Key Takeaways

  • According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), citing final fall enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse, the total number of accounting students at U.S. colleges and universities increased by 7.3% year-over-year in September 2025. This growth comes amid multifaceted industry efforts to reverse a multi-year decline in accounting graduates.
  • This increase is more than six times the average growth rate across all majors (1.2%), marking the third consecutive year of rising accounting enrollment, though growth rates have varied by year: a surge of 11.3% in fall 2024 compared to just 1.9% in 2023.
  • "Three consecutive years of growth is exciting for the entire profession," said Susan Coffey, CEO of the AICPA's Public Accounting segment, in a press release. "This fall's enrollment gains relative to other competitive disciplines show that students see the purpose, trust, value, and financial security that an accounting career offers—they are making a choice."

Deeper Dive

The accounting profession and legislatures have been working to address the accounting talent shortage by adjusting licensure requirements, allowing CPA candidates to sit for the certification exam after earning a bachelor's degree, without needing to complete 150 college credit hours. To date, 25 states have modified relevant laws or accounting rules to allow additional work experience to substitute for a fifth year of higher education.

However, other factors are simultaneously shaping the supply and demand landscape of the accounting workforce. The adoption of artificial intelligence and automation is reducing demand for certain roles that previously relied on manual processes, while salaries in accounting have historically been relatively lower than those in other business majors.

Daniel Tinkelman, an accounting professor at Brooklyn College in New York, believes that changes to licensure rules are one of several factors driving the rise in accounting enrollment. "The move by many states to the 120-credit rule has certainly helped," Tinkelman said in an email. "It makes an accounting degree more affordable, and 'affordable' is a key word these days."

Additionally, he noted that the profession may be attracting students who originally intended to pursue computer science degrees—students who now worry that AI could diminish their prospects for programming jobs after graduation. "I have the impression that AI is affecting the demand for programmers," Tinkelman said. "And the accounting profession has been highly computerized for a long time now."

Data also shows that the proportion of undergraduates choosing accounting compared to other business majors has risen slightly: in fall 2025, approximately one in eight business students majored in accounting, compared to about one in nine in 2023.

Meanwhile, it remains unclear to what extent the rise in enrollment will translate into more graduates and certified public accountants. According to a biennial report released by the AICPA last year, the number of graduates earning bachelor's or master's degrees in accounting in the U.S. continues to shrink, declining 6.6% in the 2023-2024 academic year compared to the previous year.