Are CPAs currently saturated?

In recent years, as the CPA exam has become more and more popular, many people have some questions while signing up for the exam. Is there such a big gap in the number of CPAs in my country?

There are a lot of discussions on Zhihu about whether the certificate is saturated. Many people want to know whether this certificate is so valuable and whether it will be useful after passing the exam.

Frankly speaking, what the editor wants to tell you is that if you want to achieve promotion and salary increase simply with a certificate, no matter how big the headcount gap is, it will be of no use to you.

If you think this certificate will help improve your abilities and give you some advantages on your career development path, then this industry can give you more opportunities than you think.

The distribution ratio of accounting personnel in our country is seriously imbalanced

In fact, whether the number of CPA certificate holders is saturated depends on how high the market demand for talents is, as well as the actual number of certified personnel in the current market. How many. We use three pictures to explain what the current talent distribution ratio is in the accounting market.

The above picture is the distribution of the number of accounting graduates in 2017. The total number of graduates is nearly 920,000, of which about 10,000 are master’s degree or above, and 250,000 are ordinary undergraduates and adult undergraduates. , 450,000 for general junior colleges and adult junior colleges, and 210,000 for technical secondary schools.

Based on the average of 900,000 graduates every year, in the three years from 2016 to 2018, more than 2.7 million accounting personnel entered the society. However, in 2017, there were only 1.8668 million applicants for junior professional titles, and the pass rate was only about 20%. However, there were 1.159 million applicants for CPA, and the pass rate was less than 5% based on the number of applicants.

At the same time, the number of junior professional titles, intermediate professional titles, and CPA certificate holders in my country is not large.

According to relevant statistics, as of 2017, there were 4.43 million primary professional title holders in my country, more than 1.7 million intermediate professional title holders, and only 230,000 CPAs. However, there are more than 20 million employees in the entire industry. This base number shows that a considerable number of employees in our country do not have satisfactory professional quality.

In addition, among the 230,000 CPA holders, the distribution of academic qualifications also varies, with undergraduates accounting for nearly 50%, followed by junior college students, and relatively few master's students. That is to say, there are not many CPA holders with advanced degrees.

These fully demonstrate that compared with the number of practitioners in our country at this stage, the distribution ratio between basic, intermediate and senior financial people is seriously imbalanced, and the gap among senior financial people is actually very large.

The talent gap for CPAs is getting bigger and bigger

Many people think that CPAs do not actually need so many people, because as long as an accounting firm has 2 people with CPAs, it will be enough. You can open a business and sign all reports with one signature authority. But this idea is bound to do great harm to the development of the industry.

From the perspective of professional accounting firms, there are currently more than 8,000 accounting firms in my country. However, at the same time, the quality of practicing accounting is also quite worrying. CPA is the certified public accountant qualification certificate, so it is important to improve the quality of accounting firms. The overall quality of the practitioners is imperative, but it does not mean that it is completely sufficient to have a signature.

From the perspective of non-practitioners, the gap in this area is actually even greater. In recent years, more and more non-practitioners have registered for CPA. Whether it is professional ability or the reputation of the certificate, the demand for CPA certificate holders by enterprises has been increasing.

Several main employment directions for CPA holders

After passing the CPA exam, it does not mean that it will directly equal high salary and high position. What is important is to obtain a better development path. Having a direction and a foundation is more important than anything else. Therefore, you must first clarify how to choose your employment direction.

The first is accountants and audit firms. Generally, we recommend that candidates choose a firm, because the firm can maximize the value of their CPA certificate, and they can achieve good development whether it is internal promotion or external job change. This is also the reason why many Gordon CPA students prepare for the CPA exam.

The second is the financial department of major companies. As long as there are companies, accountants are needed, and advanced finance is also an urgent need for many large companies.

Generally, after passing the CPA exam, you can choose to work in companies in finance, auditing, strategy, risk, etc. These positions attach great importance to CPA.

There are also financial institutions. In the past two years, industries and positions such as investment banking, consulting, securities firms, banks, PE, VC, etc. have paid more and more attention to CPA. More often, the CPA certificate is not only a bonus, but also a necessary requirement. With the financial industry The development of the industry is becoming more and more standardized, and the requirements for certificates will definitely become more stringent.

So, in the final analysis, taking the CPA exam is your own business. The industry is always changing, and competitors are always changing. If you need it, take it. If you don’t need it, don’t take it. For candidates, even if there is a talent gap, they should not learn knowledge with the purpose of preparing for the exam. Otherwise, transcripts can deceive applicants, but not their abilities.