Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Workforce topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board chair says education cost and lost earnings keep students out of accounting
Summary
Robert Todaro, chair of the Board of Accountancy, told the committee recruitment is hampered by students choosing finance for higher immediate earnings and by the time and cost of additional education; he said supervised on-the-job experience narrows differences between degree paths.
Robert Todaro, chair of the Board of Accountancy and a long-time accounting partner, described the profession's recruitment challenges and supported the 3rd pathway in the proposed Accountancy Practice Amendment Act of 2025. Todaro said many college students opt for finance because they can earn as much immediately without an extra year of education; he characterized the combined tuition and opportunity costs as a barrier for lower-income students. "I could not do that. I did not come from means. This has changed my life, and I think we're cutting out a group of probably lower income students," he told the committee.
Todaro described on-the-job training at firms and said that after months of supervised work experience, degree differences are often indistinguishable in practice. He said the board is engaging in outreach to high schools and profession days to attract students to accounting but acknowledged the scale of the recruitment challenge as the profession ages and some members near retirement.
