As technology has sped up and automated bookkeeping, accountants and finance professionals have struggled to find traditional accounting work, specifically in bookkeeping roles. The unemployment rate for the finance sector represents roughly half of U.S. unemployment, and not because work is scarce, but because the desired qualifications of accountants have changed.
Sophisticated platforms that utilize AI and automation are cheaper and more reliable than humans in many ways; success in the accounting field has demanded more from its workforce than it did even a decade ago, with a new emphasis on strategic and advisory services, including being educated on various technology platforms.
To get new and seasoned accountants up to speed so they can find and maintain work, the industry and how the education system interacts with it needs to undergo some major reno.
The CPA Journal noted in 2017 that a major setback to finding skilled and competent workers in the field is rooted in education. The types of problem solving that on-the-job accountants are now facing is not taught in the traditional accounting curriculum, so the expectation of providing advisory services for newly minted accountants is often beyond their skillset.
To address the root of the problem, institutions need first update their curriculums to provide settings to teach young accountants more about strategy and less about bookkeeping, which is largely handled today by software.
On that note, academia should not be operating in a vacuum. To prepare graduates with the skills needed to perform the duties expected of them at their first jobs, businesses and universities need to engage in dialogue. Internship programs are one excellent way to give students real-time experience before earning their degrees.
In April 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. added 140,000 accounting and auditor positions to the workforce, but the global workforce pool is still too small. Until curricula and training programs catch up to speed, we will experience a deficit of qualified talent in the industry.
Flexi can supplement your accounting team
Your team is expected to do more than ever, and Flexi can provide software that automates, provides fast reporting, and supplements your team in a rich array of ways so they can focus their efforts where it matters most: strategy and advisory services.
Trusted by enterprises for 25+ years, Flexi is among the most experienced accounting software providers in both the cloud and on-premise markets. Organizations of all sizes, particularly those with complex accounting requirements such as multi-entity and intercompany accounting needs, are benefiting from Flexi’s value: rich features, flexible deployment, easily customized, low maintenance, and highly rated support, all at an attractive total cost of ownership.
Find out why 1,500 customers and 20,000+ users rely on Flexi. Submit your information and get a demo of the Flexi suite today.