It’s apparently a good time to keep track of other people’s money.
Demand for accounting programs in some colleges and universities across Rhode Island ballooned this fall, while other institutions say their programs continue to pull in steady numbers.
As a result, recent accounting graduates are entering the market at a rapid rate, creating a strong current that has its origin in the classroom.
At Bryant University, administrators scrambled to accommodate an increase in the demand for both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses this fall.
This school year, bachelor’s degree candidates jumped to 444 as compared with 420 last year, and about 50 more graduate students enrolled this fall, bringing the total to 178.
“This fall we offered six [graduate sections], and all six are full. We’ve never had that,” said professor Saeed Roohani, chairman of Bryant’s accounting department.
Such growth hasn’t been seen for about 15 years, Roohani added.
Colleges say the strong reputation of local accounting programs plays a role, as does the need for accountants in the job market and high salaries.
‘Accounting is a very safe major; jobs are predictable and plentiful.’
Christine E. Earley, Providence College Accountancy Department chair
A surge in enrollment in Rhode Island College’s undergraduate accounting program has made it the most popular of its degree programs. The school has also added a second graduate program in response to demand, said Jeffrey Mello, dean of RIC’s School of Business.
Providence College routinely graduates about 65 to 80 accounting students annually. While those numbers represent significant growth since before the Great Recession 10 years ago, they haven’t climbed back to the highs of 2010 and 2011, when up to 100 graduates earned accounting degrees each year.
“Prior to the crisis, we graduated 45 students a year,” said Christine E. Earley, chair of the Accountancy Department at PC.
She attributes high enrollment in the wake of the recession as a reaction to economic uncertainty.
“I think that was a bit of a blip. Accounting is a very safe major; jobs are predictable and plentiful and students that major in accounting have a high likelihood of being placed somewhere,” Earley said. “When the financial crisis hit, I think a lot of people flocked toward accounting because it’s not so volatile.”
According to Accounting.com, Rhode Island’s concentration of accountants and auditors is higher than the national average, and CPAs in Rhode Island are particularly well paid, pulling in an estimated average salary of $77,000.
Rhode Island’s accounting industry is projected to grow by more than 20% from 2016 to 2026, from 4,400 to 5,540 employees, the site says. Those numbers are more than double the 9% projected nationwide increase over the same time period.
Demand for new accountants means companies begin their recruiting early.
On-campus interviews for accounting students begin in the early fall at Bryant.
By mid-October, 82 interviews had taken place, with more to follow, said Kevin Gaw, executive director of the Amica Center for Career Education at Bryant.
This year, eight Rhode Island companies are participating, making up slightly more than half of employers lined up to conduct interviews, which students must apply for.
Recruiters tend to have high expectations for Bryant, Gaw said.
“They’ll say, ‘Your students are buttoned up, they’re ready to go,’ ” he said.
Year after year, the university sees nearly all of its accounting graduates either land a job directly after school, or go on to graduate school.
Students at Rhode Island College routinely outscore a number of well-known schools across the country on certified public accountant exams, according to Mello.
The school’s CPA exam first-time pass rate hovers near 73%.
“Employers and prospective students are quite aware of this success,” Mello said.
RIC also has created a support system through a partnership with the Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants, TD Bank and a number of accounting firms. The Accounting and Financial Collaborative, which is funded by a Real Jobs Rhode Island grant, helps the school’s accounting students with non-classroom skills such as time management and networking.
RIC’s accounting program is the only one in the state to take part in the collaborative, Mello said.
Accounting firm Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. Ltd. constantly has an eye out for ambitious internship candidates from Rhode Island schools.
“We have always had a very robust internship program, and we make a lot of our hires from them once they graduate,” said Christine Scarafoni, the firm’s chief human resources officer, who works out of the company’s Providence office.
Scarafoni said she receives resumes daily from new graduates, and she’s hired 15 so far this year. Still, she’s seen certain aspects of the industry, such as long hours at certain times of the year and lower pay than other financial industry jobs, make some young arrivals into public accounting think twice.
“I do think that the industry itself needs to start to change and really do what some other companies have done, with a flexible work environment and [cutting hours]. Maybe not 60 hours, maybe it’s just 45 hours,” Scarafoni said.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Graham@PBN.com.