Mark McDonald is President of CoStar Real Estate Manager, a wholly owned subsidiary of CoStar Group.
The numbers are in, and they are a little alarming. According to the National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG), the number of new accounting degree completions dropped 17% between 2017 and 2022.
Which raises the question: what’s next for accounting?
This is not just about a shrinking talent pool. It is a wake-up call. The profession cannot rely on old methods to attract, educate and retain accountants. NPAG is not just reporting a problem. They are offering a blueprint for change.
What’s At Stake For Business Leaders
For CEOs, CFOs and COOs, the accounting talent shortage is not an academic issue. It directly impacts business performance and growth. Without enough skilled professionals:
• Financial close cycles slow down, delaying reporting and leaving leadership without the timely insights needed for strategic decisions.
• Risk management lapses increase, from misclassified leases to overlooked obligations, raising the chance of costly errors.
• Compliance gaps emerge, which can lead to regulatory fines, failed audits or restatements that damage credibility with investors and regulators.
• M&A and growth initiatives stall, as finance teams struggle to keep up with integration work while maintaining day-to-day operations.
In short, a shrinking accounting pipeline creates vulnerabilities at the heart of the business. Investors expect accuracy, regulators expect compliance and boards expect leadership teams to have a clear view of performance and risk. Companies that do not address this shortage put their resilience and growth ambitions at risk.
Executives cannot view the NPAG recommendations as a problem for educators to solve alone. Talent pipeline growth must be matched with strong retention strategies and modern workplace cultures. Without this balance, businesses may face not only talent shortages but also turnover that undermines the stability of their finance organizations.
2026: About Change
The NPAG recommendations are not incremental. They are ambitious.
They seek to cut time and cost for education to make accounting accessible to more people. They want to expand opportunities for underrepresented groups to build a workforce that reflects the world around us. And they strive to reach students early, even in grade school, to spark curiosity in accounting careers
This is not just about filling seats in classrooms. It is about rebranding the profession and showing future accountants that this is a field where you can make a real impact, solve complex problems and grow a career that matters.
But education alone will not solve the problem. To make these reforms stick, leaders must also focus on workplace culture. Supporting flexibility, creating opportunities for growth and equipping teams with modern tools are just as important as attracting new entrants to the field. The future of accounting will be shaped by the balance between these two efforts.
Lease Accounting, Poised To Benefit
For specialized areas like lease accounting, these reforms cannot come fast enough. ASC 842 already transformed the role, opening the door for accountants to step beyond compliance and deliver strategic business insights.
But attracting talent is only half the battle. NPAG identifies key metrics for success: more students choosing accounting as a major and higher retention rates within firms and finance teams.
The message is clear. Retention matters as much as recruitment. A profession that burns out its existing talent will not thrive, no matter how many new graduates it brings in.
Solutions That Turn Work Into Impact
Here is the tough truth. Accountants spend too much time on repetitive manual tasks. That subtracts time from the work that truly matters, analysis, strategy and decision-making.
The solution? Invest in technology. Automation and advanced analytics do not replace accountants. They empower them. With the right tools, teams can focus on financial insights that drive business decisions, risk management that actually mitigates risk and sustainability and ESG reporting that shapes the company’s future.
And speaking of ESG, lease accountants are in a unique position to take on emerging challenges like carbon accounting. The data is already there, collected through leases, managed efficiently and ready to be leveraged.
The Path Forward
Accounting is at a crossroads. Declining degree completions signal an urgent need for new talent, but the real opportunity lies in building an environment where all accountants can thrive.
NPAG’s reforms, paired with leadership that invests in culture and technology, point the way forward. For lease accountants, this is not just compliance. It is strategic impact across financial performance, risk management and ESG initiatives.
The future of accounting is here. It is about breaking barriers, embracing innovation and proving that accounting can be smart, dynamic and indispensable.
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