September 2000

Guest Editorial

The Ultimate Challenge: One CPA's Perspective

By Frank Pellegrino

February 2, 1974 was the day that I became a CPA. My father said that it was as if I now had a union card. "You have a job for life," he said. "The world will always need accountants."

He was right, for we will always need accountants. But from where will we get them?

The rapid growth in the American economy after World War II gave birth to thousands of new businesses. The entrepreneurs who started these businesses had many things in common, one of which was a lack of business experience. So they turned to the one professional who could logically assist them: the CPA. Who better than a CPA to guide the new businessman though the maze of tax, banking, and record keeping issues? Who better to turn to when you needed a little advice on anything from employee relations to how much more warehouse space you were going to need?

As businesses flourished, the need for trained professionals grew with them. Thousands of veterans flocked to the business schools across the country, and the accounting profession as it existed in the second half of the twentieth century took shape. Small, local firms began to sprout up across the country. They, along with the national firms, provided service at all levels of business. As the American economy had changed, the accounting profession had changed with it - not only surviving those changes, but prospering from them.

As we enter the twenty-first century, our profession is again facing changes: consolidations, MDP’s, the UAA, substantial equivalence, the "registered accountants" bill, non-CPA ownership, commissions, technology etc. When, inevitably, change does come, the profession will change. It will survive, and then it will prosper.

However, there is one thing that the profession will not survive. The profession will not survive the lack of trained, dedicated CPAs to carry on the tradition of the "Trusted Professional." Wherever CPAs gather, the same complaints exist: "We can’t find good people," "We can’t keep our people," and "We can’t afford our people." Solving this common problem is the most vital issue that we as a profession face.

At a time when young people have more careers from which to choose, the profession's needs are greatest. Where will we get these young people? I know that they’re out there - in grammar schools, middle schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools all across our state. We must go to them in their classrooms and let them know what opportunities are available to them.

Every chapter, as well as the Society itself, has a committee that arranges for our members to travel to schools and speak before accounting classes, at career days and before assemblies. If you want to spend a few really enjoyable hours, call your committee chair and volunteer your time. Contact the guidance departments at the schools your children attend. Go back and visit your old junior high. I guarantee you’ll have a great time. You’ll get to talk about what you do (and don’t we all like to do that?) and answer questions from young people who are genuinely interested in what you do. Since 1983, I have made many of these visits, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed each and every one of them.

The kids you will speak to won’t have any idea what they want to do with their lives. Let them know of the opportunities, challenges, and rewards that are available to them through this honored profession. Let them know that these opportunities are there for everyone. I was recently told that accounting was the first profession on which immigrants gained a foothold in this country. As I look back on my career, I see how true that statement is. Not just immigrants, but also women and minorities, have found that their ambition, talent, and dedication have been richly rewarded by the accounting profession.

If we each can introduce one student to the rewards of our profession, we’ll have all the staff we need - and then dealing with all of the changes that we'll face will be "child’s play."