Why talent shortages in accounting matter for growing businesses
- Talent shortages in accounting are widening as fewer graduates enter the field and experienced staff retire.
- For growing businesses, the gap means slower hiring, higher salaries, overworked teams, and rising compliance risk.
- Practical responses include automation, upskilling, better retention, and offshore or outsourced accounting support.
Talent shortages in accounting have become one of the biggest staffing headaches for growing companies. The supply of new accountants keeps shrinking, while demand for financial expertise keeps climbing. As a result, roles that once took weeks to fill now sit open for months.
This matters far beyond the accounting department. When your finance function is short-staffed, month-end slips, cash forecasts get shaky, and audit prep turns stressful. For a scaling business, that friction can slow the whole company down.
This guide explains why the shortage is happening, why it hits growing firms hard, and what you can do about it. The good news is that several proven responses exist. You do not have to simply outbid everyone for the same small talent pool.
What is driving the accounting talent shortage?
The shortage comes from simple math. Fewer people are entering the profession, and many experienced accountants are leaving it. Both trends are pulling in the same direction at the same time.
The pipeline of new graduates has thinned for years. According to the AICPA, “Some 47,067 students earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting in the 2021-22 school year, down 7.8% from the previous year.” More recent data shows the decline slowing, yet the pool is still smaller than it was a decade ago. The AICPA report on shrinking accounting graduates lays out the trend in detail.
Fewer graduates and CPA candidates
The exam pipeline shows the same strain. Industry data reported by the Journal of Accountancy pipeline review notes that new CPA Exam candidates fell to 28,082 in 2024. That is well below the 42,626 who entered in 2023. Fewer credentialed accountants means fewer people qualified for senior and sign-off roles.
Retirements and rising demand
At the same time, a large share of the profession is nearing retirement. As these veterans exit, they take decades of knowledge with them. Demand is not falling to match. Complex tax rules, tighter regulation, and business growth all keep the need for accountants high. In short, supply is dropping while demand holds firm.
Why talent shortages in accounting matter for growing businesses
Growing companies feel this squeeze more sharply than large, established firms. Big employers can offer higher pay, brand recognition, and clear career paths. A scaling business often competes for the same people with fewer of those advantages.
The effects show up quickly. Hiring gets harder, slower, and more expensive. Offer packages climb as candidates field multiple bids. Meanwhile, your existing team absorbs the extra work, which raises the risk of burnout and turnover.
There is also a real compliance cost. When a small finance team is stretched thin, mistakes creep in. Late filings, missed reconciliations, and weak controls can trigger penalties or failed audits. For a business courting investors or lenders, clean books are not optional.
Impacts and practical responses
The table below pairs each common impact of the shortage with a response that growing businesses actually use. Most companies combine several of these rather than relying on one.
| Impact of the shortage | Practical response |
|---|---|
| Roles stay open for months | Offshore or outsource routine accounting tasks to add capacity fast |
| Salaries and hiring costs climb | Automate manual work so each hire covers more ground |
| Existing team is overworked | Redesign workloads and upskill junior staff into higher-value roles |
| Errors and compliance risk rise | Add review layers and standard checklists for close and filing |
| Turnover drains institutional knowledge | Improve retention with flexibility, growth paths, and documentation |
How to respond to the accounting talent gap
You cannot fix the national pipeline. However, you can protect your own finance function. The following moves work well together, and you can start most of them this quarter.
1. Automate the repetitive work
Much of accounting work is still manual. Data entry, invoice matching, and reconciliations eat hours every week. Modern tools handle a lot of this automatically. As a result, your accountants spend more time on analysis and less on typing.
2. Upskill and cross-train your team
Do not wait for the perfect outside hire. Instead, grow talent from within. Train bookkeepers to handle reporting, and coach staff toward the CPA path. Cross-training also builds coverage, so one absence does not stall the whole close.
3. Use offshore or outsourced support
Offshoring gives fast access to qualified accountants outside your local market. It works best for defined, repeatable tasks. Bookkeeping, accounts payable, payroll, and reconciliations are common examples. Judgment-heavy work usually stays with your onshore team. For a fuller view, see this overview of hiring offshore accountants for US companies.
4. Invest in retention
Keeping good people is cheaper than replacing them. Flexible schedules, clear promotion tracks, and reasonable workloads all help. Because the talent pool is tight, retention is now a core part of any staffing plan.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there a shortage of accountants?
Fewer students are earning accounting degrees, and fewer are sitting for the CPA Exam. At the same time, many experienced accountants are retiring. Demand for financial expertise stays high, so the gap keeps widening.
How do talent shortages in accounting affect small and growing businesses?
Growing firms face slower hiring, higher pay demands, and overworked teams. Thin staffing also raises the risk of errors and late filings. Those compliance problems can hurt funding and audit readiness.
Is outsourcing accounting a safe response to the shortage?
It can be, when scoped well. Send routine, repeatable tasks to an outsourcing provider or offshore partner. Keep judgment calls, sign-off, and strategy with qualified onshore staff. Strong data security and clear review steps are essential.
What should we do first?
Start by mapping where your team loses the most time. Automate the biggest manual tasks, then decide what to keep, upskill, or outsource. A staged plan beats a rushed hiring spree.
Key takeaways
- Talent shortages in accounting stem from fewer graduates, fewer CPA candidates, and rising retirements.
- Growing businesses feel the impact through slower hiring, higher costs, overworked teams, and compliance risk.
- Automation, upskilling, and better retention strengthen your team from the inside.
- Offshore or outsourced support adds qualified capacity fast when the work is scoped clearly.
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