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The Changing Accounting Landscape

It is no big surprise that the landscape of the finance industry is changing. Studies show that 73 million baby boomers will retire over the next five to seven years - leaving open a huge number of jobs. Companies are left trying to fill those spots despite a talent shortage, which finally gives candidates the upper hand.

But is this new advantage to the detriment of the industry? Recent studies are showing that as competition for skilled accounting and finance professionals rises, retention is becoming an even greater priority. Employers are aware that some of their best people may be leaving in the near future, and they need to find lasting solutions. As the next retirement wave occurs, many wonder whether there will be sufficient talent to fill existing roles. This is great for the new employees, who will be allowed greater control in determining their contracts and may be able to find the work-life balance that their predecessors struggled to achieve.

But what does this mean for the industry? What’s more, Louise Story’s recent New York Times article “Bye Bye B-School,” shows that fewer and fewer college graduates are considering an MBA. Story points out that, “The competition from alternative investment firms—private equity and hedge funds in particular—is driving up salaries of entry-level analysts at much larger banks. And top performers at the banks make so much money today that they don’t want to take two years off for business school, even if it’s a prestigious institution like the Wharton School or Harvard.” Why leave a top-paying job to pay upwards of $50K for another degree? And now, with power shifting in favor of candidates due to the retiring baby-boomers, what incentive will young workers have to earn an MBA?

But that leaves us wondering if, by skipping Business School, the new faces of the finance industry are learning everything “on the fly” or missing out on valuable knowledge.

Posted by David Flax, CPA on December 20, 2007 • Email to a Friend

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