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For CPAs, effective communication skills are more important today than ever ... and that makes the apparent shortage of said skills among new accounting graduates especially disturbing.

That's according to Mary-Jo Kranacher, a CPA and editor-in-chief of The CPA Journal. In a recent editorial, Kranacher states, "Increased professional visibility combined with the public’s heightened expectations of CPAs makes these traits essential for survival in the current business environment. But many of the profession’s fundamentals as now taught leave little room for much-needed communication or critical thinking on the CPA’s part."

Kranacher continues: "(We) are good at ’rithmetic, but we have miles to go when it comes to reading and writing. Our mandate as a profession is to learn how to communicate in a cogent, coherent, and comprehensive manner."

Do you agree? Is communication a problem in the profession?