Demand of the profession

Despite the expansion and acceptance of flexible work options and improvements in technology, many professionals said there was always more work to be done, additional client deadlines to meet and never enough time for a personal life. Many worried that the unrelenting demands of a professional service firm might deter the best and brightest students from pursuing a career in public accounting. Their attitude provided a warning against complacency about the progress made over the last decade.

Although flexible work options are now more common, economic factors and improved technology created increased pressure on CPAs. Those who had achieved some measure of balance might have sacrificed their chances to advance at firms where the traditional business model reward hours of client service.

The three surveys over the last decade showed some slow and steady progress had been made and that the future was likely to bring additional challenges. New technologies, changes in professional certifications and educational requirements, and increased client demands are just a few of the developments likely to make it more difficult to attract and retain talented professionals seeking both career and personal satisfaction. CPAs and their firms will have to work together to develop policies and incentives that offer opportunities for advancement and balance to professionals who still want to believe that it is possible to have it all.

Exercise 11.Now answer the questions to text A:

1) What do these abbreviations mean?

a) CPA

b) AICPA

c) vs.

2) What words are used while describing trends? Divide them into three columns: verbs, adverbs and adjectives. What words can you find in the text?

sharing, increase, flex-time, go up, recover, balance, slightly, dramatically, develop, steady, incentive, slight, decrease, fall, rise, dramatic, good, bad, badly, lucky, go down, sharp, improve, steadily

3) What is the main idea of the passage? Support the main idea chosen by giving 4 specific ideas.

a) Today such issues as work/life balance and women’s initiatives are viewed as mission-critical by auditors.

b) The AICPA work/life and women’s initiatives executive committee surveyed public accounting firms and professionals to gauge the progress being made on such issues as work/life balance and women’s initiatives in 1994, 1997 and 2000.

c) Responses to this survey suggest three trends.

4)What are the main results of the survey?