Annual Career Day Jump-Starts Interest in Accounting Profession

By Marietta E. Gentles

Approximately 70 high school students from across the five boroughs recently visited the New York State Society of CPAs’ headquarters for Career Day.

Sponsored by the Society’s Recruitment for CPA Careers Committee and the Division of High Schools of the Board of Education of the City of New York, the annual event reaches out to high school students who are considering a career in accounting. Held on May 10, the event informed the students of the countless opportunities that are available through a CPA career track. Speakers from the Recruitment for CPA Careers Committee as well as other accounting professionals came from an array of industries and backgrounds, including education, tax, accounting and auditing and human resources. Through separate team presentations, the speakers emphasized that accounting is a dynamic profession with diverse fields of interests and areas of expertise.

Alex Ampadu, chair of the Recruitment for CPA Careers Committee, helped facilitate the day’s events and activities, which he said provided the students with some useful insight into the profession so that they can decide if it is the right career for them.

Of course Career Day is not the only time these students get to learn about the accounting profession. All who attended are enrolled in the National Academy of Finance, a two-year program that allows students to explore different business careers and helps prepare them for entry into the financial services workforce.

Kenneth Deaner, an assistant director at the Academy, said the program is directed toward “giving inner-city children the opportunity to break barriers and have the same opportunities as other students.”

During the presentations the students were given helpful advice about their futures and were able to ask questions about different career paths. Near the day’s conclusion, they also witnessed firsthand the operations of an accounting practice as representatives from KPMG LLP, Ernst & Young LLP, Richard A. Eisner and Co. LLP, and Shapiro & Lobel gave them tours of their firms.

By most accounts, Career Day provided the students with a lot of useful and interesting information and in some cases it helped to confirm their decision to become accountants. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in when I go to college, but now I know that I want to go into accounting,” said Mildred German, a junior at Brandeis High School, near the conclusion of Career Day.

Deaner added: “As I speak to the students individually, (it’s apparent) their interest in accounting has skyrocketed.”