Sizing up ca employers

A career in a big firm might have been a likely choice for a CA at one time, but it is simply not the case today. According to a recent CICA member survey, firms with 250 or more staff account for only 16% of members and this number drops to 12% when we look at those aged 35 or older.

In fact, CAs are more likely to work in a small and medium-sized firm than a big firm. Firms with less than 50 employees account for 22% of CAs and that rises to 29% if we include firms with less than
250 staff. An interesting observation is that unlike the big firms, the percentage of CAs working in firms with less than 50 employees increases (to 24% from 22%) when we look at those aged 35 and older.

According to the survey, all professional services firms combined accounted for only about 45% of CAs. The majority (55%) work in industry, government and academia and are most likely to work for very large organizations. Of those who do not work in a professional service firm, 32% work for an organization with 250 or more employees. CAs aged 35 and older are even more likely to work in
industry, government and academia (59%).

While CAs in professional services are more likely to work at a smaller firm, CAs overall are most likely to work in a large organization (48%). Medium-sized organizations account for 19% of CAs and smaller organizations employ 33% of members.

John Tabone is CICA's manager of innovation