Critical shortage of accountants: colleges and companies are campaigning

The figures do not lie: the profession of bookkeeper-accountant has been a bottleneck profession since 2019 and the labor market in accounting remains under pressure.

For example, for every open vacancy there is only one accountant available today, compared to almost 5 accountants per vacancy five years ago. This is evident from figures from the VDAB.

More open vacancies

The VDAB figures show a clear evolution with an increasing demand for accountants. In December last year, the VDAB received 4,365 vacancies. Four years ago there were only 1,476.

There is also a smaller range of financial profiles. There were an average of 664 job seekers per month in 2022, while there were still 917 in 2018. SMEs in particular are at risk of falling victim to the scarcity of financial profiles, as a result of which they may see their good financial governance compromised in the long term.

Fewer students

Moreover, fewer and fewer young people are choosing to study accountancy – since 2020, the intake has fallen by 20 percent at the universities of applied sciences in Flanders. This limited influx will only exacerbate the acute shortage of financial profiles on the labor market.

VIVES University of Applied Sciences offers the bachelor’s degree in accountancy taxation on the Bruges and Kortrijk campuses, as well as the graduate degree in accounting administration on the Kortrijk campus. In addition, both courses are also offered remotely. Yet they see a decrease in the number of students.

“Compared to 10 years ago, the inflow fell by 30 to 40 percent, mainly due to the wide range of options that have been seriously expanded in recent years. However, the intake has been stable over the past five years,” says Annelies Casaert, head of the study program of the bachelor accountancy-tax on the Kortrijk campus.

Campaign

Eight accounting and consulting players are therefore launching a campaign to make the profession attractive again: ‘Accountants Van Tomorrow‘. Together with the sector, the education sector is also behind this initiative. The universities of applied sciences UCLL, PXL, VIVES, Odisee, Arteveldehogeschool, AP Hogeschool and HOGENT are making extra efforts, together with training specialist SYNTRA, to make young people enthusiastic about a job with a future.

Ambassadors to inspire young people are Bockie De Repper, known for his participation in De Slimste Mens ter Wereld, and the sisters and content creators Nour & Fatma Daghbouj. The three are also independent and know better than anyone what it is like to work with an accountant.