Everybody is worrying about inflation these days, as the rate of price increases reaches a 40-year high. Wall Street is worried too, with stocks declining for the third week in a row. It’s also something that accountants and auditors will need to keep a sharp eye on. I recently talked with Richard Chambers, the former president and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors, about the risks he’s seeing that auditors haven’t needed to worry about for decades.
The trends are worrisome as COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, spurred by the omicron variant. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants posted the results of their latest quarterly poll of accountants’ perceptions around the world of global economic conditions, and the results are sobering.
On the positive side, the pandemic has prompted many workers to reassess their careers and look elsewhere for more fulfilling jobs, better work-life balance and greener pastures. Accountants too are part of the so-called Great Resignation that is making the talent shortage even tougher for employers, but beneficial for employees. There are some silver linings from the Great Resignation, as salaries are rising and audit firms are reexamining their audit procedures to make them work more efficiently. Alan Anderson, Tyler Anderson and Corey Schmidt of Accountability Plus explain how in this piece.
One solution could be to bring more young people from diverse backgrounds into the accounting and auditing profession. The Center for Audit Quality is hoping to increase the number of Black and Hispanic high school and college students with a new initiative. CAQ chief operating officer Liz Barentzen told me about the new Bold Ambition and Accounting+ projects.
And for some laughs, check out the new YouTube sitcom series PBC about a group of sardonic accountants and auditors from the brand new FloQast Studios, which aims to produce more content for accountants. FloQast CEO Mike Whitmire and co-creator Drew Carrick sat down with Accounting Today editor-in-chief Dan Hood to talk about the series for our On the Air podcast and their plans for the future.
That’s it for now. Thanks for subscribing and have a great week!

Global economic confidence among accountants dipped in Q4

By Michael Cohn 3 min read

North American accountants, however, felt more upbeat than most. Read story →

Great Resignation repositions accountants

By Michael Cohn 7 min read

Accountants are seeking out more satisfying places to work where they can realize their career goals or just be able to balance their work and personal lives better. Read story →

CAQ aims to increase pipeline of diverse accounting students

By Michael Cohn 4 min read

The Center for Audit Quality began a new initiative to bring more young people into the accounting profession, particularly from Black and Latino backgrounds. Read story →

Advances in Technology

Creating content for accountants

By Daniel Hood

Mike Whitmire and Drew Carrick take us behind the scenes of creating the first comedy series for accountants, "PBC." Read story →