Accounting Degrees Add Up

Accounting majors have become the most in-demand kids on campus, and prospective employers are wooing them with lavish parties, free vacations, and promises of handsome signing bonuses. Colleges aren't turning out enough number-crunchers to meet the growing demand, which has skyrocketed in the wake of stricter controls required by Sarbanes-Oxley, the Washington Post reports.

"Every single sector is struggling desperately to fill these slots," says one recruiter. Companies are joining year-long waiting lists to present to college accounting clubs as well as posting jobs on Facebook. Some are wooing potential hires as early as high school; others are funding scholarships and dispatching employees to campuses to teach—and recruit from within. (More CPA stories.)