We spend a lot of time talking about the CPA pipeline, and for good reason. Attracting the next generation of CPAs is one of the most important challenges facing our profession.

But the more I think about the pipeline, the more I believe our conversation needs to go beyond simply asking how we get more students to choose accounting. We also need to think about how we create a profession they want to join and, just as importantly, one they want to stay in.

The answer will not come from one organization, one firm, one college, or one initiative. Building the future of the CPA profession will require all of us.

It Starts With Awareness

For many young people, accounting may not be a career they have seriously considered, or they may have an outdated perception of what a career in accounting actually looks like.

Today’s accounting profession offers opportunities that extend far beyond traditional tax and audit. CPAs are business leaders, entrepreneurs, advisors, strategists, technology innovators, educators, and public servants. They work in virtually every industry and in organizations of every size.

We have an opportunity to tell that story.

Sometimes that can be as simple as talking with a student about your career, participating in a classroom visit, mentoring an intern, or sharing what you find rewarding about being a CPA. We may never know which conversation sparks an interest or helps someone see accounting differently, but those individual interactions matter.

Creating More Pathways

We also need to make the path into the profession accessible to more students.

This year, the Nebraska CPA Foundation invested more than $150,000 in scholarships for accounting students across Nebraska. Thanks to the generosity of our members and donors, we have also expanded scholarship opportunities to community college students who plan to continue their accounting education at a four-year institution.

Nebraska has also taken an important step by creating additional pathways to CPA licensure. Providing greater flexibility while maintaining the integrity and high standards of the CPA credential can help more individuals see a realistic path toward becoming a CPA.

But attracting students and helping them enter the profession is only part of the equation.

Giving Them a Reason to Stay

Once talented young professionals enter accounting, we should also consider the experience we are creating for them.

Today’s emerging professionals may have different expectations surrounding career development, technology, flexibility, workplace culture, leadership opportunities, and work-life integration. Our challenge is to consider how the profession can evolve while preserving the trust, integrity, expertise, and commitment to service that have long defined the CPA credential.

Mentorship is an important part of that effort.

Think back to the beginning of your own career. Chances are, someone took the time to answer your questions, introduce you to others, encourage you to pursue an opportunity, or simply provide guidance when you needed it.

Now we have the opportunity to be those people for the next generation.

We All Have a Role

The pipeline challenge can sometimes seem too large for any one person to influence. Strengthening the profession, however, does not always require a major initiative.

Invite a student to lunch. Talk to an accounting class. Give an intern meaningful work. Encourage an employee to pursue the CPA credential. Mentor a young professional. Volunteer with NESCPA. Share your career story. Help someone make a connection.

Small actions, multiplied across our membership, can make a significant difference.

At NESCPA, we will continue working to connect students with the profession, support emerging professionals, provide scholarships and educational opportunities, advocate for the CPA credential, and bring together CPAs at every stage of their careers.

As we look ahead, there are important questions for all of us to consider. What will the accounting profession look like five or ten years from now? What will the next generation expect from their careers? How can we ensure talented students see accounting as a profession full of opportunity? And how can we help young professionals build careers in Nebraska that they find meaningful and rewarding?

We may not have all the answers today, but these are conversations worth having.

The future of the CPA profession is not something we should simply wait to see unfold. Each of us has an opportunity to help shape it — one student, one emerging professional, one mentor, and one opportunity at a time.

At the Nebraska Society of CPAs, we are committed to doing our part to strengthen the profession today while preparing it for tomorrow.

Every Member. Every Day.