It was already predicted that in 2020, we would see a shortage of accountants within the industry. With COVID-19 causing a record high in unemployment, Accounting Today reported professional and business services shed 2.1 million jobs in April of this year, including nearly 68,000 in accounting and bookkeeping.

We're already seeing the shortage take effect—the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that year-over-year growth for accounting and bookkeeping services is down almost 2%. 

If it’s possible to compensate for emerging shortage, accounting firms will have to adjust their hiring process in order to do so.

There are usually two ways social media is perceived by accountants. One side, perhaps most often from the newer accountants, loves it and sees it as a great way to stay up to date with the latest news or trends. The other side might view social media as nothing more than a distraction or just another annoying time-waster on their phone.

Truth be told: we get it.

Both the United States’ Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are seeing a growing use of COVID-19-related themes by malicious cyber actors. Cyber threat actors are acting as trusted entities, sending out phishing messages or malicious applications. Cybercriminals are using the pandemic for commercial gain, deploying ransomware and other malware. These actors are targeting individual users, small- to medium-size enterprises, and large corporations.

(Basically, everyone.)

You’ve finally decided to take the jump and open your own small business. The excitement is overwhelming, but you know you’re ready. The only thing is, you don’t exactly know where to start with funding. The ideal way would be to fund it completely out of pocket, but if that’s not possible for you (don’t worry—it’s not possible for most!), what do you do? Do you crowd source the money? Do you apply for loans? What type of loan can you apply for? Are there any grants available to help save you from taking out too many loans?