The AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) actively supports offshoring American jobs overseas.

I'll never forget one year at the Digital CPA Conference when AICPA President Barry Melancon put a slide on the screen.

The slide contained a triangle representing the traditional pyramid of a CPA firm: staff at the bottom, managers in the middle, and partners at the top.

The bottom corners of the triangle were cut away.

Each cut-off piece was labeled: one labeled "Offshoring" and the other labeled "Technology."

It sounded like Melancon was advising firm leaders to offshore jobs and implement technology to avoid hiring staff domestically.

How does this align with the AICPA's mission?

According to their website, the AICPA's mission is "powering the success of global business, CPAs, CGMAs and specialty credentials by providing the most relevant knowledge, resources and advocacy, and protecting the evolving public interest."

Note that "global businesses" come first in that list. And who are these global businesses? Perhaps it refers to the giant consulting firms—the Big Four.

It's disturbing that CPAs aren't first in that mission statement.

Your average CPA salary hovers around $100,000. Sometimes as low as $91,000 or as high as $120,000, depending on the source.

When adjusted for inflation, that number for US CPAs hasn't increased in decades. In some areas, it's fallen.

Raising a family on that salary is challenging, especially when you'd expect CPAs to enjoy an upper-middle-class lifestyle alongside doctors and lawyers.

The AICPA has long justified the 150-hour rule to elevate the profession to the educational level of medical and legal fields. Yet, CPAs earn far less than doctors and lawyers.

So here's my question to AICPA's new incoming president, Mark Koziel:

What will you do as the new president of the AICPA to raise wages for average CPAs?

I'd love to have you on the show to discuss this.

I want to know what the AICPA plans to do in concrete terms to advocate for average CPAs—not just the managing partners at firms paying the dues, but the hundreds of thousands of CPAs who are your members.

That could benefit the AICPA. If more accountants felt the AICPA advocated for them as individuals, they would join and renew.