Accounting STEM Pursuit Act (H.R. 3541) and the STEM Education in Accounting Act (S. 1705)
Quick Read: Bipartisan, bicameral legislation (H.R. 3541 / S. 1705) to allow the addition of accounting education to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curricula for K-12 students would help reinforce the interwoven relationship between accounting and technology while exposing more students to potential careers in accounting, growing the profession’s pipeline.
Issue: Technology has re-shaped the day-to-day responsibilities of accountants so much so that professionals are not just learning and leveraging cutting-edge technology, but developing and innovating technology to help clients make informed decision and improve services. But ask a typical high school student what accountants do, and it is clear there is a gap between perception and reality. Most younger people are not aware that digital tools are automating and improving many old accounting tasks, opening up avenues for more creative work such as data analysis, advising on business decisions, and hunting down fraud. That perception problem is contributing to a decline of accounting graduates. We need to help younger people considering career paths understand that accounting and technology are intricately linked – and that a profession that requires a mastery of digital technologies will set you up to be successful in many different fields. Designating accounting as STEM at the K-12 level should increase student engagement with the accounting profession and signal to the public markets that the accounting profession is qualified to assess the technological world businesses are in today.
Bill Summary: H.R. 3541 / S. 1705 would help bolster the argument that accounting is a STEM field by allowing STEM K-12 grant funding to be used for accounting awareness and education. The bill adds “activities to promote the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach accounting” to the list of allowable uses of grant funding under the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program (Title IV, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) with a focus on increasing access to high-quality accounting courses for students through grade 12 who are members of groups underrepresented in accounting careers. While this legislation does not immediately translate into accounting being recognized as a STEM field at the collegiate level, its passage would strongly reinforce the message that it should be.
AICPA Staff Contact
Todd Sloves, Director, Congressional & Political Affairs, Todd.Sloves@aicpa-cima.com