The accounting profession is losing people faster than it’s replacing them. If you’re considering a career in tax preparation, that fact shapes your opportunity.
The Numbers
Over 300,000 accountants and auditors have left the profession since 2020. An estimated 75% of current CPAs are approaching retirement age. New CPA candidates hit a 17-year low in 2022. Accounting firms of every size report difficulty hiring qualified staff, with 70% calling it their top challenge.
Why It’s Happening
The 150-credit-hour CPA requirement discourages college students who can enter technology, finance, or consulting with fewer credits and higher starting salaries. Working conditions during busy season push experienced professionals to leave. And the profession has an image problem with younger workers who don’t see public accounting as a career they want.
What It Means for You
The shortage creates genuine demand for new entrants to the tax preparation field. When CPA firms can’t hire enough staff, they have two options: turn away clients or raise prices. Both outcomes benefit independent preparers.
Clients who can’t get on a CPA firm’s calendar are looking for alternatives. Small business owners and individuals who are priced out of large firms need someone competent and accessible. If you’re trained, available, and professional, the clients are there.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 5% employment growth for tax preparers through 2034, faster than average. That growth is driven almost entirely by retirement replacement needs. The people currently doing this work are leaving, and the pipeline of replacements isn’t keeping up.
The Window
This is an unusual period. The combination of a structural talent shortage, technology lowering the barrier to entry, and AI making new preparers more productive from day one creates a window of opportunity for career changers and entrepreneurs.
The window doesn’t close overnight. But the preparers who enter the market now, while competition is thin and demand is high, will have a significant head start over those who wait.
MuseSpring exists to help people step into this opportunity with the right training and the right foundation. Visit musespring.com.