Busy Season Starts in January. Your Accounting Hiring Should Have Started Yesterday.

The pipeline problem has been building for years. Only 67,000 candidates sat for the CPA exam in 2022, 5,000 fewer than the year before. Fewer exam takers means fewer licensed accountants a few years later, which is exactly where we are now.

A big reason was the 150-credit-hour requirement, which effectively demanded a fifth year of college. Many students did the math (they were accounting students, after all) and chose something else.

On January 20, 2026, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation letting candidates qualify for a CPA license with a bachelor's degree plus two years of professional experience. The 150-hour path still exists. Bloomberg Tax reported that with New Jersey's change, about half of U.S. states had relaxed their CPA licensing rules.

Here's the catch: a law passed in 2026 doesn't create licensed CPAs in 2026. It creates more people entering the profession, who become licensed over the next few years. Great news for 2029. Less helpful for this January.

You'd expect a talent shortage to look like a hiring boom. Instead, BLS data shows financial activities employment down 129,000 since a peak in May 2025, with 90,000 of those losses at insurance carriers and related activities.

Both things are true. Companies are trimming operations and processing roles while still struggling to find people who can close the books, run reconciliations and handle a tax provision. A laid-off claims processor and a senior accountant are not interchangeable, no matter how many resumes arrive.

That said, some people affected by financial services cuts do have strong reconciliation, compliance and systems skills. Screen for the skill, not the job title, and you'll find good people others overlook.

Choose contract accountants when the work has a clear shape and end date: year-end close, audit preparation, a system conversion, a reconciliation backlog or leave coverage.

Choose permanent hires when the work is ongoing and you've been covering it with overtime for more than two quarters. That's not a spike anymore. That's a missing position.

Choose contract-to-hire when you're not sure. A few months of real work answers questions no interview can. Many of our contract placements become permanent once both sides see the fit, and one former contract candidate is now a VP of Finance.

Late October: Map the crunch. List every deadline from December through April and who owns each one. Find the weeks where one person owns three deadlines.

November: Secure contract help. This is when experienced contract accountants are still choosing between offers. By January, they've chosen.

Early December: Onboard. Get system access, documentation and a point of contact ready before year-end. Nobody wants to learn your ERP on December 31.

January through April: Protect your core team. Contract help handles volume so your senior people can handle judgment.

If you're hiring new graduates in New Jersey, the new rules give you a recruiting advantage. Offer to document and verify their experience toward licensure. It costs almost nothing, signals that you invest in people and makes your offer stand out from firms that don't.

One more thing to watch: CPA mobility between states. As states adopt different pathways, accounting organizations have raised concerns about how licenses will be recognized across state lines. If your team serves clients in several states, check before you assume.

Waiting until the backlog exists. By then you're hiring in a panic and training during the crunch.

Hiring for the title, not the task. If you need reconciliations, test for reconciliations.

No onboarding plan for contractors. A great contract accountant without system access is an expensive spectator.

Burning out the senior team. They're the people you can't replace in February.

When should companies hire accountants for busy season?

Ideally in October or November, before January demand peaks.

Do you still need 150 credit hours to be a CPA in New Jersey?

No. Since January 2026, New Jersey allows a bachelor's degree plus two years of experience, while keeping the 150-hour path as an option.

Are contract accountants worth it?

For work with a clear scope and end date, they often cost less than overtime and protect your permanent team from burnout.

Ready to get ahead of the busy season? Our finance and accounting staffing team places contract and permanent accountants across New Jersey and beyond, with an average time to fill of 9 days. Explore contract talent or estimate costs with our hiring cost calculator.