Where are these 87,000 IRS Agents Going to Come From?
The IRS will be a bottom feeder for the industry, if they get that far.
By Blaine Pardoe
August 19, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act’s clarion call to more than double the size of the IRS has raised hackles and ire across the board. A more domineering IRS is frightful to contemplate. My response to this is simple: Don’t worry, it won’t happen. Why? The biggest obstacle that the federal government is going to face is where they are going to get the bodies with the skills needed to fill these new positions.
Having worked for 25 years for one of the big three accounting firms, I am more than aware of the challenges the industry has in hiring qualified accounting staff. At one point my firm had set up a program at the University of Virginia to take liberal arts graduates and turn them into accountants over the course of an intense 18 month program . . . such is the difficulty of having enough staff.
All three of the big three struggle to secure accounting and financial services staff. It is a highly competitive industry because fewer college graduates are entering that field. While the pay is excellent, the hours are long and travel can be extensive, making for a burn and churn work environment over time. While the top tier schools are targeted by the big three, graduates from lower profile schools have little problem securing work. It is rare to see accountants in the ranks of the unemployed.
Candidates need to actually have accounting skills to make good agents and auditors. I spoke with my accountant this weekend and he relayed a number of stories of auditors and agents he had dealt with in the past who didn’t have the overall competency. Trust me, you need to know the law and accounting to be successful. Putting someone with a Women’s Gender Studies degree in as an auditor isn’t going to work.
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