The Attractiveness of the Profession hub is a resource center to guide professional accountancy organizations (PAOs), firms, and young professionals in trends related to the accountancy talent pipeline. The resources featured on this page speak to the opportunities and challenges associated with becoming an accounting professional in today's world. They are intended to improve the value proposition of PAOs, as well as the attractiveness of the profession, while helping address issues that are fundamental to the public interest.
Attracting And Retaining The Next Generation Of Accountants
IFAC has also developed a two-page doucment with guidance help Professional Accountancy Organizations (PAOs) and professional accountancy firms coalesce around key issues facing the global accountancy profession; to facilitate conversation and share learnings; and to encourage and support local action to drive the changes needed to ensure a vibrant future for the profession. It includes guidance on the target ages and audiences for potential accountants, methods for creating pathways to the profession, and more.
We welcome users of IFAC.org to download and use this guidance as they consider new ways to engage with potential professional accountants. The document is available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
To address issues critical to Attractiveness of the Profession, we've broken down the content featured here into the following categories:
- Owning Our Brand & Our Narrative
- Roles & Opportunities for Today's Accountant
- New Pathways to the Profession
- Recruiting & Hiring
- Retention
- Sustainability
- Enabling Power of Technology
Owning Our Brand & Our Narrative
Presenting accountancy as a profession with strong ethics, values, and opportunities to support economies, the environment, and society at large.
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Why International Career Mobility is Key to Attracting the Next Generation of Professional Accountants
July 18, 2025 • Madeleine Knopf -
Case Study: Diversifying Entry into the Accountancy Profession in South Africa
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Meet the Trailblazing Women of the Public Sector Finance World
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How Do You Explain Professional Accounting to a 5-year-old?
March 31, 2023 • Helen Partridge, Annie Brinich -
Women Take the Lead: Get to Know Accounting's Changemakers
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Professional Accountants as Business Leaders and Value Partners
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Flexibility & A Transparent Corporate Culture Will Help Attract Top Talent
February 23, 2018 •Lisa Simpson, Associate Director, Firm Services, AICPA
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How Can SMPs Brand Themselves More Effectively?
March 1, 2016 •Richard Shuback, Brand Steward, Richard Shuback, LLC
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Does the Accounting Profession Suffer from a Branding Issue?
February 4, 2016 •Richard Shuback, Brand Steward, Richard Shuback, LLC
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2025 Canadian CPA Profession Compensation Study Results
Aug 19, 2025 • CPA Canada -
The decline of the accounting major: A call to action
Aug 18, 2025 • Accounting Today -
Helping accountants to thrive in uncertain times
Aug 8, 2025 • ICAEW -
The Accounting Talent Shortage – The Accounting Technology Lab Podcast – August 2025
Aug 1, 2025 • CPA Practice Advisor -
Supporting Mental Health in the Accounting and Tax Profession
Jul 3, 2025 • CPA Practice Advisor -
What Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z—and How to Fix It | ARC
Jun 26, 2025 • CPA Trendlines -
How Future-Proof Is the Accounting Profession?
Sep 16, 2024 • CPA Trendlines -
Building a Strong Brand Identity for Small- and Medium-Sized Accountancy Practices
May 21, 2024 • European Federation of Accoun… -
Diversifying Global Accounting Talent Actionable Solutions for Progress
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Diversifying Accounting Talent in Europe: A Critical Imperative to Achieve Transformational Outcomes
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Kevin Dancey, IFAC CEO, on Opportunities for the Profession
Roles & Opportunities for Today's Accountant
Looking at what professional accountants do, how they contribute to business and society, and how the role of accountants is transforming.
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From Entrepreneurship to Resilience: The Roles of Accountants in Business in the IPO Journey
June 11, 2025 • Laura Takamizawa -
What Skills do Financial Professionals Need to Transition to Sustainable Economies?
June 22, 2023 • Vita Ramanauskaite, Sharon Machado, Cecile Bonino -
The Five Opportunities That Make Accountancy a Passport to Meaningful Careers in the Private and Public Sectors
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The Transition to a Chief Value Officer – An Opportunity for Finance and Accounting Professionals
May 3, 2023 • Bikash Prasad -
Aligning the Goals of Young Professionals and Professional Accountancy
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How Can Your Firm Harness the Potential of Gen Z in the Workplace?
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Accounting for Value Creation and Encouraging the Rise of the Chief Value Officer
November 7, 2019 • Kevin Dancey, Charles Tilley -
Enabling the Accountant's Role in Effective Enterprise Risk Management
January 7, 2019 -
Building Profitable Advisory Services: Specialize Your Young Talent
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The CFO and Finance Function Role in Value Creation
June 25, 2020 -
Mobilidade internacional é arma para conquistar novos contabilistas
Aug 8, 2025 • Contas -
Age of upheaval: the Second World War’s impact on accountants’ roles
Jul 25, 2025 • ICAEW -
ACCA Qualification redesign focuses on evolving accountancy role
Jun 26, 2025 • The Accountant Online -
The role of the accountancy professionals in detecting and preventing fraud, in a digital landscape: a systematic literature review
May 26, 2025 • Digital Finance -
What careers can you pursue with an accounting degree?
