| Uphill
Climb on the Accounting Career Path
MAY 2008 - I’d
like to thank Lou Grumet for his column “Minorities in the
Accounting Profession: Much Remains to Be Done” (January 2008).
Highlighting this problem is important, now more than ever. However,
the facts are discouraging because they show that African-Americans
in particular are continually underrepresented in the accounting
profession. This
is my second year on the Career Opportunities in the Accounting
Profession (COAP) Advisory Board for the NYSSCPA’s Brooklyn
Chapter. Last year was quite an experience for me, starting with
an event in January where potential participants and their parents
or guardians were invited to learn more about the program and
the recruitment and interviewing processes.
COAP is not
only introducing high school students to the accounting profession
with the intent that they will continue on that career path, it
also provides them with guidance in career planning, among other
things, and for that, COAP is bound to become a household name.
I wish I
had known about COAP when I graduated from Hunter College in 1993.
After graduation, I decided to have a family first, but now I
am prepared to get into public accounting. My goal is to start
anywhere and eventually excel in federal audit.
I am a minority
through and through in this profession: an African-American, a
female, and a mother.
Jeneba
Bangura
Auditor, MTA Audit Services
New York, N.Y.
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