Talent pipeline is the issue of our day
Chair's Message
Bob Cedergren, CPA | April/May 2023 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated March 29, 2023
These are exciting times to be a CPA! There is a lot of change taking place in our profession and we are positioning ourselves to be stronger as a result of the adjustments. Concurrently, there are changes coming to the CPA exam in 2024, as you have seen detailed here in Footnote, and there are efforts to attract more students to the profession and, specifically, to become CPAs.
You may think that I just stated the obvious and maybe I have; but our profession has been experiencing change since Herbert Temple served as the first MNCPA board chair in 1904. As I have thought about the role I am stepping into, I have found myself thinking about the 97 women and men who served before me. What challenges was the profession facing during their service? What was the focus of the MNCPA during their tenure? These leaders navigated a variety of topics, including the Great Depression, two world wars, the Industrial Revolution and the proliferation of technology and its impact on how we serve clients and businesses.
Now we must face our biggest challenge head-on: The diminishing talent pipeline. In the past several years, the number of students graduating with accounting degrees has declined, and there are growing numbers of students graduating with accounting degrees who do not sit for the CPA exam. This is having a significant impact on our ability to serve our clients, run our businesses and meet the needs the public has for qualified CPAs. Solutions exist for this problem, and the MNCPA board and staff are committed to working with the AICPA and NASBA to identify viable options that do not jeopardize CPAs licensed in Minnesota.
While there is significant work ahead of us, the MNCPA will continue to move boldly forward. I ask for your support of the MNCPA initiative to broaden the path for licensure in Minnesota. Your feedback is always welcome, so feel free to reach out to me or any other board member or MNCPA staff member.
I am honored to serve as the MNCPA board chair for the next year and I am also thankful for those who served in this role before me, including Charles Esler for his leadership this past year, and two past board chairs from my firm, Dean Ager and Danielle Buchberger. I look forward to serving you, the members of the MNCPA.
Sincerely,
Bob Cedergren, CPA
Chair, MNCPA board of directors
boardchair@mncpa.org
