Recently, I had a conversation with the chair of the accounting department at a large university with a robust accounting program. We talked a great deal about the shortage of talent in the finance and accounting field.
While there is a decline in the number of accounting and finance students in colleges and universities, the bigger problem is that the profession has become less appealing over time. We discussed the importance of internships and helping students understand the breadth of careers available outside of public accounting. Most of these jobs are not in public accounting and in the future these jobs will not require a CPA. We have made this profession less attractive by telling students that in exchange for a great long-term career, you must pass the tough CPA exam and then work 60 hours a week. What if you could skip the exam and work regular hours?
Accounting and finance careers
There is a market opportunity if we, as a profession, along with colleges and universities, talk to students about the range of careers available outside of public accounting. Perhaps we should rename or rebrand the major to reflect the ability to concentrate in data analytics, operational accounting, or financial planning & analysis. This opportunity (and challenge) exists across many majors.
She then suggested that the administration should point out these opportunities and make suggestions to the provost.
This was interesting to me because I always assumed this was part of academic planning and review which happens through the provost and faculty.
The distinction here is related to refreshing the curriculum to respond to market opportunity. We make investments to keep the curriculum fresh, but do we think about how related industries are changing? What can we do to change the curriculum in response to market demands other than create new majors?
Market analysis in higher ed
In manufacturing companies, there are new product development and product enhancement teams, much like our curriculum review teams. The CFO takes an active role in analyzing the demand for all products and presents information when product sales are declining. Often the sales department (enrollment in our case) can see early warnings and will share challenges they observe. However, our enrollment departments are often concerned only with getting the customer, not with the specific product (major) they are buying.
The CFO in a manufacturing company would also initiate market analysis to better understand the market potential for existing products and vertical (related) products before offering new products.
In higher education, I’m not sure if anyone is looking at the marketability of majors beyond their initial launch or for opportunities to expand to similar verticals when a major is successful. Perhaps that needs to change.
How does your institution handle this? Whose responsibility is it?
Photo by Patrick Robert Doyle on Unsplash