Mentorship: Cultivating the Next Generation of Accountants

By Jaclyn Anku

Whether you're a firm of five or 500, you've likely felt the talent shortage gripping the accounting profession. While the obvious cause is that there simply aren't enough graduates choosing to pursue careers in accounting, even those graduating with traditional accounting degrees are entering firms without the technical, soft, and advisory skills today's market demands. Firms are desperate for talent, students are yearning for meaningful careers, and traditional accounting education is failing to deliver on either count.

Here at Intuit, we continuously invest in the profession by providing modern resources, future-focused education, and tech-forward tools to help power prosperity for firms and professionals. But what do you do when the shift in the profession is taking place before graduates ever step foot into an office?

The widening skills gap

In recent years, the skills gap between graduating accounting majors and entry-level positions has grown. According to HR Dive, 50% of hiring managers say recent grads are unprepared for the workforce, and ProAdvisors consistently tell us that hiring students straight out of a university often means training them from scratch. GAAP and tax accounting will always be foundational, but modern practices require more, including technological fluency, strong communication skills, and the ability to interpret and advise on the narratives behind the numbers, especially as automation cannibalizes much of the repetitive work that once defined entry-level positions.

Fixing the talent shortage isn't just about attracting more students to the profession; it's about ensuring they are prepared for the jobs that actually exist today.

Introducing the Intuit ProAdvisor Student Mentorship Program

Enter the Intuit ProAdvisor Student Mentorship Program. Created in partnership with Intuit for Education, the mentorship program is a cornerstone of our Accountant Skilling Initiative designed to address the skills gap and the talent shortage in one fell swoop.

The concept is simple: equip aspiring accounting professionals with real-world training, while connecting them with firm leaders and practitioners who can guide them from classroom to conference room. Not only does this program help firms cultivate skilled entry-level talent; it helps students build the confidence, clarity, and capabilities they need to become valuable team members and trusted strategic partners—all while changing the narrative about what a career in accounting can look like.

Rethinking accounting education from the ground up

This bold new approach took root in spring 2025 at Utah Valley University (UVU) where Professor David Waite, and ProAdvisors Brittany Brown and Dan Luthi pioneered the UVU Small Business Accounting program. The visionary trio set out to design a course that not only prepared students for dynamic careers in Client Advisory Services (CAS), but transformed how accounting is taught in the classroom while enticing new talent to a field that has been defined by tax and audit for decades.

With support from ProAdvisor Academy, the pilot course combined mentorship, professional guest lectures, and hands-on training delivered through real-world scenarios in the most widely used accounting software in the world. The Intuit Bookkeeping and QuickBooks Online Level 1 Certifications were both requisites to pass.

The pilot semester was a success, bridging the gap between classroom instruction and modern accounting practice; it also laid the foundation for the ProAdvisor Student Mentorship Program.

Connecting with the next generation

We launched the mentorship program pilot in 2025 with two participating schools: Utah Valley University and Ensign College. Students needed to be 21+ years old, pass their ProAdvisor certification to demonstrate technical proficiency, and express an interest in pursuing a career in CAS. Five students received an all-expense-paid trip to Las Vegas to join Intuit Connect.

Before the event, the students completed orientation calls, community-building exercises, workbook assignments, and informational interviews with firm leaders to prepare them for meaningful engagement. At Connect, the students were able to network with leading ProAdvisor firms, participate in breakout sessions, and attend keynotes highlighting industry trends and innovations. After the event, students were encouraged to write reflection pieces, detailing their learnings and sharing insights with their peers.

The impact was immediate. Not only did students get to build connections within the CAS community (one already landed an internship), but they were exposed to new career pathways that broadened their understanding of what a future in accounting can look like. And of course, since it's Intuit Connect, they got to see first-hand the innovative ways Intuit is working to help firms expand advisory services while streamlining workflows and embracing automation.

Powering prosperity for the future

The mentorship program has shown us that it's possible to cultivate talent that is technically prepared, professionally motivated, and ready to hit the ground running. And the firm leaders we spoke with agree; they have already expressed enthusiasm for mentoring students and expanding engagement with local universities to support future initiatives.

No matter how the profession evolves, our mission at Intuit remains the same: to power prosperity for firms of all sizes and professionals at all stages of their careers. This includes the next generation of accounting professionals as they choose which path to follow. But it also includes supporting the profession itself: understanding how shifting client expectations and outdated narratives have impacted the ability to create a pipeline of motivated, energetic talent ready to answer the demands of a profession that looks markedly different than it did 20 years ago.

If we want lasting change, we need to take an active role in redefining what it means to be an accountant and ensuring the next generation sees this profession for what it truly is: dynamic, impactful, and full of opportunity.

The journey to redefine accounting education and empower the next generation of professionals is just beginning. Through initiatives like the Intuit ProAdvisor Student Mentorship Program, we're laying the groundwork for lasting change by bridging the gap between classroom learning and modern accounting practice, while showcasing the dynamic career opportunities this profession has to offer.

But we can't do it alone. We invite educators, firm leaders, and ProAdvisors to join us in shaping the future of the profession. Whether through mentorship, curriculum integration, or expanding outreach, your contributions can make a transformative impact. Don't forget to register for our free webinar, "Skills for Accounting Jobs in the Era of AI," for either February 2 or February 4, 2026, and encourage students to attend—it's the perfect opportunity to open their eyes to what a future in accounting can look like. Together, we can ensure that the profession continues to thrive and pave the way for the innovative and motivated talent our industry needs. Let's power prosperity, not just for today's firms, but for tomorrow's leaders.

Jaclyn is a small business and accounting community enthusiast. She's spent more than 10 years developing scalable, compelling initiatives at leading SaaS companies, honing her ability to drive a dual bottom line. When Jaclyn is not busy creating programs that educate, motivate, and break the mold, you can find her around the Bay Area with her husband and two beautiful girls.

Find her on LinkedIn.