When I started my accountancy training in 1991 a degree wasn’t necessary and 28 years later it still isn’t. Whilst not having a degree meant that I had to do a 4 year training contract (graduates did 3 year contracts) I still felt as though I was "quids in" time-wise compared to going to university.
There’s lots of professions where you still need university degrees such as teachers, solicitors (until fairly recently), nurses, paramedics – are these out of touch I wonder?
Of course by not going to university you miss out on the student life and the experience, I get that, but by going straight into accountancy after completing your A-levels, you earn whilst you learn, employers generally fund the training costs so you don’t end up with a penny of student debt - which is a big big bonus! (UK average student debt currently £50k) and it’s a faster route to qualification.
Those who say that accountants are behind the times I say this “we’re more savvy and up to date than you think!”