1. The top trends facing the CPA profession (almost none are technical).
2. The profession has a vision (and students like it).
3. There are more career opportunities than just the Big Four (business and industry, not-for-profits, government, and 40,000 firms).
4. Students want to understand the expectations and realities of the workplace.
5. Data (XBRL) is the new plastics — career advice for students and young professionals.

This post is for our accounting educators who are responsible for laying a strong foundation for the CPA profession's future, and it is no easy job!

Today I am delivering a keynote on the latest issues facing the CPA profession at our annual educator's conference while attending the CPA-SEA (State CPA Society Executives) meeting with the AICPA senior leadership at our annual mid-winter meeting. Thanks to video and webcasting capabilities, I can actually be in two places at one time!

My presentation is not the typical PIU (professional issues update). This one is about the future — the future of the CPA profession and the top trends identified by the CPA Horizons 2025 Project.

Here are some resources:

• The CPA Horizons 2025 Report (downloadable), which captures the major trends and what CPAs should be thinking about.
• The in-person Future Forum process designed and facilitated by MACPA's Business Learning Institute.
• Perspectives from educators, young professionals, students, and CPAs in short video interviews.
• Background and research from the AICPA and leading futurists about future trends.
• Our whitepaper from our Leadership Academy about what leadership in the CPA profession will look like in 2023.

Here are three videos you may want to use in the classroom for talking about the future of the CPA profession:

• AICPA's Global Forces Video — the short trip to the future based on the research from AICPA.
• Futurist David Pearce Snyder talking about the future, change, and the future CPA.
• The Future Forum video — giving insights from grassroots particpants.
• Interview with Steve King of Emergent Research, who was lead futurist for Intuit's 2020 Project.

Downloadable documents you can use in class:

• The PIU slidedeck from our 2012 Educator's Conference.
• Our young professionals' whitepaper on leadership in the future.
• The CPA Horizons 2025 project on a page.
• The CPA Vision 2011 on a page.
• The CPA Horizons 2025 report.
• The CPA Vision 2011 report.

 So for all you accounting educators, this post is for you.