In 2026, this question is settled. RSM US is on track to more than double its India workforce to 5,000 by 2027. Moss Adams, Sikich and CohnReznick have all built out India operations. Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC already employ somewhere between 140,000 and 160,000 people across their India capability centers.

So the real question has changed. It is no longer "Are Indians the answer?" It is: when a US accounting firm goes looking for talent in India, will your profile be the one they pick?

Here's the 2026 picture - the data, the money, and what actually gets you hired.

The US Accountant Shortage in 2026: The Numbers Don't Add Up

The gap between how many accountants the US needs and how many it produces is not narrowing. It is structural.

• ~340,000 fewer accountants. A Bloomberg analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data found roughly 340,000 fewer accountants and auditors than five years earlier - a 17% collapse from the 2019 peak.
• ~124,200 openings every single year. The BLS projects that many accountant and auditor openings annually from 2024 to 2034, with employment growing 5% - faster than the average occupation.
• ~55,000 graduates a year. US colleges awarded 55,152 accounting bachelor's and master's degrees in 2023–24, down 6.6% year over year (AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
• The CPA pipeline thinned out. New candidates entering the CPA exam pipeline fell from 42,626 in 2023 to 28,082 in 2024 (AICPA 2025 Trends Report).
• Three-quarters of CPAs are heading for the exit. Roughly 75% of working CPAs are at or approaching retirement age (AICPA).
• Nobody is unemployed. Unemployment among US accounting professionals sits between 1% and 2% - effectively everyone qualified already has a job (Robert Half, 2026).

The US Accountant Math at a Glance
 

Run the arithmetic: 124,200 openings a year against ~55,000 graduates, of whom only a fraction ever sit for the CPA exam. That is a shortfall no domestic hiring campaign closes.

There is a flicker of good news - accounting enrolment is climbing again, and the AICPA's Jan Taylor noted it's encouraging the rate of decline has slowed year over year. But a student who enrols in 2026 does not become a licensed, useful CPA until roughly 2031. The hole has to be filled now.

Why US Accounting Firms Can't Just Hire Their Way Out

The shortage isn't a pay problem that a 5% raise fixes. It's five problems stacked on top of each other:

• The 150-hour rule. For decades, a CPA licence effectively required a fifth year of US college. With tuition where it is, that maths stopped working for Gen Z.
• The pay comparison. Starting salaries in public accounting have long trailed tech, consulting and banking - for longer hours during busy season.
• The retirement wave. ~75% of CPAs are at or near retirement, and each one leaving takes 20 years of technical judgement with them.
• The perception problem. Fewer students major in accounting because the field reads as less exciting than tech or finance - and automation headlines have added doubt (Rebecca Hann, University of Maryland, via Reuters).
• The entry-level squeeze. Automation has absorbed a chunk of the routine first-year audit and tax work that used to train juniors - shrinking the very rung people climbed to become seniors.

"The cost of becoming a CPA has become too high." - Paul Knopp, U.S. Chair & CEO, KPMG

The 2026 Licensure Reset - and Why It Doesn't Solve This Fast

America's response has been to widen the door. In May 2025, the AICPA and NASBA amended the Uniform Accountancy Act to add a third route to licensure. As of 2026, roughly 42 states plus Puerto Rico have formally moved on new CPA pathway laws.
 

Useful reform. But rebuilding a pipeline is a decade-long project, and the openings are on the desk this quarter. Which is exactly why US accounting firms stopped waiting.

What the Shortage Actually Costs CPA Firms in USA

This isn't an HR inconvenience. It shows up in filings and credit ratings:

• Public companies are missing deadlines. Businesses including toymaker Mattel have reported delays to annual reports and key filings tied to the shortage (National Pipeline Advisory Group).
• Errors are getting expensive. Hundreds of companies have cited accounting-staff shortages as a factor in financial-reporting errors (Bloomberg).
• Cities have gone unrated. US municipalities have been left without credit ratings because there weren't enough public-sector accountants to close the books.
• Roles sit open for months. CPA-required roles take an average of 73 days to fill - 41% longer than comparable non-CPA roles (Talentfoot, 2026).
• Burnout compounds it. Short teams work brutal hours, more people quit, and the shortage feeds itself.