Apr 21, 2025 • Intuit -
Tim Houston: ‘My CPA background allowed me to hit the ground running’
Sep 5, 2023 • CPA Canada -
Chief Value Officer - the important evolution of the CFO
Jun 20, 2023 • ACCA -
The CPA’s role in fighting corruption and money laundering
Aug 15, 2022 • CPA Canada -
Accounting+ highlights the vast opportunities for accountants
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What Skills Will You Need in the Future?
New Pathways to the Profession
How training & apprenticeship programs around the world serve young professionals entering professional accounting and related fields.
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Why International Career Mobility is Key to Attracting the Next Generation of Professional Accountants
July 18, 2025 • Madeleine Knopf -
ISCA’s Expanded Pathways Provide New Avenues to Widen Membership
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Apprenticeship Pathways: An Opportunity to Widen Access into the Accountancy Profession
May 5, 2023 • Stathis Gould -
Accounting Technicians: A Key Component of the Accountancy Ecosystem
February 23, 2023 -
Building an Accounting Technicians Scheme in West Africa: ICAN's Experience
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The Untapped Potential of Accounting Technicians
March 21, 2022 • Brian Blood -
More than “Just” an Exam: The Positive Impact of Accounting Technicians in Sri Lanka
June 21, 2019 •Jazri Magdon Ismail, President, AAT Sri Lanka, and Sarah Gagnon, Technical Manager, IFAC
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Accounting technicians can help boost the PH economy: UK-based organization
Jan 17, 2025 • Mindanao Times -
We need more forensic, cyber accountants – Vice Chancellor, GTUC
Nov 18, 2024 • Ghanian Times -
AICPA targets talent crunch with over 200 apprentices
Jan 2, 2024 • CFO Dive -
10 steps to success in an internship or graduate role
Aug 31, 2023 • CPA Australia -
This Way to CPA: AICPA-CIMA Student Resource Center
Aug 3, 2023 • AICPA-CIMA -
Accounting Technicians: Exploring Opportunities for the Profession (2018)
Recruiting & Hiring
Trends and strategies for attracting, hiring, and onboarding young professionals from IFAC and accountancy organizations around the globe.
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Staffing Strategies for SMPs
December 10, 2024 -
Diversity and Inclusion are Key Factors for Attracting and Retaining Talent in Independent Audit
March 25, 2024 •Ibracon´s Diversity and Inclusion Committee – Institute of Independent Audit of Brazil
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Five Possible Incentives for Attracting Accounting Talent
July 26, 2023 • Helen Partridge, Annie Brinich, Bruce Vivian -
Together for the Future of the Auditing Profession – Talent and Attraction Challenges in the Danish Auditing Profession
May 30, 2023 • Ulrich Haase Nielsen -
Are We Looking Beyond Hiring to Solve the Staffing Crisis?
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Collaborating to Attract New Talent to the Profession: Working with Accountancy Education Directors in MENA
November 28, 2022 • Helen Partridge, Dana Jensen, Efi M. Marcou -
Accountancy Careers and Roles – A View from the Market
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PwC is training junior accountants to be like managers, because AI is going to be doing the entry-level work
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4 tips for accountants seeking board appointments
Jun 2, 2025 • In The Black -
Boost your career by ‘thinking like a recruiter’
May 24, 2024 • CPA Australia -
5 tips to recruit the best accounting and finance professionals
Apr 11, 2024 • CPA Australia -
Diversifying Global Accounting Talent Actionable Solutions for Progress
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Increasing Diversity in the Accounting Profession Pipeline
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Recruit, retain, repeat: Top tips for talent
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Recruiting and retaining talent in a volatile market
Apr 1, 2023 • ICAEW -
Cost-effective solutions for attracting and retaining talent
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11 Tips for Hiring Remotely
Nov 12, 2020 • CPA Practice Advisor -
MBA Careers: Accountancy Careers Go High-Tech as Auditors Expand Recruiting
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Staffing Issues Are CPA Firms’ Top Concern
Retention
Insights on retaining existing professional accounting talent and tips for how to improve retention rates.
