CPAs Looking to Get a Ph.D.: How to Prepare for An Increasingly Competitive Academic Job Market from the Start
Learn how CPAs can prepare for competitive accounting Ph.D. programs and academic careers by strategically selecting doctoral programs, publishing in practitioner and academic journals, and gaining diverse teaching experience. Other key considerations include developing research and data analytics skills, doctoral program funding, and the importance of finding the right fit when pursuing a faculty position.
By Clement Chen, Ph.D., CPA; Keith T. Jones, Ph.D., CPA; Zhaochu Li, Ph.D., and Iryna P. Lytvynenko
This is the second article of a two-part series that provides updated advice for CPAs who are interested in pursuing an accounting Ph.D. and working as a professor. (Click here to see the first article "Is Accounting Academia Still a Good Career Option for CPAs? An Updated Perspective" in the September/October 2026 issue of Today's CPA.)
While the first article discusses how the accounting academic job market has changed in the last five years, this second article provides updated and in-depth advice to prospective accounting Ph.D. students as to how they can better prepare for this increasingly competitive job market. The advice in this article is based on conditions that are different from five years ago and is timely for those navigating the process of becoming an academic.
Part 1: Before Starting Your Ph.D. Applications, Ask Yourself If You Are Making the Right Career Move
Working as an accounting professor comes with many benefits, including relatively high salaries, work-life balance, schedule flexibility during summer and winter breaks, paid sabbaticals, and job security after obtaining tenure. While accounting professors have fewer scheduled teaching obligations during summer and winter breaks compared to traditional office workers, this time is rarely idle. Many faculty use these periods to conduct research, or develop and update course materials. Some professors also choose to teach summer courses for additional compensation.
Job security through tenure is another notable benefit of the professorial career path. Earning tenure requires sustained research productivity, including publishing sufficiently and in journals that meet the institution's standards. While tenure itself is difficult to lose once granted, some states have pursued legislation seeking to limit or modify tenure protections at public universities.
Table 1 shows the average nine-month salary for assistant professors of accounting was $150,630 in 2021. That figure would likely approximate what one would earn this year immediately upon entering the job as an assistant professor after graduation from the doctoral program. Full professors, on average, earned $186,100 in the same period.
Table 2 presents the compensation data by position in accounting firms in 2021. Assistant professors, on average, earned more than accounting firm directors with 11 or more years of experience. Full professors, on average, earned more than accounting firm partners or owners.
| Faculty Position | Salary in 2021 |
| Assistant Professor | $150,630 |
| Associate Professor | $156,390 |
| Professor | $186,100 |
| Instructor/Lecturer | $88,760 |
Table 1. Average Nine-Month Salary of Accounting Faculty in 2021
Source: maaw.info/ArticleSummariesMain.htm
| Accounting Firm Position | Salary in 2021 |
| Equity Partners/Owners | $166,572 |
| Directors (11+ Years' Experience) | $120,000 |
| Senior Managers (8-10 Years) | $94,951 |
| Managers (6-7 Years) | $82,600 |
| Senior Associates (4-5 Years) | $65,888 |
| Associates (1-3 Years) | $52,639 |
Table 2. Average Compensation by Position in Accounting Firms in 2021
Source: journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2022/feb/attributes-top-performing-firms.html
It should be noted, however, that these figures reflect overall averages and compensation at public accounting firms can vary considerably depending on firm size.
Part 2. Choose a Doctoral Program and Understand - The Barriers to Getting There
There are several barriers to getting a Ph.D. in accounting. First, there is a high opportunity cost in giving up the salary and benefits from a public accounting, corporate or governmental career. The traditional accounting Ph.D. program requires full-time residency and students can no longer work full time. Most programs require four to six years for completion of the degree, which is a significant investment of time.
To compensate for the loss of salaries, accounting programs not only typically provide tuition and fee waivers, but pay monthly stipends to help with living expenses. Ph.D. programs also sometimes provide funding for travel, accommodation and conference registration fees to support students' professional growth. Many Ph.D. accounting students at research-intensive universities receive health insurance, medical care and vision insurance as part of their doctoral funding packages. Some universities even provide subsidized housing for students with families.
Another barrier is the admission to an accounting Ph.D. program. Due to the investment of time that faculty members make on behalf of the doctoral student, accounting Ph.D. programs, especially at top schools, are very competitive. Most programs only accept two to three students each year. Therefore, getting accepted into a program requires strong academic credentials. Prospective students are expected to have a high GMAT or GRE score, and have taken courses not only in accounting, but also in economics and calculus. Proficiency in programming languages can also boost the credentials for admission process.
Choose a Program Strategically
Conventional wisdom says you should apply for the best universities and see where it goes. If costs are not a factor, this strategy works for undergraduate and master programs. Since Ph.D. programs are generally tuition-free and pay a stipend that covers living expenses, it seems one should strive for the best program that he/she can get into. However, this strategy may not apply to selecting a Ph.D. program. One reason is that top accounting Ph.D. programs such as University of Texas and University of Michigan (listed only as examples) often expect their graduates to start their academic career at a comparable research university upon graduation.
The reputation of top-tier Ph.D. programs is crucial and having their graduates place at a non-research university may negatively affect their reputation. Thus, students of top-tier accounting Ph.D. programs are often discouraged from applying for tenure-track positions at more teaching-focused universities.
Further making the program choice less obvious is that some programs, even within the top tier of programs, offer more faculty expertise than do other schools. Some doctoral programs have a stronger focus in areas such as auditing, financial accounting or tax, for instance, or in research methodologies (e.g., survey or experimental vs. archival, in which existing data might be pulled from databases or through examining a 10-K for specific traits).
