GSCPA Co-Signs Letter to Congress Urging Support for STEM Accounting Legislation

The Georgia Society of CPAs has asked our Georgia Congressional delegation to support H.R.3541 and S.1705 and co-sponsor these bills in the House and Senate. These legislative measures are aimed at recognizing the accounting profession as a STEM career path. These bills are vital in pipeline issues and promoting diversity in the future accounting workforce. 

GSCPA joined together with other state CPA societies across the country and the AICPA to encourage support for legislation recognizing accounting as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field. The letter, sent to leadership in both chambers of Congress, requests co-sponsorship of bipartisan, bicameral legislation – H.R.3541, the STEM Accounting Pursuit Act and S.1705, the STEM Education in Accounting Act. 

These companion bills would allow accounting programs access to existing STEM K-12 grant funding for accounting awareness and education and would help to strengthen the accounting pipeline. Last spring, GSCPA joined CPA societies and the AICPA on Capitol Hill to discuss this legislation with members of Congress. 

“There is increasing concern surrounding the accounting pipeline and we have continued to advocate for solutions to this challenge,” says GSCPA CEO, Boyd Search. “H.R. 3541 and S. 1705 would help the profession address those challenges and should reinforce the relationship between accounting, math and technology – all of which are STEM fields,” he continued.

GSCPA has supported and joined in previous efforts by the AICPA and other state CPA societies to recognize accounting as a STEM field and will continue to advocate on this important pipeline initiative.  

The letter notes the decline in the number of U.S. students who completed a bachelor’s degree in accounting and the knowledge gap that most high school students have about a career in accounting. It also highlights the need to increase access to high-quality accounting courses for students through grade 12 who are members of underrepresented groups.

You can view the letter here.

Bill Summary

H.R.3541 and S.1705, supported by The Georgia Society of CPAs, are legislative measures aimed at recognizing the accounting profession as a STEM career path.  This bipartisan bill, which has a bipartisan Senate companion (S. 1705), would allow the addition of accounting education to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curricula for K-12 students. Early accounting education should help reinforce the interwoven relationship between accounting, math, and technology while exposing diverse students to potential careers in accounting.

Specifically, this legislation 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.

Issue 

The Georgia Society of CPAs as well as the accounting profession believes that having accounting recognized as a STEM field under Technology is an important step in the right direction. While the profession has always had a heavy emphasis on essential mathematical and statistical competencies, the CPAs and accountants in our state, and others that work in accounting throughout the business world, have had to acquire new technology skills to remain competitive, including the development of software, cloud computing, and other emerging technological and innovation skills. These skills are both integral to the audit function and other accounting services that CPAs provide to American businesses, including IT auditing, artificial intelligence, blockchain, data analytics, forensic and predictive accounting, and cybersecurity.

Because this bill recognizes accounting as a STEM field in K-12 education, it would help younger people considering future career paths understand that accounting, math, and technology are intricately linked – and that a profession that requires a mastery of advanced math and digital technologies will prepare a student to be successful in many different fields. Designating accounting as STEM at the K-12 level should increase diverse student engagement with the accounting profession, which is especially critical when there is a growing shortage of accountants and CPAs in the United States.

These bills are vital in pipeline issues and promoting diversity in the future accounting workforce. They were introduced in the spring and received support during GSCPA and AICPA’s joint Hill visits at AICPA’s Spring Council, resulting in multiple co-sponsors. GSCPA has asked the Georgia Congressional delegation to support and co-sponsor these bills in the House and Senate.

Stay Informed

GSCPA will continue to monitor these bills as well as future legislation and keep the momentum moving in the right direction. With potential changes and challenges ahead, GSCPA will continue to actively participate in the process. We’re working for you!

For more on legislation and representation or to locate your local representatives, visit www.gscpa.org. If you have any questions on this issue, contact Don Cook, vice president, legislative affairs at 404-877-2154 (mobile) or dcook@gscpa.org.