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Diversity and Inclusion are Key Factors for Attracting and Retaining Talent in Independent Audit
March 25, 2024 •Ibracon´s Diversity and Inclusion Committee – Institute of Independent Audit of Brazil
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Global Experts on PFM Reform: Increase the Value Proposition to Attract and Retain Public Sector Talent
July 27, 2023 • Alex Metcalfe, Laura Takamizawa, Cecile Bonino -
Attracting and Retaining New Talent: The Case for SMPs
November 30, 2015 • Mats Olsson -
Managing Employee Burnout: A Leadership Imperative for CPA Firms
Aug 8, 2025 • CPA Practice Advisor -
New PICPA Insights Report Highlights the Importance of Benefits and Flexible Work Policies for Accounting Firm Leadership
Feb 27, 2025 • Morning Star -
7 Sure-Fire Ways Accounting Firms Can Attract and Retain Talent
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Recruit, retain, repeat: Top tips for talent
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Recruiting and retaining talent in a volatile market
Apr 1, 2023 • ICAEW -
Cost-effective solutions for attracting and retaining talent
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How to retain talent in audit
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Top firms dig deeper to retain employees
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Burnout’s Telltale Signs and How Leaders Can Better Understand Them
May 20, 2022 • Association of International Certified Professional Accountants–AICPA
Sustainability: Our Big Opportunity & Responsibility
Learn how sustainability is changing the accounting profession and all the ways accountants are embracing sustainability practices in their work.
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Can You See Yourself Series: A “Day in the Life” of a Sustainability Reporting Senior Manager
March 6, 2023 • Anne-Marie Vitale -
Championing an Integrated Mindset: Driving Sustainability and Value Creation
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The Role of Accountants in Mainstreaming Sustainability in Business
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Doing Different Things: Approaching Sustainability with Confidence, and Your Existing Skillset
July 29, 2021 • Helen Partridge -
Sustainability Information for Small Businesses: The Opportunity for Practitioners
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Accountancy at the nexus of sustainability, Gen AI and ethics
Jun 23, 2025 • Manila Standard -
How Future-Proof Is the Accounting Profession?
Sep 16, 2024 • CPA Trendlines -
The Chartered Accountant’s Sustainability Roadmap
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Episode 2: Using sustainability as an opportunity to future-proof your accounting career
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Research Report: Sustainability – Jobs and Skills for the Accountancy Profession
Aug 30, 2022 • ISCA
Enabling Power of Technology
How emerging technology is being leveraged and its potential to reshape the accounting profession.
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IFAC Webinar: A Future Model to Advance International Accountancy Education
January 10, 2019 •IFAC
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Exploring Artificial Intelligence & the Accountancy Profession: Opportunity, Threat, Both, Neither?
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Accounting Tech Isn’t Just a Tool—In the World of Private Equity, It’s a Valuation Multiplier
Aug 19, 2025 • CPA Practice Advisor -
Jean Bouquot: AI is, above all, an opportunity for us to add more value and increase our relevance
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PwC is training junior accountants to be like managers, because AI is going to be doing the entry-level work
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The Accounting Talent Shortage – The Accounting Technology Lab Podcast – August 2025
Aug 1, 2025 • CPA Practice Advisor -
Two in five people would consider a career change in Accountancy due to AI
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Building skills for the future
Jul 14, 2025 • ACCA -
Accountancy at the nexus of sustainability, Gen AI and ethics
Jun 23, 2025 • Manila Standard -
The State of Generative AI in the Enterprise
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Future-proofing a career through AI fluency
Jun 22, 2023 • CPA Australia -
The Impact of Technology on the Desired Skills of Early Career Accountants
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ICAI Digital Learning Hub
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Will Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Accounting Replace the Accountants of Tomorrow?
Attracting Talent to the Public Sector
Examining the importance of professional accountants to the public sector.
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Global Experts on PFM Reform: Increase the Value Proposition to Attract and Retain Public Sector Talent
July 27, 2023 • Alex Metcalfe, Laura Takamizawa, Cecile Bonino -
Meet the Trailblazing Women of the Public Sector Finance World
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The Rise of Female Accountants in the Public Sector: Saudi Arabia Case
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Public Finance Professionals and the Fight to Reduce Inequality: Where Policy and Delivery Meet
February 8, 2022 -
Accelerating Public Sector Learning in Africa: A Leap Forward for the African Professionalisation Initiative
- Attractiveness of the Profession
- Professional Accountancy Organization (PAO) Development
- Public Sector
January 6, 2020 •Bruce Vivian, Senior Technical Manager – Professionalization, AFROSAI-E and Marta Russell, Technical Manager, IFAC
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Broadening the Accountancy Profession’s Reach in the Public Sector
July 19, 2023 -
A Global Guide for Professionalisation in Public Sector Finance
November 17, 2022 -
Enabling an Effective Public Sector Finance Workforce
May 31, 2022 -
African Professionalization Initiative: Partnering to Professionalize Accounting and Auditing in the Public Sector
Jul 4, 2020 • African Professionalization I…