‘Together, we’re ’
stronger
Community, inclusion top the agenda for 2021-22 MACPA Board Chair Lexy Kessler B Y B I L L S H E R IDA N , CA E There’s no shortage of issues awaiting Lexy Kessler’s attention as she begins her term as chair of the Maryland Association of CPAs’ Board of Directors. There is, of course, the ever-present pandemic and all of the changes it has brought to the profession. Beyond that, though, lie a host of challenges that are impacting CPAs in Maryland and beyond. • The pipeline: The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy reports that the number of CPA exam sections taken has dropped from 310,000 in 2016 to 248,000 in 2019. In addition, the number of new CPA candidates fell from 48,000 in 2016 to fewer than 37,000 in 2018. And the number of candidates who passed their fourth section of the CPA exam dropped from about 28,000 in 2016 to less than 24,000 in 2018. The bottom line: Just one in three accounting graduates now actually becomes a CPA. That doesn’t bode well for the CPA profession, or for the organizations that are looking to hire new CPAs. • Diversity and inclusion: As of 2016, just 1 percent of CPAs employed by public accounting firms were black. And 0.3 percent of partners at those firms were black. This in a country in which roughly 13 percent of the population is black. Moreover, according to McKinsey’s “Women in the Workforce 2020” report: “Women — especially women of color — are more likely to have been laid off or furloughed during the COVID-19 crisis, stalling their careers and jeopardizing their
financial security. … As a result of these dynamics, more than one in four women are contemplating what many would have considered unthinkable just six months ago: downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce completely. This is an emergency for corporate America.” • The future of the MACPA: Longtime Executive Director Tom Hood left the MACPA in February to take a job as the executive vice president of business growth and engagement for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. At the same time, the Association acquired the MACPA’s training affiliate, the Business Learning Institute. The moves present both challenges and opportunities for the association moving forward. With all of that in mind, it’s time to take stock of Kessler’s mindset as the MACPA enters the next phase in its evolution. “The MACPA has been at the forefront of what we call the futureready movement,” Kessler said. “That's what has allowed the organization to get through all of these changes as well as it did. Sooner than other organizations, we’re pivoting and looking at ‘MACPA 3.0’ now. What are the things that we need to be doing going forward? What do our members need? What do our communities need? That’s the future of our profession.” With those issues at the forefront, MACPA Editor Bill Sheridan sat down with Lexy recently to talk about her priorities for the coming year, and how the MACPA can take the next step toward futurereadiness — both for itself and its members. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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