DePaul University Sees 37 Percent Increase in Undergraduates Majoring in Accountancy

The Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance law is adding up to more work for accounting firms – and more college students majoring in accountancy to fill the demand for accountants.

The number of undergraduate students majoring in accountancy jumped 37 percent at DePaul University’s School of Accountancy & Management Information Systems in Chicago for the 2005-2006 academic year compared to the previous year. Accountancy is now the third most popular undergraduate major at DePaul, trailing psychology and communications.

The increase is part of a three-year trend, triggered by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, according to Ray Whittington, interim dean of DePaul’s College of Commerce and director of its accountancy school. “The new accounting controls and auditing requirements mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley for public companies are pushing the demand for accountants beyond the supply, increasing salaries and job opportunities for students,” he said.

DePaul, home to one of the largest and most respected accountancy schools in the country, enrolled 619 undergraduate accountancy students in fall of 2005, 451 in 2004 and 361 in 2003. Nationally, enrollments in accounting bachelor’s degree programs increased 19 percent between 2000 and 2004, according to the most recent data released by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The number of students earning bachelor’s degrees in accountancy grew to 40,400 in 2004, a nine percent increase over the year before. Accountancy graduate hiring increased 17 percent in 2004, according to AICPA.

Tess Nyka, associate director of Career Services at DePaul, said 85 full- and part-time positions in accounting were available for DePaul student applicants and 130 accounting-related organizations work with the center to recruit students this academic year. Twenty-one of the 25 largest accounting firms in Chicago recruit at DePaul. Recent corporate scandals and the subsequent Sarbanes-Oxley reforms are influencing the types of accounting internships and jobs students seek, Nyka added. “A number of students have expressed an interest in careers in forensic accounting,” Nyka said.

The bright job outlook in accountancy, as well as career flexibility, led DePaul student Andrea Cohen to major in accounting. “The availability of jobs because of Sarbanes-Oxley did directly contribute to my choosing accounting,” the second-year bachelor’s degree candidate said. “With accounting, I knew that I could get a job as long as I worked hard enough and proved my capabilities to employers. Accounting majors also can pursue virtually unlimited fields. It’s a great foundation for careers in all forms of business, including marketing, entrepreneurship, international, finance, consulting, law and administration.”