How to Resolve the Unassigned CPA Crisis? Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants Holds Seminar

Study Results Announced on Improving Operations of CPA Training Institutions

The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants announced on the 5th that, together with the Korean Accounting Association and the Accounting Policy Research Institute, it held a seminar on the 3rd at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeouido, Seoul, to present the results of a study on the current status and improvement directions of certified public accountant training institutions and to gather feedback from stakeholders.

A panel discussion is underway at the seminar on the current status and improvement directions of the certified public accountant training institutions, held on the 3rd at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeouido, Seoul. Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants

At the seminar, Kwon Sewon, a professor at Ewha Womans University School of Business and a member of the research team at the Korean Accounting Association, stated, "Of the 1,200 successful candidates for the certified public accountant exam this year, only 338 (26%) had registered with training institutions as of October 22." She explained, "Most of those registered this year are candidates who passed the exam last year, indicating that 're-taking the job search' has become common." According to the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as of the end of last month, there were about 443 successful candidates who had not yet been assigned to a training institution and were actively seeking employment. Taking into account that 159 unassigned candidates have been hired as part-timers, the actual number of unassigned candidates reaches 592. In addition, 171 candidates who passed the exam last year are also currently unemployed.

Professor Kwon expressed concern, saying, "The current large-scale unemployment situation appears unlikely to be resolved naturally due to factors such as the recession in the accounting industry," and added, "The issue of unassigned training institutions negatively affects the continuity of developing professional accounting talent." She explained that Japan, which faced a similar problem, addressed the issue by reducing the number of successful candidates.

Strengthening the internal operations of training institutions was also discussed as a solution to the unassigned candidate issue. The research team suggested narrowing the gap in training quality among accounting firms, enhancing the effectiveness of the supervising certified public accountant system, and expanding educational investment by small and medium-sized accounting firms.

The subsequent panel discussion included Song Yeonju, Partner of Human Capital at Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kang Kyungjin, Head of Policy Division 2 at the Korea Listed Companies Association, Kim Suin, Professor of Business Administration at Konkuk University, Ryu Jaeseok, Director of the CPA Preparation Program at Korea University, and Lee Seokwon, a successful candidate for the 2025 certified public accountant exam.

The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants stated, "We hope that the discussions from this seminar will be thoroughly reviewed by the Certified Public Accountant Qualification and Disciplinary Committee, which will determine the minimum number of certified public accountants to be selected next year."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.