Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) President Jasmine Davis said the need for more accountants has increased as the country begins to experience economic growth again.
"Regardless of your business, you have to do some sort of financial reporting. With any economic growth, there is always going to be the need for an accountant whether it's in compliance, in-house preparation of financials and financial management," she told Guardian Business.
"If you have a lending situation where you have a line of credit to the bank, definitely you would need a certified public accountant (CPA) to report on your finances and sign off."
While BICA's chief estimates that a "few thousand" Bahamians hold accounting degrees, there still remains a shortage within the industry.
"I know that the firms will always say there is a shortage of accountants," she said.
However, in recent times, she said there has been an increase in the number of compliance officers.
"Accounting is considered one of those degrees that is filled with many opportunities. We think that's the case here in The Bahamas because accountants are branching out into financial management as well, not only holding the position of chief financial officer (CFO), but chief executive officer (CEO) as well," according to Davis.
"Definitely compliance has exploded with the new regulatory regime as a result of the financial crisis. We also see that here in this market as well.
We are finding that more and more accountants are also studying law as well." Recently, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in its publication, Journal of Accountancy revealed in a new study that the supply and demand for accounting talent has reached record levels.
According to that survey, the profession is thriving as college enrollments, degrees awarded, and demand for new accounting graduates, have all reached all-time highs.
"CPA firms hired 40,350 new accounting graduates last year, including 23,793 graduates with bachelor's degrees and 16,557 with master's degrees," the AICPA survey stated.
The previous high recorded in the survey was 36,112 in 2007. Hiring fell off during the recession but began to recover in 2010 when 33,321 new grads were hired. Enrollments and degrees awarded also reached high-water marks.
A total of 240,380 students were enrolled in accounting programs in 2011 and 2012, a six percent increase from 2009 and 2010 when the last AICPA supply and demand survey was conducted.
The study is based on enrollment, graduation, and hiring data collected through the 2011-12 academic year. Davis said it is a trend she is also seeing within the local accounting industry.
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