News & Updates

In addition to imparting subject knowledge and accomplishing the stated learning objectives, it’s important to prepare students to be professionals by providing them with perspective.

Every VSCPA scholar carries with them a story of ambition, discovery and the drive to succeed. Meet Marisa Cooke, an undergraduate senior at Virginia Tech and proud VSCPA Foundation scholarship recipient. Her journey into accounting is one of unexpected inspiration, bold decisions, and a growing passion for making a difference through the profession.

Accounting undergraduate enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities rose for the third consecutive year in fall 2025, outpacing growth overall for undergraduate institutions, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse.

The CPA profession now offers dynamic, technology-driven career paths that extend far beyond traditional tax and audit work. One of the most promising paths is client advisory services (CAS), a rapidly growing niche in which accountants combine financial expertise, technology, and business insight to help organizations grow.

The VSCPA, along with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and other state CPA societies, strongly opposes any proposal that fails to recognize accounting as a professional degree program.

The VSCPA's advocacy related to the new 120-credit hour CPA pathway was featured in this November 2025 Virginia Business article. (Subscription may be required to view.)

This article outlines the structure of the alternative pathway and discusses its advantages and challenges, drawing insights from industry professionals and academic experts. It also provides an overview of ongoing alternative pathway adoption efforts across the United States. Finally, it examines the impact of CPA Evolution on CPA Exam pass rates over the past year.

Every VSCPA scholar carries with them a story of ambition, discovery and the drive to succeed. Meet Juan Chan, an undergraduate senior at George Mason University and 2025 VSCPA Foundation scholarship recipient.

The desire to hire new accounting graduates remains strong among public accounting firms, and signs point to a possible turning of the tide when it comes to supply meeting demand, according to data from the AICPA’s biennial Trends report.

The AICPA and state societies, including the VSCPA, have pledged strong support for accounting education programs to gain STEM status, and the idea also has backing from the majority of respondents in a new survey.

The once-boring job of accounting is now being recognized by Gen Z for what it is: An amazing career with six-figure potential.

Lower starting salaries compared to those in other professions have long been seen as a challenge in recruiting students into the accounting talent pipeline. 2025 MAP Survey results released Wednesday show CPA firms are boosting compensation for new graduates.

Interactive presentations related to the students’ interests increased awareness and interest in the accounting field, as well as students’ understanding of the profession, their interest in pursuing an accounting degree, and their awareness of diverse career paths.

On June 19, 2025, the VSCPA commented on the Virginia Board of Accountancy’s (VBOA) proposed emergency regulations to amend the education, experience and substantial equivalency requirements under §18VAC 5-22 of the Virginia Administrative Code.

For Immediate Release Julia Conlon, VSCPA (804) 612 -9450 jconlon@vscpa.com Richmond (June 9, 2025) — The Virginia Society of Public Accountants (VSCPA) Educational Foundation has awarded accounting students across the Commonwealth a record-breaking total of $82,500 in scholarships for the 2025–2026

For Immediate Release Tina Bates, VSCPA (804) 612 -9416 tbates@vscpa.com X: @vscpanews Richmond (June 7, 2024) — The Virginia Society of Public Accountants (VSCPA) Educational Foundation recently selected its college scholarship recipients for the 2024–2025 academic year. The VSCPA Educational

The word “pipeline” is everywhere these days, but what do we really mean by that? Essentially, the CPA pipeline is the queue of next-gen accountants — beginning with students’ piqued interest in accounting in middle school all the way through young professionals deciding to stick with the profession long term.