CHAIR’S COLUMN

MACPA Foundation celebrates impactful year … but much more work remains

BY HERBERT J. GEARY III, CPA, CGMA / PARTNER, UHY LLP

The world may know us, often unkindly, as “number crunchers.” Even so, CPAs haven’t been able to make the numbers add up in a couple of key areas. The first is diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our profession has long struggled to attract more women and CPAs of color, particularly at its leadership levels. And lately, we’ve struggled to attract any new CPAs at all. The so-called “pipeline” problem has found fewer students studying accounting in recent years and, of those that do, even fewer opting to pursue the CPA designation. Recent signs of progress in both areas, though, offer us rare signs of optimism. They come courtesy of the AICPA’s Trends report, which “provides a snapshot of the profession, set against the current economy and the ability to forecast future trends.” Let’s start with DEI. The number of new accounting graduates with diverse ethnic backgrounds to be hired by U.S. CPA firms stood at 35% in 2020, up from 30% two years earlier. “Meanwhile,” the Journal of Accountancy adds, “the portion of ethnically diverse partners in accounting / finance functions at CPA firms doubled over a two-year period from 9% to 18%. These included gains with partners identifying as Asian / Pacific Islander (from 4% to 10%), Hispanic / Latino (from 2% to 5%), and Black / African American (from 1% to 2%). The number of women who reach the partnership level at CPA firms also jumped significantly, from 23% in 2018 to 39 percent in 2020, and the percentage of women CPAs at firms overall increased from 42% to 46%.

The pipeline numbers aren’t nearly as encouraging. According to the Trends report: Undergraduate enrollment in accounting programs nationwide fell by 6.6% from the fall of 2019 through the fall of 2021. The combined number of graduates with bachelor’s or master’s degrees in accounting dropped by 4% between 2018 and 2020. The number of new CPA exam candidates dropped 17% from 2019 to 2020 due to the pandemic. The number did rebound by 6% between 2020 and 2021, but the number of candidates who passed their fourth section of the exam dropped 11% between 2019 and 2020, then dropped another 5.5% between 2020 and 2021.

The CPA Evolution initiative and the 2024 launch of a redesigned CPA exam should increase interest in the profession and result in more exam takers over the next couple of years, before the changes take effect. Still, it’s clear there’s a ton of work to do in both the DEI and pipeline worlds. That’s where the MACPA Foundation comes in.

Led by a Board of Directors featuring some of Maryland’s most active and dedicated CPA volunteers, the MACPA Foundation is committed to breaking down any and all barriers for those who want to enter our profession. Everything the Foundation does is in pursuit of a stronger, more diverse professional community. Here are just a few of the ways we’re doing that: • Developing young talent and CPA educators: Through programs like our

Student Leadership Academy and

Champion Program, the MACPA gives students and young professionals leadership skills, training, and experience. We also support educators who teach the next generation of CPAs. • Awarding accounting scholarships: Our scholarship program provides financial assistance to accounting students at

Maryland colleges and universities.

Thanks to the work of the MACPA

Foundation, we increased the total number of scholarships awarded from six in 2021 to 27 this year, and the total amount given from $6,000 to $48,000. • Advancing diversity and inclusion:

A diverse profession is a strong profession. That’s why the MACPA

Foundation holds events like the

Women to Watch Awards, provides resources and programming for our members to learn and grow, and seeks insights and perspective to ensure all voices are heard.

• Connecting mentors with mentees: The

MACPA’s membership is composed of some of the best accounting, business, and technological talent in the world.

That vast experience must be passed on to the next generation of CPAs. The

MACPA Mentorship program matches this talent with young professionals to facilitate meaningful connections and create a network of impact. By all accounts, we’re making a significant difference. In just a couple of short years, the MACPA Foundation has:

• Created connections and engagements with 2,240 students, future CPAs, and educators.

• Connected 354 mentees with mentors to help fulfill their career goals. • Trained more than 170 leaders through the MACPA’s Leadership Academy. • Nominated 144 women for Women to

Watch Awards recognition. • Raised more than $12,500 as part of the MACPA’s inaugural Celebrate the

Profession event.

Learn more about the MACPA Foundation’s work by reading its 2022 annual report at bit.ly/MACPAFoundation. For as much as we’ve accomplished, though, there is much more to do — and we need your help to do it. The best way to contribute to the cause is by making a donation to the MACPA Foundation. Donations will go directly toward helping the MACPA Foundation build a stronger CPA profession. Make your donation today by visiting MACPA.org/Foundation. Our profession needs the MACPA Foundation’s crucial work — and your support — more than ever. I hope you’ll join me in working to ensure that our profession remains as vital and important tomorrow as it is today.