The government has unveiled a final plan to resolve the problem of "unassigned accountants," which has surged in recent years. The centerpiece is to encourage accounting firms to spread out hiring of unassigned accountants by firm and to greatly expand the institutions and departments that qualify for practical training.
However, measures such as adjusting the number of accountants selected, which the accounting industry has pointed to as the root cause, were excluded from this plan. Specific guidelines, including the concrete pool of eligible applicants who can apply for the program later, have also not been clearly finalized, drawing criticism that there are many details to be supplemented going forward.
According to the Financial Services Commission on the 2nd, the Financial Services Commission announced the "CPA training stabilization plan" on May 31. First, until hiring for training stabilizes, 39 audit-registered accounting firms will be encouraged to split hiring of unassigned accountants. When an unassigned accountant applies to The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants for a training placement, hiring slots will be allocated to firms in proportion to their revenue share.
Institutions recognized for practical training will also expand significantly. In addition to existing training institutions, public institutions such as the National Assembly, the courts, and the National Pension Service, as well as institutions recommended by the institute, are set to be newly listed as practical training placements. With the announcement of this plan, the task force (TF) formed late last year to resolve the unassigned accountant issue ended its activities.
Unassigned accountants are those who passed the certified public accountant (CPA) exam but have not been assigned to a practical training institution, a mandatory step to practice as full accountants. Under the Certified Public Accountant Act and related regulations, CPA exam passers must complete at least one year of practical training to register as accountants.
On 2024, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) increased the minimum number of selectees by 150, citing a "shortage of accountants at public institutions," while hiring at the Big Four accounting firms plunged due to a business downturn, leading to a spate of unassigned accountants.
However, the plan does not include items such as adjusting the number of accountants selected, which the accounting industry has highlighted as the fundamental cause of the unassigned accountant situation. Discussion of adjusting the number of selectees surfaced within the TF, but no official conclusion was reached.
An official at the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said, "The size of the intake was not a key agenda item this time." The number of selectees has typically been announced around Nov., and this year's intake will also be reviewed and announced then, the official said.
In addition to the announced plan, many specific items still need to be further decided. First, when allocating hiring slots for unassigned accountants to accounting firms, The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants is expected to determine by year-end, in detail, how many will be assigned to which firms.
The program will be run on an application basis. Accordingly, The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants will soon finalize the pool of eligible applicants among unassigned accountants and announce detailed guidelines. The reported plan is to give priority for relief to long-waiting applicants whose unassigned periods have been the longest.
Wages for unassigned accountants allocated to firms as hiring slots are expected to be left to the firms' discretion. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it does not see salary matters as something for the government to intervene in.
An accounting industry official said, "We will have to wait and see to know how effective the measures announced this time will be," adding, "Because it is application-based, there could effectively be a labeling effect as unassigned accountants, so it is still unclear how many eligible applicants will apply."