And the pressure isn't easing. Robert Half's md-2026 research shows 74% of finance and accounting leaders plan to increase permanent headcount, while 61% say finding skilled professionals is harder than a year ago.

Are Indians the Answer? In 2026, That's No Longer Theoretical

The 2024 version of this blog called Indian accountants "a beacon of hope." Two years on, they're a line item in US firms' operating plans.

Which Accounting Firms in USA Are Making the Move
 

"This could be the breakthrough moment for public accounting firms in India." - Balaji Iyer, Managing Partner, Moss Adams India 

Note who's doing the hiring. It isn't only the Big 4. Regional and mid-sized CPA firms in USA - the backbone of the profession - are now recruiting Indian accountants directly onto US payrolls in places like Wisconsin, Nebraska, Arizona, Iowa and Oregon.

"The accountant shortage is a challenge we can't ignore." - Tim Moy, Managing Partner, MBE CPAs

Reuters put it plainly: this recruitment surge could establish India as a global hub for accounting talent, echoing the 1990s outsourcing boom that rebuilt the tech industry.

Why Indian Accountants Fit US Accounting So Well

The fit isn't luck. It's structural:

• Volume. India graduates hundreds of thousands of commerce students every year - into an economy that already treats accounting as a prestige career.
• Rigour. CA, CMA and CPA training in India is famously exam-hard. US firms are hiring people who have already proven they can pass a brutal professional exam.
• English + US GAAP. Indian accountants work in English and now train directly on US GAAP, US federal tax and PCAOB audit standards - not as a translation exercise.
• The time zone is a feature. An India team closes overnight work that lands finished on a US partner's desk at 8am.
• The infrastructure already exists. India hosts roughly 1,800 Global Capability Centres employing close to 2 million professionals, generating $64.6 billion in export revenue in FY24 - a 40% jump over FY23 (ACCA).
• Finance is the growth engine. ACCA forecasts GCCs will generate 2.8 million jobs and contribute 2% of India's GDP by 2030, with 20,000 global leadership roles based in India.

"India is the ideal environment for GCCs thanks to our young, educated workforce." - Md. Sajid Khan, Director – India, ACCA

The old story was cost arbitrage. The 2026 story is capability: complex US tax, audit and advisory work now lives in India.

Two Ways to Build a US Accounting Career from India

You don't have to board a flight to work in US accounting. There are two legitimate routes, and they suit different people.
 

Route 2 is the one most commerce graduates were told was closed to them. It isn't. A STEM-designated Master of Accountancy unlocks the same 3-year OPT work permit engineers get - the CPA gets you hired, the STEM MAcc gets you the work authorisation.Check your CPA eligibility here before you plan anything else.

Which US Accounting Jobs Are Actually Hiring in 2026

The median pay for an accountant in USA is $81,680, with the top 10% clearing $141,420 (BLS, May 2024). But the averages hide the story. If you're scanning accounting jobs in USA, these are the roles where the shortage bites hardest - and where accountant jobs in USA are going unfilled longest.
 

The 2026 Catch: US Firms Don't Want Accountants Who Only Know Accounting

Here's what changed since 2024, and it's the part most candidates miss.

The shortage is real. But US accounting firms aren't hiring to fill 2019's job. Bookkeeping and audit-clerk roles are projected to decline 6% through 2034 (BLS), even as accountant and auditor roles grow 5%. The routine work is going to software. The judgement work is exploding.

• AI has taken over reconciliation, data entry and first-pass tie-outs. It cannot sign an audit opinion, defend a tax position, or tell a CFO what a number means.
• 95% of finance and accounting leaders say their team will be part of a major digital transformation in the next two years (Robert Half).
• Firms are adopting AI faster than general businesses are - which means they expect new hires to arrive already fluent, not to be trained from zero.

"We are the trusted profession for assurance over many things." - Mark Koziel, President & CEO, AICPA

Translation for anyone building an accounting career in the USA: the credential gets you screened in. The AI capability gets you picked.

