Chronic Shortage of CPAs: Leveraging Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Technology as a Sustainable Solution

Although the chronic shortage of certified public accountants (CPAs) is a global issue (including in Canada), in the United States the shortage is so acute that many organizations are unable to provide audited financial statements to stakeholders (i.e., tax authorities, regulators, rating agencies, creditors) on time. This crisis has led the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to create the National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG) with the mandate to understand the root causes of the issue and make actionable recommendations. The NPAG made multiple recommendations to increase the CPA pipeline, and its 22-member group recognized that these recommendations alone will not fix the shortage of CPAs; therefore, it encouraged the profession to explore other avenues. Through this review I showed that widespread adoption of robotic process automation (RPA) technology is a sustainable solution to the shortage of CPAs. As research has shown, there are proven use cases, such as an RPA that can complete a task in 17 seconds instead of 17 hours, with an increase in accuracy by 99% instead of 90% frees employees for high-value tasks that require professional judgment. However, there are multiple roadblocks that are preventing the profession from leveraging RPA technology. Removing these impediments will help accelerate the adoption of the RPA technology, address the chronic shortage of CPAs, and contribute to the creation of career opportunities for professional CPAs.