September 2001
Stretching the CPA Brand: A Student Perspective
By Robert Braun, Shawn Mauldin, and Stacy Daigle
The attractiveness of accounting as a major and a profession has come under considerable scrutiny in the past few years. One recent report predicts a perilous future for accounting education (see Albrecht and Sack, “The Perilous Future of Accounting Education,” The CPA Journal, March 2001). Another report, commissioned by the AICPA, identified an alarming lack of knowledge about accounting at the high school level. The recent decline in candidates sitting for the CPA exam—dropping 20% during the period from 1996 to 1999—has signaled the potential for a diminished supply of accounting majors and entrants into the profession. One of the AICPA’s responses has been its proposed global business credential, commonly referred to as XYZ (see “AICPA Global Credential Proposal and NYSSCPA Member Survey,” The CPA Journal, April 2001).One theory about this declining interest in the accounting major and accounting profession is that the more technical knowledge base associated with GAAP and GAAS is less appealing to students than it may have been in the past—what some call the eye of the needle problem; that is, entrance to the profession requires passing an exam that emphasizes a relatively narrow set of knowledge. Once past the entrance requirement, however, CPAs are uniquely positioned to provide a diverse array of services that leverage the profession’s reputation for independence and competence.
Another major impediment toward attracting entrants to the profession is the CPA stereotype. In emphasizing a broader knowledge base through a global business credential, the AICPA hopes to attract individuals that might not have considered the profession. These stereotypes may not only affect the supply of accounting professionals but also the demand for CPAs to provide services that extend beyond those traditionally offered. The term “brand stretchability” has been coined to describe the challenges associated with changing the views of potential CPAs and potential users of CPA services.
The Credential
The AICPA appears steadfast in its pursuit of this proposed global credential. At its May 2 spring meeting, the AICPA Governing Council voted in favor of a resolution to conduct a member information and response program on the XYZ, a position not without controversy. Several state CPA societies (including New York) have passed resolutions opposing the proposed credential, and several CPA firms, both large and small, have likewise openly opposed the concept.
AICPA President Barry Melancon has referred to the issue as “probably the greatest decision our profession faces.” Given the significance of the decision and the controversy associated with it, it appears essential for AICPA members to have access to independent research that responds to their questions as to the stretchability of the CPA brand.
Research consultants to the AICPA have maintained that the CPA brand cannot stretch to include the broad array of strategic knowledge-based services extending beyond GAAS and GAAP that professional service organizations could provide. They assert that a new brand needs to be created to attract new customers and new candidates to the profession.
Current and future business students represent the future of the profession. Their perceptions of the designation could play a central role in its development. This study attempts to provide evidence from the supply side regarding student perceptions of the proposed global credential. More specifically, the study provides evidence on the following research questions:
Question 1: Will students whose undergraduate degree is not in accounting be more interested in the proposed global credential when no information is provided that associates the credential with CPAs and the AICPA?
This question is aimed at determining whether many students are unfavorably predisposed to the accounting profession. Non–accounting majors are probably less likely to be interested in a potential career opportunity if it is associated with accountancy.
Question 2: Will students whose undergraduate degree is in accounting be more interested in the proposed global credential when information is provided that associates the credential with CPAs and the AICPA?
Accounting majors have made a decision to align themselves with the accounting profession. As the leading professional organization, the AICPA may add credibility to potential career opportunities through the credential.
Results
To answer these questions, the authors asked 200 senior-level undergraduate and graduate-level students in the colleges of business at two southern regional universities a series of questions regarding their level of interest in learning more about the proposed global credential. The students were randomly assigned to read one of two versions of a description of the proposed global credential before answering the questionnaire. Version 1 contained frequent references to CPAs and the AICPA; Version 2 was identical, except that references to the AICPA and accountants were removed. The results of the experiment are summarized below.
Students Expressing an Interest in the Credential:
| Non-accounting majors | Accounting majors | |
| Version 1 ( AICPA) | 59.4% | 75.8% |
| Version 2 (no AICPA) | 80.3% | 75.6% |
The results provide strong evidence that non-accounting majors are generally more interested in knowing more about the proposed global credential when it is not affiliated with CPAs and the AICPA. Approximately 59% of non–accounting majors that received the version that contained references to the AICPA stated that they would like to know more about the global credential. On the other hand, approximately 80% of non–accounting majors that received the version that did not contain references to the AICPA stated that they would like to know more about the global credential. Therefore, the answer to Question 1 would be yes: students whose undergraduate degree is not in accounting are more interested in the proposed global credential when no information is provided associating the credential with CPAs and the AICPA.
On the other hand, the study found no difference in the level of interest expressed by accounting majors based upon the description. Approximately 76% wanted to know more about the global credential regardless of which version they received. The answer to Question 2 would be that students whose undergraduate degree is in accounting are no more interested in the proposed global credential when information is provided that associates the credential with CPAs and the AICPA.
Implications
The results of this study indicate that non-accounting students are more likely to be interested in the strategic knowledge integration services when no mention is made of CPAs and the AICPA. This finding implies that the current CPA brand may not be stretchable, and adds weight to the AICPA’s contention that a new credential is needed. These results also suggest, however, that the current proposal for the AICPA to act as the XYZ credentialing organization in the United States does not provide enough distance between the new credential and the AICPA to attract a significant portion of non-accounting students.
Editor:
Robert
H. Colson, PhD, CPA
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