If you know the research direction you would like to pursue, you should match your professional interests with doctoral programs that have the faculty with research expertise in the area you are interested in pursuing.
Other personal reasons for one s selection of a program might include differences in time required to complete the program and location/family issues. Doctoral programs may take as little as four years, but mid- and upper-tier programs average five to six years to complete.
DBA Programs vs. Ph.D. Programs
The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program may not be the preferred career choice if your goal is to become a university tenure-track faculty in accounting in the environment of the past several years. DBA programs, especially those with accounting focus, were created to meet the shortage of accounting Ph.D. students based on the survey 17 years ago. However, since the market has adjusted and there are sufficient Ph.D. students to meet the demand, DBAs may not be as desirable in the job market as before.
For most universities, a Ph.D. is preferred to DBA when hiring for the tenure-track position and some universities may consider a DBA only for their lecturer positions. In addition, a DBA is expensive; a three-year tuition can cost more than $100,000 while Ph.D. programs are tuition-free and also pay a stipend for teaching classes that amounts to $30,000 to $50,000 a year. Thus, you need to carefully consider the tradeoffs between the DBA and Ph.D. programs before applying.
Part 3: Make Yourself Highly Desirable to Your Programs of Interest - Publish in Practitioner Journals
One of the best ways to make your background more desirable in the Ph.D. admission process is to have a publication. It may seem counter-intuitive given that accounting Ph.D. programs train students how to research and write papers, so how can you publish a paper before even attending a program?
Ph.D. programs teach you how to write academic papers that are more rigorous and data-driven and do not typically teach students how to write less data-driven papers suitable for reputable practitioner journals such as Journal of Accountancy and The CPA Journal. In fact, many CPAs without a Ph.D. publish in these journals, similar to Harvard Business Review, with both Ph.D. and non-Ph.D. authors. Furthermore, practitioner journals are often highly regarded in balanced/teaching universities and considered acceptable to include in one s record for the tenure and promotion review process.
Get Familiar with Statistical Analysis
Some may find it desirable to learn statistical analysis, which uses computer programming to interpret data. It has become an increasingly important area in the job market and accounting is no exception. Universities across the U.S. have added data analytics to their undergraduate and graduate accounting programs.
Due to the growing need for such skills, many universities may find those with data analytics and programming skills to be attractive candidates going forward. Since most accounting students have little programming background, but accounting research requires extensive statistical analysis using software such as SAS and Stata, those with some programming background will have an edge in the Ph.D. admission process, future research and job hiring.
Part 4: Be Intentional After Starting your Ph.D. Program - Teach Different Courses and Modalities
You should gain experience teaching both in-person and online classes in your Ph.D. program. While most research universities offer courses mostly in-person, online classes have become widespread after the COVID-19 pandemic. Most balanced universities offer courses in various delivery modes, including online synchronous, online asynchronous and mixed mode.
Online synchronous courses require students to attend classes at pre-determined times online, while online asynchronous courses do not require students to attend any courses online; mixed mode includes some classes that are face-to-face, while other instruction is delivered online in an asynchronous manner. Teaching online courses requires different strategies than in-person courses, and many balanced universities look for candidates who are competent in both in-person and online teaching.
Have Quality Publications before Entering the Job Market
Historically, most newly graduated accounting Ph.D. students only had working papers without publications. However, given the increasingly competitive job market, it will be better for you to have quality publications when looking for a job. The publications will also help you in your tenure review process.
While the definition of quality journals differs among schools, one widely adopted guideline is the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) journal list. The ABDC journal list categorizes journals into A*, A, B, and C tiers. Ideally, you should strive for at least a publication in the B tier or above.
Explore Review Articles
One type of publication in accounting journals is a review paper. As the name suggests, the review paper is exactly what you do for the literature review. Many academic journals publish review papers. One such journal is Journal of Accounting Literature, which is currently an A journal on the ABDC journal list. Since doing a thorough literature review is the first step of writing any paper, it would be natural to turn the review into a research manuscript to submit for publication.
Choose a Faculty Position based on Fit
In choosing an academic position as one nears the completion of his/her doctoral program, it is extremely important to consider which school offers the best fit. On the one hand, tenure and promotion in top research schools often requires publications in a very limited number of journals that are extremely difficult to break into. If you pin all your hopes on making it into those journals, you might succeed, but you also might find yourself in a job search later. On the other hand, less research-focused schools or balanced schools often accept publications from a much broader list of journals and it is less difficult to obtain tenure at balanced schools than at top research schools.
There is no superior job and school that is right for everyone; the point is that you need to understand where you think the best fit is for you.
Preparing for Doctoral Study and an Academic Career
Accounting academia is likely to remain one of the best academic jobs in the future. Working as a faculty member comes with prestige, excellent compensation, flexibility, and time off during winter and summer. Semester-based institutions typically include a week of spring vacation in approximately March as well.
However, the academic job market has become more competitive in recent years. Thus, it is paramount to prepare in advance to make yourself highly marketable for your doctoral programs of interest. You can learn invaluable research skills prior to your application and such skills can distinguish you from other applicants. You will also need to start your job market preparations earlier by gaining teaching experience and getting a jump on the publication process.
About the Authors: Clement Chen, Ph.D., CPA, is Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan-Flint. Contact him at clementc@umflint.edu. Keith T. Jones, Ph.D., CPA, was Professor of Accounting (Retired) at the University of North Alabama. Contact him at kjones5@una.edu. Zhaochu Li, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan-Flint. Contact him at zhaochu@umflint.edu. Iryna P. Lytvynenko is a Consultant in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
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