Emerging Professionals

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  • 1.  Are Accountants Really Leaving the Profession... or Just Taking a Different Path?

    Posted 21 days ago
    Edited by Bee Nance 21 days ago

    We've all heard the conversation about accountants leaving the profession. And the numbers are hard to ignore. The U.S. accounting workforce has declined by more than 300,000 professionals (about 17%) since 2020.

    But I can't help wondering...

    How many accountants are actually leaving the profession? And how many are simply redefining what an accounting career looks like?

    I'm currently making a career shift myself, moving from nonprofit accounting to entrepreneurship as a fractional CFO for nonprofits. I'm not leaving accounting. I'm finding a new way to use my skills and serve organizations.

    I see similar shifts happening across our profession every day:
    ➡️ Public to Industry
    ➡️ Public to Nonprofit or Government
    ➡️ Employee to Entrepreneur
    ➡️ Controller to Consultant or Fractional CFO

    These aren't career exits. They're career evolutions.

    So I'm curious, especially for emerging professionals:

    If you've made a career shift, what prompted it? Or, if you're thinking about your next move, what path are you considering?

    I'd love to hear your story and where you think the future of accounting careers is headed.



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    Bee Nance
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  • 2.  RE: Are Accountants Really Leaving the Profession... or Just Taking a Different Path?

    Posted 16 days ago

    @Bee Nance congrats on making the career shift and welcome to entrepreneurship! Your story is a great example of why I don't think every accountant changing paths is leaving the profession. In many cases, they're redefining how they use their skills.

    I think we'll see even more of that as AI reshapes businesses across every industry. Accountants are well positioned to help lead that transformation because we already understand financial data, controls, business processes, risk, and judgment. Our role won't just be to help accounting firms adapt, but also to help clients rethink how their businesses operate in an AI-driven world.

    The future accounting career will probably look very different from the one many of us trained for. Education, career paths, and the day-to-day role of the accountant will all evolve, and some of the most valuable roles may not even be obvious yet. Looking back, I think we may see this less as people leaving accounting and more as the profession expanding into something much bigger.



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    Argel Sabillo CPA
    Red Bluff CA
    [Email]
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  • 3.  RE: Are Accountants Really Leaving the Profession... or Just Taking a Different Path?

    Posted 10 days ago

    I agree!  From a small business owner's perspective, I think it'll be especially interesting to navigate. Smaller firms may not have the same resources as larger organizations, but we do have the advantage of being agile. We can experiment, adapt our processes, and make decisions quickly as AI continues to evolve.

    There's a lot we don't know yet, but that's also what makes this such an interesting time to be in accounting.



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    Dez Magelssen
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    Original Message