and we'll miss out on incoming talent.

— Crystal Cooke, director, diversity and inclusion, AICPA

The audit profession is underappreciated, or perhaps misunderstood. What auditors do very effectively and consistently is provide important checks and balance on the completeness and accuracy of their clients' financial reports, and call into question for redress any irregularities they may observe.

— Kevin Dancey, CEO, International Federation of Accountants

Mindset. We recognize that change is happening at an exponential rate, but organizations are still focusing on the safe center — their core — and not truly investing in the edge.

— Kacee Johnson, VP, strategy & innovation, CPA.com

The IRS is facing unprecedented service challenges that have overlapped 3 tax filing seasons. All taxpayers, regardless of their economic standing, and their advisers, deserve a tax administration system that supports them in meeting taxpayers' tax obligations.

— Edward Karl, VP, tax policy & advocacy, AICPA

Its antiquated business model of selling time. It is the root cause of almost every other issue including but not limited to the dearth of folks with accounting degrees who do not pursue careers in public accounting.

— Ed Kless, meta consultant, Sage

While many in the profession feel that staffing is the most important issue facing the accounting profession, I still feel that cybersecurity remains paramount.

— Stephen Mankowski, co-chair, National Tax Policy Committee, NCCPAP

Firms need to do more with their current resources, and always have an eye on innovation and adapting their technology to the next level.

— David Osborne, CEO, Caseware

Geni Whitehouse

Remaining relevant to our clients and providing the kind of timely, meaningful insights that help them achieve their business and personal goals. Until we change the nature of the services we deliver, we will continue to be overworked, understaffed, and under-appreciated by our clients. I am motivated by a desire to help accountants create the life of their dreams as they do the same for their clients. We have so many great skills – it is time we leverage them in new ways.

— Geni Whitehouse, countess of communication, Even a Nerd Can be Heard