Latest News
August Town Hall recap
Written on Aug 28, 2025
By Jessica Barboza, OSCPA content specialist
As higher education undergoes rapid transformation, so does its influence on Ohio’s accounting talent. The August Town Hall, led by President and CEO Laura Hay, CPA, CAE, featured a compelling discussion with Dr. Tom Sudkamp, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Ohio Department of Higher Education. The discussion explored how these demographic shifts are influencing the accounting employment pipeline and provided a forecast of what we can expect in the coming years.
“There has been a drop in high school graduates, and that’s going to continue,” Sudkamp said. “Data projections say that the number of high school graduates is going to decrease by another 6% in the state by 2041.”
Sudkamp said that he predicts that institutions understanding this shift are going to be more open to making opportunities available for students to attend.
According to a session poll, a majority of attendees voted “student debt levels and affordability concerns” as having the greatest long-term impact on the sustainability of higher education.
Sudkamp pointed out that while many reports about student debt highlight the high costs of private colleges—often around $80,000 per year—Ohio’s public colleges are much more affordable, with tuition typically ranging from $10,000 to $12,000 annually.
For those concerned about affordability, Sudkamp recommended attending an Ohio community college first.
“We have a great community college system in the state,” Sudkamp said. “There are 22 of them. If you’re looking for a bachelor’s degree, you’ll get the associate as part of the path. We have statewide agreements so that everything will transfer. You should be seamless in moving to one of the four-year public institutions.”
Individual Contributor to Manager Transition
In the second half of the Town Hall, Laura Hay, CPA, CAE explored the journey of transitioning from an individual contributor to an effective manager in the workplace.
“Many candidates enter and excel in this profession because they enjoy the technical work, solving problems, analyzing data and delivering results,” Hay said. “But as their career progresses, success isn’t just about what we do and our individual contributions, it’s also about how we’re leading others to succeed.”
Research suggests that the first-time manager role is stressful because it requires a shift in focus, mindset and responsibilities, said Hay. Additionally, first-time managers are often not trained or equipped for the transition.
“It’s not just about managing the assigned budget and hitting goals,” Hay said. “It also includes sharing a compelling vision, motivating employees towards common goals, providing direction and constructive feedback and instilling mutual trust.”
Hay shared that the biggest challenges are
Adapting to new responsibilities
Developing a managerial mindset
Mastering time management as a manager
She shared that another key challenge is balancing authority with empathy.
“If you have authority without empathy, that creates compliance, not commitment. If you have empathy without authority, it creates confusion,” Hay said.
In order to support first-time managers better, Hay recommended on-the-job learning, implementing regular feedback processes and providing formal learning and development experiences around specific team management topics (e.g., conflict resolution workshop).
Government Relations Update
More states are passing new pathways laws since Ohio was the first to pass House Bill 238 in January of this year. This new Pathways law, which allows individuals to sit for the CPA exam with a bachelor's degree plus two years of experience or a master's plus one year of experience– will not go into effect until January of next year. However, as of April 9th, qualified CPAs licensed in other states can now practice in Ohio without needing to obtain an Ohio-specific license.
Additionally, the Ohio Society of CPAs advocated for several provisions in House Bill 96, Ohio's biennial budget bill, including the following:
Phased-in 2.75% flat tax on nonbusiness income, without negatively affecting the Business Income Deduction (BID)
Clarifies ownership for accounting firms under alternative structures, including ESOPs
Permits more pass-through entities to claim PTE tax credits
Aligns nonprofit municipal tax deadline with federal date
Extends time for municipal tax refund claims after filing extensions
More than 800 members attended the August Town Hall and earned a free hour of CPE. The next Townhall is scheduled for Sept. 25. Also occurring on the 25th is the Fall Professional Standards and Responsibilities Conference for those still needing to fulfill their ethics CPE.