CPA firms losing baffle for young accountants.(public accounting firms attractive)(Brief Article)

Buffalo-area CPA firms have several job openings in an apparent hard-to-fill niche: accountants with two to five years' experience.

These up-and-comers are attractive to public accounting firms because they don't have to be trained, they have enough experience to work on their own and bring in business, and they don't command the higher billing rates of more seasoned professionals.

They are attractive to private industry for the same reasons, however, and are lured away by higher salaries and better perks. The situation is creating a dearth of candidates for the CPA firms, just as April 15 is fast approaching.

"We seem to do OK getting them out of …