The numbers are not great—a cruel irony since the numbers in question apply to accountants.

Accounting enrollments have dropped 16.9% between the 2012–2013 and 2021–2022 school years, according to a recent report from the Journal of Accountancy. The report also found that the amount of students who completed a bachelor’s degree in accounting dropped 7.8% last year compared to the previous school year.

“The pipeline is broken,” Kimberly Reeve, dean of the Guarini School of Business at St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey, told CFO Brew. “There is a crisis in the accounting industry where there are not enough accountants coming up through the ranks to take over for all the accounting practices that exist.”

St. Peter’s University is trying to change that. Alongside PwC, the university launched an innovative “work for credit” program, allowing students to earn the 30 additional credits needed to become CPA eligible through paid, full-time experience at PwC.

For more on this innovative solution to the talent crunch, click here.—NP

The lack of an overarching compliance regime in fintech makes finding and following the correct regulations and licenses a tough course to track.

If you’re one of the 73% of fintechs without a dedicated compliance officer, or even a startup looking for investment, it’s time to get your ducks in a row.

Fortunately, Currencycloud, a Visa solution, can help. Their new ebook highlights how to keep compliance top of mind. Brush up on the current regulatory landscape and learn actionable strategies to ensure that compliance stays central to your biz.

The cherry on top? This ebook also has the scoop on what VCs are currently looking for when it comes to compliance, so you can start focusing on securing funding.

Clean up your compliance.

What a difference a year can make.

Last year, when hundreds of CFOs gathered for the annual MIT Sloan CFO Summit in Boston, talent strategies were top of mind: how to keep your people, how to train the next gen.

This time around, there was a new ingredient added to the talent mix: generative AI. And while AI didn’t dominate all discussions, it was the steady undercurrent of a slew of conversations about the CFO’s role in managing talent and driving innovation.

But there was a crucial guardrail on most tech-forward conversations: CFOs were keenly eager to develop AI tools that could help retain and attract talent, rather than replace jobs.

Here are highlights from some of the panels where CFOs discussed how their orgs are using automation and AI—and how finance professionals should think about emergent technologies at this inflection point for the industry.

Want more about what CFOs are saying about AI? Click here.—NP

Two pieces of federal labor legislation, including one set to take effect next month, are facing pushback from lawmakers and business groups. Both have a potentially significant impact on labor costs.

Business groups sue to block joint-employer rule. A number of business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, International Franchise Association, and American Hotel and Lodging Association, sued the NLRB on Nov. 9 to block a new joint-employer standard adopted by the board.

The rule, which is set to take effect Dec. 26, would make it easier for two businesses to qualify as a joint-employer of a group of employees. If two companies are considered a joint-employer, they are then legally liable for one another’s actions—including unfair labor practices—and must bargain with unions representing the workers they oversee.

The rule could open up a pathway for more workers to unionize at big companies like McDonald’s or Amazon, the Associated Press reported, given these firms might be required to negotiate with workers employed by independent contractors or franchisees.

Click here to read HR Brew’s story on labor legislation challenges.—Courtney Vinopal

Today’s top finance reads.

Stat: 0.1%. That’s how much US retail sales fell in October from September. That might not seem like much but it could signal that shoppers are planning to be a little stingy this holiday season. (NBC News)

Quote: “In the US, we may be managing through a period of deflation in the months to come. And while that would put more unit pressure on us, we welcome it, because it’s better for our customers.”—Walmart CEO Doug McMillon on an earnings call. McMillon said he expected to see prices drop on a range of products in the coming months. (CNBC)

Read: Wells Fargo is in trouble with the federal government over compliance failures. The bank disputes the charges. (the Wall Street Journal)

Compliance craft: It’s time to take your fintech biz to the next level. Currencycloud’s ebook has all the deets you need to pass compliance and regulatory hurdles. Give it a read.*

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