New research from the University of Florida finds that financial fraud plays a unique role in attracting students to the field of accounting and other business disciplines.

The field of accounting is facing a labor crisis. From the high rates of baby boomer CPAs that are retiring to the 4% decline in the number of college graduates earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting since the pandemic, accounting is steadily losing members of its work force.  

The drop in accounting professionals in the labor force has experts concerned with the potential for declining accountability in business financial reporting, which could have consequences as severe as leading to a rise in financial fraud.  With the loss of $2 billion in retiree pension funds from the Enron scandal of the early 2000s to the $8.9 billion in customer assets lost in the fallout of the recently-collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, expert concerns about declines in accounting professionals who hold businesses accountable in financial reporting is notably valid. 

Expert concerns of a potential rise in financial fraud with less accounting professionals in the field notwithstanding, fraud plays a surprising role in the accounting labor force, according to new research from the University of Florida. 

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