The CPA pipeline is shrinking and career goals have changed. This is happening as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a strategic differentiator and not just an efficiency tool. Forbes examined how these trends are reinventing companies' staffing methods, skill development and leadership priorities and what it will take for CPAs to remain competitive in this evolving environment.

The pipeline has been shrinking for years as less and less accounting majors sit for the CPA exam, and the industry is experiencing a significant Baby Boomer exit without a sufficient number of young professionals to take their place. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants estimated that roughly 75 percent of all licensed CPAs reached retirement age by 2019, according to Forbes.

This is not just a numbers problem but also a structural one. The traditional accounting career path—comprising four or five years of school, a 150-hour licensure requirement and demanding hours in a strict work environment—is not congruent with what the next generation of accountants desires. Recent initiatives such as Ohio’s expansion of licensure alternatives highlight how much states are attempting to make accounting more readily accessible to new talent.

Together with the burnout seen in public accounting, and the message from younger recruits becomes clearer: It’s not that they do not want to be accountants—it’s that they refuse to work in accounting as it is currently.

Firms are feeling the effect. Based on Wolters Kluwer’s Future-Ready Accountant report, 45 percent of firms said talent shortage is one of the major problems in accounting. Additionally, Thomson Reuters research showed that 32 percent of firms placed hiring and developing talent as their top priority last year, with recruitment becoming  the most critical  need, specifically for midsize firms.

Forbes stated that the workforce needed just five years ago is not the same as the one that will be necessary five years from today. Instead of limiting new recruits to CPA-track accounting majors, leaders should be asking: What other disciplines can thrive in this environment given the proper tools and training?

Firms are already starting to bring in candidates from finance, economics, computer science as well as data analytics—and it’s working. These professionals are assisting firms examine trends, create dashboards, enhance forecasting and get through a business environment that’s moving very quickly.

However, the efforts to hire new talent should not overshadow retraining the professionals who are already in place. Technical accounting skills remain foundational, but they are not the finish line. Workers must now learn how to work with AI and how to critically assess the outputs of machine learning models. They should also educate themselves on how to extract insights that clients need. This is why upskilling has become a key strategy for companies that desire to remain competitive. According to the 2024 CAS Benchmark Survey, 63 percent of firms are now investing in developing advisory skills throughout heir existing teams, which is a clear signal that they are setting themselves up for a future where success would rely more on strategic thinking and client partnership.

While the profession is struggling with a diminishing talent pool, AI is making serious strides in automating routine accounting work such as transaction processing, categorization, reconciliations and first draft of reporting, Forbes said.

This shift changes the game for how work gets done and who does it. AI isn’t replacing accountants—it’s replacing the parts of accounting that most people didn’t enjoy doing in the first place. And that opens up two major opportunities:

• Firms can operate with leaner teams without sacrificing quality or turnaround time.

• Professionals can focus more on advisory, strategic insights and relationship-building.

This evolution is already reshaping firm service models. Advisory and consulting offerings are expanding quickly with adoption rising from 47 percent to 84 percent in a year, which is a 37 percent increase. Client demand is rising and so is the strategic value of accountants who have the capacity to go beyond the numbers.

By taking professionals away from repetitive, high-volume work, AI gives people more room to think, connect and advise. It allows accountants to do less work crunching numbers or hunting down anomalies while giving them the time to make sense of them. Instead of being merely task executors, accountants can become true financial translators, which means bringing clarity to complicated decisions while  helping clients navigate uncertainty with confidence, Forbes said.

Finally, one of the arguably most significant effects of AI and automation is the possibility to better the lived experience of accounting professionals. Automating time-consuming and low-reward tasks can prevent burnout while allowing professionals to spend more time doing work that feels meaningful. It can also assist firms in distributing work more intelligently, anticipate capacity issues earlier and address the problem prior to talent burning out and leaving, according to Forbes.