Many faculty in the United States and worldwide are concerned that accounting enrollments are dropping. The number of U.S. students completing bachelor's degrees in accounting declined from 2016 to 2020, according to the AICPA's 2021 Trends Report. The number of students in U.K. accounting programs declined from 2016 to 2020, according to the Financial Reporting Council, and accountant shortages have been reported in countries including Malaysia and South Africa. Though some of this decline can likely be attributed to the pandemic, and to demographic trends that have led to a drop in the number of college students as a whole, accounting faculty may still want to do what they can to attract more students to the major.
