By Sanjay Paranandi, Public Relations Specialist

A 15-year old program that encourages high school juniors and seniors to enter the accounting profession expanded this year, allowing more students than in previous summers to get a firsthand look at the business world.

The Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program, run jointly with local universities and professionals, grew to include Westchester Community College in Valhalla and the Long Island University-Brooklyn campuses. Students recruited from area high schools sat for classes in financial statements, business ethics, interviewing skills and networking techniques. They also visited local corporate headquarters, where executives shared their personal experiences.

“We are lucky to have learned business and personal ethics because they alone can take us very far in life,” said Nyarai Florence Takawira, a New Rochelle High School student who attended the COAP program at Westchester Community College.

The New York State Society of CPAs-sponsored program, which concentrates on introducing minorities to the accounting profession and the business world, began with a group of 24 students in a residency session at Pace University in Pleasantville in 1987, then expanded to Hofstra University in 1996. Both schools held sessions again this year. Participants said the new sessions in Brooklyn and Westchester were a tremendous success.

“I think COAP helped me understand different fields of accounting, and it is really a great program,” said Lorita Tsang, a participant in the COAP LIU program.

All four COAP programs offered a variety of informative classes ranging from goal setting to financial statement analysis, along with field trips, over a five-day period in July. Students at Pace and Hofstra stayed on campus in dorms during their sessions, while those attending the two new sessions commuted to their respective campuses.

Field trips also are a very important part of COAP, and students from all four programs had a chance to experience the business atmosphere. Students from LIU visited Keyspan Energy, while students from Westchester Community College visited CIBA S.C., a specialty chemical corporation located in White Plains. Hofstra participants went to Computer Associates, and Pace students visited Mastercard’s headquarters. All four programs also visited accounting firms, including offices of Ernst and Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, BDO Seidman, Margolin, Winer and Evans and Deloitte & Touche.

“I believe that COAP provided students with a look into the world outside their academic world. The time spent on nonaccounting issues such as “dress for success”, etiquette, interviewing skills and ethics enlightened them and has made them more aware of the type of person the business world is looking for,” said Frank Pellegrino , chair of the Westchester Community College COAP program.
COAP organizers thanked the firms and corporations that made these field trips possible and for providing a fun and educational experience for the students.

“Despite a tough economic environment, our accounting and corporate supporters really stepped up and gave students insight into how they expect to weather the economic storm,” said Dan Stubbs, COAP Pace Chair.

All four programs culminated with a banquet dinner where parents, students and COAP board members all gathered to celebrate what they accomplished during the sessions. The Pace COAP banquet featured a check presentation from Andre Wade and Veda Stanley, members of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), who presented a generous donation to the program.

Each banquet also featured a guest speaker. Stephanie McMahon, a student at LIU, spoke to the students at the LIU-Brooklyn campus. Kelvin Joseph, a COAP alumni from Ernst and Young, spoke to the students at Pace. Les Thompson, from Leslie S. Thompson & Company LLP, spoke at Westchester Community College and Peter Sylver, Nassau County’s deputy county executive for economic development, spoke to students at Hofstra University.

Some students fought back tears and others raised their hands in joy as they received their COAP certificate as a symbol of their accomplishment. Not only did these students, all from varied backgrounds, learn about business and accounting, they also learned to value each other as friends.

“Meeting different types of people helped us understand more about different cultures. It feels so good to be around many positive people,” said Takawira, the student from New Rochelle.

Organizers also were pleased with the students and the program as a whole.

“We were extremely fortunate to have selected an outstanding group of students for this year’s program,” Stubbs said. “The skills emphasized in the networking and communications workshops were particularly important in enhancing the emotional bonding experience enjoyed by the students. There were few dry eyes as the students departed from the graduation banquet. The Pace program’s advisory board looks forward to doubling the size of next year’s program.”

If you would like more information on COAP, contact Bill Pape at (212) 719-8420 or wpape@nysscpa.org. In addition to NYSSCPA funding, donations from individuals, accounting firms and corporations support the program. To contribute, send tax-deductible donations to COAP, c/o Ed Parker, NYSSCPA/FAE, Fifth Floor, 530 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10036-5101.