THE BIGGER PICTURE
The market is not shrinking. The profession is.
Demand for financial statements is growing. New tax reforms, tighter compliance requirements, and expanding
SME financing programmes are creating more work than the profession can absorb. But the profession is
contracting - not growing.
More than 300,000 accountants have left the profession since 2020. 75% of current CPAs are approaching
retirement. CPA exam candidates have dropped over 30% since 2016. The Big Four are not replacing them with
more accountants. Deloitte committed $3 billion to AI. KPMG committed $4.2 billion. EY committed $1 billion.
PwC cut junior hiring by a third and employs over 3,700 engineers.
The bet is not that AI replaces accountants. The bet is that AI is the only way the remaining accountants can
serve the market that needs them. Rocovit is that bet for emerging markets - where the SME opportunity is
largest and the accountant capacity gap is most acute.
300,000+
ACCOUNTANTS GONE
Left the profession since 2020 - Bureau of Labor Statistics
75%
NEARING RETIREMENT
Current CPAs approaching retirement age - AICPA
30%+
CPA EXAM DECLINE
Drop in exam candidates since 2016 - Wall Street Journal
20%
GRADUATE DROP
Fewer accounting graduates since 2010 - AICPA and CIMA
120,000+
ANNUAL OPENINGS
New positions needed every year through 2034 - BLS
$8.2B
BIG FOUR AI BET
Deloitte $3B + KPMG $4.2B + EY $1B - verified 2025