Message From the President

By Thomas Boyd, Queens Chapter President

Do you ever stop to reminisce on why you became an accountant? What was it that attracted you to the field? Did you come into contact with a CPA who might have directed you toward accounting? Was it an accounting course or something related which you took in school that made you think of possibilities, or did you sort of drift into the field?

I am sure we all have varied personal stories and experiences to tell. Looking back, maybe we even question some of the advice we got or the choices we made.

Promoting CPA Careers

Today’s high school students face the same difficult choices we had. But professional organizations such as the NYSSCPA have a unique opportunity to help these students make informed choices. Your State Society has taken this responsibility seriously and has a committee devoted to this effort. The Promoting CPA Careers Committee sponsors two events each year bringing high school students to the Society’s office, where it holds sessions on career opportunities in accounting, auditing and taxation. Committee members inform the students of the education requirements for entry into the field, and discuss some cases involving ethical behavior.

As a result, students form an appreciation for professional responsibility. They tour an accounting firm’s offices and meet with their staff. They all come away with a better appreciation of what an accountant does and an understanding of what the business world is about. Experiences like this empower them to make informed choices.

This month, the committee will hold a session for high school teachers and guidance counselors at the Society’s new office on Park Avenue to help them give their students better career advice regarding accounting.

The Society encourages each chapter to sponsor activities promoting CPA careers. The Promoting CPA Careers Committee has contacted all chapter presidents and identified a committee member who will help them develop high school outreach programs at the chapter level. This may be done in high school visitations by chapter members, by sponsoring career days at local colleges or universities, or with a variety of other approaches. Each chapter should develop its own program. This could not have come at a better time, as there has been a continuous decline in accounting enrollment in colleges since the 1990s. This is probably due to many factors such as the increased education requirements for CPA certification (150 hours); negative publicity due to scandals; greater monetary attraction in other fields, such as finance during the run-up of the stock market; the expectation of long hours during tax season; or a tendency by guidance counselors to direct high school students toward a liberal arts education.

These causes, real or perceived, have resulted in a substantial decline in the number of people entering the profession. This shortage, however, has a silver lining: There is a greater demand for the services of those who do become CPAs.

What Has Queens Done?

From its inception, the Queens Chapter has been actively engaged in promoting careers in accounting. Our members have done high school visitations, and we have sponsored an annual career day, held at St. John’s University, for the last three years. This year, Career Day was held on Nov. 1. One hundred and seventy-eight students from six high schools in New York City attended, along with 12 of their teachers. Eighteen St. John’s University (SJU) accounting majors spent the day with the high school students.

As president of the Queens Chapter, I welcomed the students and talked with them about what a CPA does and the role of the NYSSCPA. They then watched a short film, “Taking Care of Business,” that’s produced by the AICPA and aimed at high school students. Four half-hour sessions followed.

Two members of the Manhattan Chapter, Paola Caguenas, from Ernst & Young, and Barry Doll, retired partner from PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, and president of the Manhattan Chapter, conducted the Careers in Accounting session. They were both my former students at SJU and did a superb job. The high school students were attentive and asked some good questions.

There were also sessions on Careers in Finance by Dr. Keith Moore, of the Finance Department at SJU, and Careers in Management by Dr. Charles Wankel, of St. John’s Management Department. This gave the students a flavor of other business disciplines and how they relate to accounting.

The last session was on College Admission and Financial Aid, conducted by Dean Mary Ellen Guthenberg, of SJU’s Tobin College of Business, and Michelle Dibisceglie, from SJU’s Admissions office. Much-needed information on admission requirements and the availability of financial aid was given to the students. They had many questions and left the session knowing what was required of them from an academic point of view, and how they could finance their education.

Perhaps the best part of the day from the students’ point of view was the time they spent with the college students. After lunch, each college student took a small group of high school students on a tour of the campus. To give them a flavor of college life, they visited classrooms, the library, dining and sports facilities, dorms and even the accounting lab.

The high school teachers spent the day with Dr. Adrian Fitzsimons, chair of the Department of Accounting and Taxation and Queens Chapter treasurer, and Dr. Sylwia Gornik, of the Accounting Department. Fitzsimons, a former high school teacher himself for 15 years, and Gornik explained to the teachers the education requirements and career opportunities in accounting.

At the end of the day there were a lot of happy faces, and certainly better-informed students. Their responses were favorable and appreciative. Some will go into accounting, but all will certainly understand better what a CPA does.

I wish you all a Happy New Year.

Thomas Boyd can be reached at 718-428-0956 or tmboyd38@hotmail.com.