This is why Miles built CAIRA - Certified AI-Ready Accountant, and why it sits alongside the CPA rather than replacing it:

• Three levels, 90 hours, NASBA-approved CPE - Level 1 AI readiness, Level 2 applied AI across audit/tax/CAS, Level 3 firm-wide AI operating model.
• Built on the stack US firms actually run - Microsoft Copilot, Power BI, Power Automate and Copilot Studio.
• Credly badges that show up on the LinkedIn profile a US recruiter is looking at.

Your Move: From "Are Indians the Answer?" to "Are You AI- Ready?"

The demand is documented. The firms are hiring. The pathway is legal and proven. What's left is execution:

1. Check eligibility first, not last. A 3-year B.Com is typically ~90 US credits; you need 120 to sit and 150 (or the new 120+2 route) to licence.
2. Clear the CPA. Three Core sections (FAR, AUD, REG) plus one Discipline (BAR / ISC / TCP).
3. Add the AI layer. Start CAIRA Level 1 while you study - it's the differentiator on the shortlist.
4. Pick your route. A GCC role in India, or the STEM MAcc + 3-year OPT route to a desk in the US.

America has a 340,000-person hole and 124,200 openings a year it cannot fill on its own. Indian accountants aren't a stopgap in that story - they're the supply line. The only variable left is whether you're on it.

Talk to a Miles counsellor about the CPA + MAcc US Pathway.

FAQs

1. Is there really a shortage of US accountants in 2026?

Yes, and it's structural. The US has roughly 340,000 fewer accountants than five years ago (Bloomberg analysis of BLS data), the BLS projects ~124,200 openings a year through 2034, colleges produce about 55,000 accounting graduates annually, and unemployment among accountants runs at just 1–2% (Robert Half, 2026).

2. Are US CPA firms actually hiring Indian accountants?

They are, at scale. RSM US aims to more than double its India workforce to 5,000 by 2027; Moss Adams, Sikich and CohnReznick have expanded India operations; the Big 4 already employ 140,000–160,000 people across India GCCs (Reuters). Separately, 140+ US accounting firms across 39 states hire Indian accountants directly onto US payrolls through the Miles STEM Pathway.

3. Can an Indian accountant work in the USA legally?

Yes. The reliable 2026 route is: clear the US CPA from India → enrol in a STEM-designated Master of Accountancy at a US university on an F-1 visa → work up to 3 years on STEM OPT → convert to H-1B or return to India with US experience.

4. Do I have to move to the US to work in US accounting?

No. India's ~1,800 Global Capability Centres employ close to 2 million professionals and are hiring heavily into finance and accounting. You can run US GAAP reporting, US tax and audit support for an American parent company from Bengaluru or Hyderabad - on a US CPA, without a visa.

5. Which accounting jobs in USA are most in demand in 2026?

Audit and tax at public accounting firms face the sharpest shortages, followed by FP&A, accounting data analytics, and internal audit/compliance. Controller and accounting manager roles are opening fast as ~75% of CPAs approach retirement.

6. Will AI end the US accountant shortage?

No - it's reshaping it. BLS projects bookkeeping and auditing clerk roles to decline 6% through 2034 while accountant and auditor roles grow 5%. AI absorbs routine processing; it doesn't carry professional judgment, sign opinions, or own an audit position. What it does change is the hiring bar: firms now screen for AI capability, which is why credentials like CAIRA sit alongside the CPA.

7. Has the 150-hour rule been scrapped?

Not scrapped - widened. In May 2025, the AICPA and NASBA added a bachelor's degree + 2 years' experience route to the Uniform Accountancy Act. Around 42 states plus Puerto Rico have moved on pathway laws; Texas from August 2026, California from January 2027. The 150-hour route remains valid everywhere. Always confirm with your target state board.

8. How long does it take to become a US accountant from India?

Roughly 12–18 months to clear the CPA exams while working. Add about a year for a STEM MAcc if you're taking the US route - so 2.5–3 years from start to a US desk, with fresher salaries of $60,000+ (₹50 lakh+).