By Jo Ann Golden

In a few weeks, a young local high school student will start a year-long vocational program working one day a week at my firm, observing and experiencing what it’s like to be a CPA. She will be the third student I have mentored through the Regional Program for Excellence sponsored by the local Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

The program matches students in the BOCES district with vocational mentors whose careers the students are considering pursuing and wish to know more about. Needless to say, the health-care professions, law enforcement and media-related businesses traditionally have been the most popular vocations requested by the students. Accounting has never stood out as the placement choice for these young people.

But something surprising happened this year. The number of students interested in the CPA profession (both public practice and private industry) has increased dramatically. In fact, more students in the program have expressed interest in being placed in a CPA firm than ever before. At the same time, a recent survey revealed that, nationally, the number of students entering college accounting programs or declaring majors in accounting this year has increased sharply over previous years.

At first blush this may seem odd. At a time when our profession finds itself heavily scrutinized, why the sudden surge in interest in an accounting career?

The world of accountancy has taken on a new light. We, as accountants, are no longer being viewed as dull loners off in a corner piling through reams of ledger sheets with pencil and calculator in hand. We are now being regarded as high-powered decision makers who have tremendous influence on the functioning of the business world. Over the last year, our role, from the public’s perspective, has grown significantly more important and exciting.

Of course, none of us welcomed the recent events that brought the accounting profession into the world spotlight. It is difficult to feel good about the sort of media exposure that our profession has received. But just as every cloud has a silver lining, so too does media attention, even the negative press. Indeed, some politicians contend that bad press is better than no press at all. It is, after all, the manner in which we respond to such newfound attention that will ultimately determine our status in the public eye.

Our response should be swift and decisive. We must seize the moment! We must take advantage of the media spotlight. The publicity, negative or otherwise, is our chance to educate the public about what we, as accountants, do and how we play an indispensable role in the day-to-day operations of the business world and the financial markets. We cannot condone publicly or privately any ethical transgressions that may have occurred in the various business failures that have captured the headlines. Instead, we must convince the public that these incidents are the rare exceptions to the rule. More important, our words and actions must provide the necessary assurances and confirmation that our profession operates within and abides by strict ethical standards.

We must seize the moment, similarly, in attracting and guiding the next generation of CPAs. It is important that we take advantage of the recent surge of interest in the profession by young people. In recent years, the Society and all of us as accountants have been concerned about the decline in enrollment in college accounting programs and the number of graduates who have entered the accounting profession. Ironically, Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and a string of other corporate accounting scandals may be just the catalyst that our profession needs to reverse those trends. Building on this momentum, we must do everything we can, individually and as a CPA society, to convince younger generations that our profession is an exciting, essential and, resolutely, ethical one.

Student-mentoring programs, such as the Regional Program for Excellence, provide an ideal opportunity to promote and instill that very perception of the CPA profession. The program is a great way to expose young people to the roles and responsibilities of the CPA. But they also provide students with insight into the CPA-client relationship, giving them a firsthand look at the professional and sometimes personal ties that bind the two parties.

We must seize the moment by mentoring future accountants, and I encourage all of you to consider participating in a program like the one offered by the BOCES. As we look to educate young people about our profession, it is imperative that we instill in them the highest ethical aspirations that we, as CPAs, traditionally have embraced. If we fail to provide the proper guidance, by word and example, we can hold only ourselves accountable if our profession’s ethical standards are later compromised by the new generation of CPAs. We must do all we can to encourage these young, energetic and idealistic people to practice honorably. They are our future.

Finally, we must seize the moment by responsibly reacting to proposed changes to our profession. We, as a state society, along with the American Institute of CPAs and other accounting organizations, should continue to participate in the process of change. But rather than insisting on the status quo, we must accept and embrace positive corrective action just as we have done in the past. A strengthening of the profession will emerge from this approach. We have an obligation to our profession and to the public to right the wrongs of the most recent past. Now, we have a unique opportunity to do so. Let us seize the moment!