In Recruiting New Talent, Accounting Firms Come Up Short

Brent Stidman, a partner with HCJ CPAs

“Of course there’s a real labor shortage in general,” accounting firm partner Brent Stidman says, “but it’s not so widely known that there has been for quite some time a shortage of accountants.”

Stidman, former managing partner of Jones & Co. in Jonesboro, is now a partner in HCJ CPAs after a merger with Hudson Cisne & Co. of Little Rock early this year. (See Arkansas CPAs Find Open Lane for Merging.)

Rocky Goodman, a leader at Garland & Greenwood, another firm produced by a merger this year, said there were a number of good reasons for five firms from around Arkansas to combine. “But I think No. 1 was recruiting new talent.”

Stidman said that, at least in smaller markets, “this industry has had a real shortage of accountants for many, many years.” He said the state’s university accounting programs, including nearby Arkansas State University, “have really stepped to the plate and are producing a high quality of candidates.” But quality isn’t the same as quantity, he said. “For whatever reason, the demand for accountants is greater than ever, and the supply is not necessarily increasing.”

Randy Milligan, co-managing partner at Landmark CPAs, puts at least some of the blame on recent efforts to bulk up CPA training, including new regulations requiring 150 semester hours of collegiate education in order to qualify for a CPA license.

“To sit for the exam now, you have to have 150 hours, and I really think that’s a burden, an extra year the kids have to go to college for, one more year than was required when I came into the profession,” Milligan said.

He does think accounting is overcoming a reputation for being a bit boring.

“You can turn the TV on, and they’re talking about these tax laws that are changing and auditing standards that are being updated. It’s a changing profession and a growing profession, and it’s fun. … I urge bright students to look at accounting. It’s a good job.”