Villanova business students show off their new gear after declaring accounting as their major — part of the school’s effort to make the field more attractive and accessible to a new generation of business leaders.
If the accounting major had a Hinge profile, it’d likely get more ghosts than likes from Gen Z business students. Compared to consulting’s sky-high starting salaries, or finance’s sleek pop culture image, accounting’s reputation as repetitive and boring just doesn’t seem as sexy.
“You see movies about finance, you see movies about Wall Street, you see movies about trading,” says Mike Peters, chair of the Department of Accounting & Information Systems at Villanova School of Business. “You don’t see movies about accounting. And when you do, it’s usually not portrayed in a positive light.”
But there are good reasons prospective business students should give accounting a second look. After years of lagging behind, accounting salaries are on the rise. States are loosening licensure requirements to make the CPA credential more accessible. And new technologies like artificial intelligence are reshaping what accounting work actually looks like.
Plus, with 75% of today’s CPAs expected to retire within the next 10 to 12 years, students who pursue an accounting career now will be stepping into a profession where both demand and opportunity are baked in. Villanova School of Business (VSB) is proactively addressing this challenge by implementing strategies to make the accounting profession more appealing to today’s students.
“There’s a shortage out there right now, and that shortage follows you the rest of your life,” Peters says. “When you’re 40 years old, 20 years into your career, and you’re going for a plum management job that requires accounting skills, there won’t be many people who graduated with you who have that background. So there’s less competition, and it follows you the rest of your life.”
Mike Peters, chair of the Department of Accounting & Information Systems at Villanova School of Business, poses with accounting majors during a student event promoting career pathways in accounting.
ACCOUNTING’S TURNING TIDES
For decades, accounting was considered a safe starting point to launch a business career. A strong accounting foundation opened doors not just to stable jobs, but also to leadership roles in finance, consulting, and corporate management. It was seen as a reliable path to bigger opportunities.
But over time, the field lost some of its shine.
Salaries, once a selling point, began to lag behind flashier business fields like consulting, tech, and investment banking. At the same time, the academic and professional hurdles to becoming a CPA are steeper than other majors. Accounting students are required to complete 150 credit hours — often meaning a fifth year of school — just to sit for the CPA exam. And unlike other business disciplines, accounting is not a field where schools can simply feed in students from other majors.
COVID-19 accelerated the crisis.
“There was a shortage before COVID, but you could keep your head above water,” Peters says. “Then COVID hit, and a lot of people left the profession or retired early. And fewer students were coming in.”
Today, from small businesses to the Big Four accounting firms, employers are struggling to find qualified accounting talent. But the market is responding.
Salaries are once again on the rise. A few years ago, a new accountant in Philadelphia might get $60,000 to start, Peters says. “Now it’s in the mid $80s. In New York, it starts at the mid $90s.”
Meanwhile, more states are adopting new licensure rules to ease the bottleneck. The AICPA — the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants — is the national professional organization that sets ethical standards and promotes best practices for the accounting industry. For years, it has pushed to modernize the CPA licensure process and address barriers to entry. But while the AICPA discussed broader reforms, individual states moved faster, passing legislation to allow CPA eligibility after 120 credit hours plus two years of professional experience.
“It’s happening right now,” Peters says. “The AICPA was talking about it, but states said, ‘We’re not waiting.’ Ohio passed it first, then seven or eight others. More are on the way.”
Villanova accounting students attend a packed event exploring the strategic role of taxation in firm value, part of the school’s broader effort to showcase the dynamic and evolving opportunities in accounting.
A NEW LOOK AT ACCOUNTING
While pay and policy changes help, Villanova sees a bigger opportunity: reimagining what students think an accounting career can be. A business school can’t control salaries or licensure rules, but it can try to influence how students see the profession, Peters says.
“Perception is one that’s the hardest to overcome. I think that accounting is perceived as repetitive, mundane, not exciting. And I think that’s the biggest challenge.”
To counter this, Villanova now runs a speaker series that brings in alumni working in forensic accounting, private equity, sustainability, M&A, and other dynamic fields to show students what’s possible.
“These people are doing sexy things. It opens students’ eyes,” Peters says.
Villanova has also revamped its accounting curriculum to keep pace with technology’s impact on the profession. One new graduate-level course, “Digital Issues in Accounting,” will soon be adapted for undergrads.
“We just hired someone who’s deep in both accounting and artificial intelligence,” Peters says. “We’re building out content, not just standalone classes but integrated across our courses.”
Rather than silo AI and data skills, Villanova weaves them into core courses. It’s the same model the school successfully used during the data analytics boom.
AI is already transforming the field by automating tedious tasks, analyzing complex regulatory documents, and empowering accountants to make high-level strategic decisions. Villanova’s specialized courses and programs in AI and machine learning aim to equip students with the skills needed to navigate a rapidly changing industry.
“We’re preparing students to come out at a higher level,” Peters says.
“They’re not going to be doing the repetitive work. That’s already offshored or automated. They need to be problem solvers, critical thinkers.”
Charles Waring of EisnerAmper and Doug Rheiner of KPMG spoke at Villanova’s ESG and Accounting panel, part of the school’s efforts to showcase the evolving career opportunities in accounting, including sustainability reporting.
THE PIPELINE ADVANTAGE
If Villanova’s strategy is paying off, it shows most clearly in its placement stats.
“Our pipeline is fantastic,” Peters says. “Placement (for accounting majors) is 100% by graduation. Last year, when one student didn’t have a job, we connected him with a firm and they asked him, ‘What do you want to do? We’ll give it to you.’”
Most students have job offers by December of their senior year. Many are recruited even earlier, sometimes as sophomores.
“They’re the envy of the building,” says Dean Wen Mao. “They get offers really early. Sometimes too early.”
The Big Four dominate the recruiting cycle, but Peters and Mao stress that accounting careers stretch far beyond traditional public accounting firms. Their mission is to prepare students not just technically, but intellectually.
“We want them to have an investigative mindset,” Peters says. “To think critically, be professionally skeptical, and understand business in a holistic way. That’s what employers want — and that’s how you stand out.”
Early efforts seem to be working in recruitment as well: Peters estimates Villanova has grown from 90 to 95 accounting majors annually to around 110 or 115 in recent years, and that was before the latest licensure changes began to roll out.
BUILT FOR GEN Z
Villanova’s approach also taps into what Gen Z students want: meaningful work, tech integration, and stability.
“Gen Z likes financial stability,” Peters says. “And accounting offers that. It also exposes them to emerging technologies and gives them a strong understanding of how businesses work.”
Students today are also driven by purpose. Villanova sees strong interest in areas like sustainability reporting, a growing field where accountants will play a key role.
By emphasizing diverse career opportunities, technology-forward skills, and flexibility, Villanova aims to meet students where they are, and, hopefully, entice more Gen Zers to click “like” on accounting.
“It’s a great time to get into the field,” Peters says. “The shortage means opportunity. The tech means the work is changing. And if you’re well prepared, you can thrive. Not just now, but 20 years from now.”
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