Earlier this week an Assembly committee voted to release legislation, strongly supported by NJBIA, that recognizes the expanding role of technology in accounting by designating it as a STEM field for the purposes of state aid programs.
Accounting has evolved far beyond bookkeeping and spreadsheets, NJBIA Vice President of Government Affairs Althea Ford testified on Monday. Modern accounting increasingly relies on advanced computer systems, cybersecurity, and data analytics, including blockchain technology that creates secure digital records of cryptocurrency and other financial transactions.
“The accounting industry, as it has evolved, should sit alongside the other industries that we traditionally know as STEM in science, technology, engineering and math,” Ford said. “Doing this will allow the accounting industry to leverage state programs related to STEM careers, whether it’s student loans, grants, workforce training or other opportunities.”
Numerous New Jersey programs invest in advancing STEM education and careers, including the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority’s STEM loan redemption program and the NJEDA’s workforce development programs that provide financial support to employers for apprenticeships and recruitment in STEM fields and other high-growth industries.
However, accounting does not currently qualify as a STEM subject for the purpose of these programs. The bill, A-4236, sponsored by Assemblyman Sterley Stanley (D-18), would correct that and help attract more students to the accounting profession.
New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) Vice President of Government Relations Jeff Kaszerman and NJCPA member Melissa Dardani, a CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and adjunct accounting instructor at Rider University, also testified in support of the bill.
“For at least two decades, the accounting field has been a STEM profession, though not often recognized by the public as such,” Kaszerman testified. “Although there is some recognition that accounting involves math, what is almost always overlooked is the field’s heavy reliance on technology and its proper designation as part of the technology leg of STEM.”
“The common perception that accounting is a numerical-based profession of financial recording and analysis is woefully outdated,” he continued. “Not only are CPAs utilizing some of the most sophisticated technologies, but they are also creating them as well.”
Kaszerman noted that CPAs are now routinely creating and implementing technology systems, setting up cybersecurity systems, integrating AI for their clients and their own firms, and utilizing big data to analyze entire populations of transactions rather than small samples.
He also pointed out that the national CPA exam now includes an Information Systems and Controls section, and that a growing number of universities are designating their accounting programs as STEM.
The Assembly Education Committee voted unanimously to amend and advance Bill A-4236, which goes to the Assembly Science, Innovation & Technology Committee for further review.
An identical bill in the Senate, S-4147, sponsored by Sen. Joe Cryan (D-20), is also pending before the Senate Education Committee.
