Contact:
Emily Dennis, Public Relations Associate
NYSSCPA
212-719-8364
edennis@nysscpa.org

NEW YORK, NY, June 23, 2006 – The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants’ Foundation for Accounting Education will partner with the University at Buffalo School of Management to offer the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) Program to twenty-eight area high school juniors. The program, to run from June 25 through 29, educates minority high school students about career opportunities in the accounting profession and provides them with tools to help them in the business world.

“The goal of the program is to increase awareness of the many opportunities that an accounting education and career can provide,” says Ann Burstein Cohen, CPA, associate professor of accounting and law, S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo. Cohen, Chair of the Buffalo COAP program, adds, “It is our hope that if minority students realize early on that the accounting profession has a variety of interesting opportunities, we can increase the number of candidates who enter the field.”

The SUNY at Buffalo COAP program includes lectures from CPAs and university staff, as well as tours of Rich Products, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Lumsden & McCormick, LLP, to observe CPAs in action. The program concludes with a banquet and keynote address by University at Buffalo Bulls Basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon.

Other CPA members of the Buffalo COAP committee include Alex B. Ampadu, CPA, Visiting Associate Professor of Accounting, UB School of Management; Mark Bruno, Upstate NY Human Resources Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP; Eileen M Connor-Costilow, PHR, Director of Human Resources, Lumsden & McCormick LLP; Arlene Hibschweiler, Esq, Visiting Associate Professor, University at Buffalo; Elizabeth J Sterns, Director, Brisbane Consulting Group, LLC; Carmela Thompson, Associate Director of Admissions, University at Buffalo; and Daniel Tirone, CPA.

Over 900 students have graduated from the COAP Program since it began in New York State in 1987. In 2006, COAP will held in nine different colleges and universities across the state. A survey of COAP alumni has revealed that almost 100% of respondents have gone onto college and that 70% are majoring or enrolled in accounting or business programs.

About the NYSSCPA

Representing 30,000 CPAs, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) is the oldest and largest state accounting organization in the nation.
Incorporated in 1897, the Society is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to establish and maintain high standards of integrity, honor, and character among certified public accountants. Its members are CPAs working in public practice, industry, government and education in a state that serves as the home of Wall Street and major financial institutions.

The New York State Society of CPAs is located at 3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016. To learn more about the Society call 800-633-6320 or visit the Society’s website at www.nysscpa.org.