Gone are the days when hiring meant just recruiting accounting majors. In 2025, firms must embrace new mindsets: accounting is a teachable skill, while analytics and financial fluency are increasingly vital. With new CPA licensure pathways reducing educational barriers, this is your moment to diversify your talent pipeline and find high-potential hires in unexpected places.
Note: If you missed our recent article, “The Future Accountant: Solving the Talent Shortage with Smarter Strategy,” it provides valuable context on how licensure changes and pipeline trends are reshaping the profession.
For decades, the formula was simple: hire accounting majors, help them become CPAs, and funnel them into client work. But the profession’s demands have shifted. Today, firms need hires who are just as comfortable analyzing complex data sets as they are reconciling accounts. That’s why forward-looking firms are opening their pipelines to finance and data analytics graduates.
AICPA polling shows firms now prioritize data analytics, problem-solving, and communication skills as much as, or even more than, traditional technical knowledge. These skills aren’t always taught in accounting programs, but they’re core to finance and analytics degrees. The result? Candidates with stronger strategic thinking, data fluency, and adaptability, ready to thrive in modern firms.
Historically, the 150-credit requirement created a costly, time-consuming barrier to entry. But in 2025, change is here. In May, AICPA and NASBA approved an alternative licensure path: candidates can qualify with a bachelor’s degree, two years of supervised experience, and successful completion of the CPA Exam.
The result: aspiring CPAs no longer need to commit to expensive graduate programs. Instead, they can gain experience in firms while progressing toward licensure. In 2025, the adoption of this model has accelerated nationwide, with more than 40 states passing or advancing reform. Only a handful of states remain holdouts.
For CPA firms, this means more flexibility in recruiting. Finance or analytics graduates who once dismissed accounting due to the 150-hour rule now have a viable, accessible path into the profession—if firms create the right opportunities and support systems.
For a deeper dive into which states have acted and what it means for firms, see our recent article: CPA Licensure Changes and Accounting Firm Growth Strategies.
Hiring beyond accounting majors isn’t just about filling positions; it’s about transforming what your firm can deliver. Graduates trained in finance or data analytics often arrive with advanced technical and analytical skills that firms can immediately leverage:
These hires expand what’s possible, allowing firms to deliver new value to clients and strengthen their advisory edge.
The old formula: accounting major → CPA track → compliance work, no longer suffices. In 2025, accounting knowledge can be taught, but data fluency, strategic thinking, and adaptability are harder to cultivate. By embracing finance and analytics graduates, and leveraging new licensure pathways, CPA firms can diversify their pipelines, fuel innovation, and future-proof their talent strategies.
For additional context on how licensure reforms are reshaping pipelines across the profession, see our companion piece: The Future Accountant: Solving the Talent Shortage with Smarter Strategy.
Recruiting differently requires more than open job postings; it demands a strategic approach to talent, branding, and growth. Hollinden helps accounting and advisory firms rethink their hiring strategies, communicate their value to nontraditional candidates, and design pathways that keep top talent engaged.
Let’s start the conversation. Contact us today to explore how Hollinden can help your firm attract, retain, and elevate the next generation of accountants.
Analytics and finance graduates often bring strong skills in data modeling, forecasting, technological fluency, and strategic thinking—capabilities increasingly in demand for advisory and automation work in firms. Meanwhile, accounting knowledge can be taught through structured programs. This makes such graduates high-potential hires.
In 2025, AICPA and NASBA approved an alternative CPA path: candidates can become licensed with a bachelor’s degree (+ accounting concentration), two years of supervised work experience, and CPA Exam passage, no 150-credit rule required. States are rapidly adopting this reform, expanding the candidate pool.
Firms should broaden their recruiting efforts to include graduates from finance, economics, and analytics programs, while also establishing structured programs that guide non-accounting hires through the licensure process. At the same time, firms need to refresh their employer branding to emphasize flexibility, innovation, and growth opportunities that appeal to today’s candidates. Finally, staying informed about licensure reform across states ensures that recruiting strategies remain aligned with compliance requirements.