Research, polling, and engagement with more than 1,000 AICPA members and stakeholders on the skills aspiring CPAs need to succeed point to a clear conclusion: workforce readiness is shifting and multidimensional. Technical accounting knowledge remains essential, but early-career CPAs also need the ability to connect that knowledge to business context, communicate clearly, use technology with judgment and adapt as expectations change, among other things.
The accounting profession is changing quickly, and the early-career learning path has to change with it. Automation, AI and changing business models are reshaping many of the tasks that once helped new professionals build experience and judgment. Entry-level roles are evolving. That is the focus of the AICPA’s Profession Ready Initiative: a research-driven effort to identify the skills early-career CPAs need now and in the years ahead, then translate those insights into practical resources for employers, educators and emerging professionals.
What the research is showing
Since launching in February, the Profession Ready Initiative has engaged with stakeholders through discussion groups and surveys. The team also reviewed academic and other research, competency frameworks, job postings, data from the Department of Labor’s occupational database O*NET, and curricula to build a broad view of current and future needs. Employers and practitioners consistently highlighted several competencies as critical for early-career success:
Applying accounting fundamentals: Translating classroom concepts into real-world work, including transaction flows, journal entries, and the “why” behind processes.
Understanding business context: Connecting accounting work to broader operations, industries, and client environments to better interpret results and add value.
Practical research skills: Finding and interpreting authoritative guidance while applying it to real-world scenarios.
Communication: Demonstrating strong verbal communication and producing clear, client-ready emails, documentation, and other written work products.
Critical thinking and professional adaptability: Identifying missing information, questioning results, and working through problems in ambiguous or less structured situations.
Excel and basic technology skills: Using foundational tools and firm applications efficiently and effectively.
Professionalism: Showing attention to detail, accountability, and ownership in delivering high-quality work products.
AI and technology judgment: Using AI and other tools with a “human in the lead” mindset, professional skepticism and appropriate review.
Confidence and initiative: Asking thoughtful questions, showing curiosity, and working through problems independently.
Importantly, these findings are not a critique of new professionals. They are a roadmap for how educators, employers and other stakeholders can better support future-ready CPAs.
“Technical accounting expertise will always be foundational to the CPA profession, but success increasingly depends on the ability to apply that knowledge with sound judgment, effective communication, technological fluency and adaptability,” said Durran Dunn, CPA, chair of the Profession Ready Initiative Advisory Group and a partner with Bennett Thrasher. “This effort is about helping the profession build a shared vision for developing those capabilities in the next generation of CPAs.”
A transparent, inclusive process
With the foundational research complete, the Profession Ready Initiative is now validating the findings to ensure the eventual AICPA Skills and Competency Framework reflects the profession’s current and future needs. That validation is an important part of the process of developing the outcomes collaboratively. In early 2027, the AICPA will issue a draft Skills and Competency Framework for public comment. The draft will translate the research into a practical “north star” for the profession, defining needed early-career CPA skills and the behaviors that demonstrate them. The exposure period will give employers, educators, state societies, regulators, and other stakeholders a meaningful opportunity to review the draft and help shape the final framework.
How to get involved
The Profession Ready Initiative is by and for the profession, and everyone has a role to play. Stakeholders are encouraged to complete this form to express interest in focus groups, upskilling and training resources, or reviewing the exposure draft. In spring 2027, please consider reviewing the draft and sharing feedback. For the latest information, visit aicpa-cima.com/professionready. The Profession Ready Initiative is about more than identifying skill gaps. It is an opportunity for the profession to define what CPA readiness looks like in an era of rapid change. By grounding the framework in research, validating it with stakeholders, and inviting broad public input, the profession is building a shared vision for developing the next generation of CPAs - one that is practical, future-focused, and shaped by those who will use it most.
Carl Mayes, CPA, CAE, is the AICPA’s Vice President of Ethics & Firm Quality.