By Denise L. Devine, CPA, and Albert E. Trexler, CAE
PICPA demographics indicate that 26 percent of our membership is 55 years or older. The large Baby Boomer generation is beginning to retire. These facts are going to have a tremendous effect on the CPA profession in the near future. One of our responsibilities as a professional organization is to fill the pipeline with as many individuals as possible. To do that, we continuously reach out to accounting graduates, current college students, and even high school students. We are attempting to connect with students and attract them to the CPA profession by teaching them a critical life skill that often gets neglected by many parents and the educational system: the importance of managing their finances.
Opportunity
We are taking ownership of this issue by developing a program that we hope will be adopted nationally. The goal is to increase the financial literacy of high school students, grades 9 through 12, while at the same time introducing them to the opportunities that are available to someone who pursues a career as a CPA.
A unique financial literacy program was discussed during a national meeting for state CPA society staff that piqued the interest of PICPA’s Careers in Accounting team. The National Theatre for Children’s Mad About Money program is designed to communicate the complex message of financial literacy to hard-to-reach audiences though a combination of live theatre and improvisation. PICPA arranged for a sample showing to determine if the performance and content fit a high school audience.
The pilot program was held at Prep Charter School in Philadelphia on Dec. 7, 2007. There were two, 45-minute performances, with a total of 550 students. The pilot was such a success, PICPA committed to deliver this program across the state in 20 schools.
Students enthusiastically embraced the show because of its unique mixture of financial literacy and humor. PICPA’s only remaining challenge was determining how to incorporate the awareness of the CPA profession into the presentation. Writers from the National Theatre for Children (NTC) and the PICPA team held a brainstorming session to develop elements for a skit where audience participation highlights several careers that tap CPA skill sets.
Roll-out is scheduled for April 2008. The goal is to reach approximately 12,000 students, with at least one high school in each chapter participating in the program. All the financial literacy materials will be co-branded with PICPA’s logo. Chapter and team members will attend each presentation to meet and greet school officials and teachers, and offer follow-up, in-class presentations on financial literacy or accounting careers.
NTC is responsible for contacting, scheduling, and coordinating all the high schools. PICPA will provide a 12-page, four-color student workbook for students, as well as teacher guides, classroom posters, and Internet activities. Each teacher will provide a program evaluation so we can measure the program’s success.
Once completed, the PICPA program will be promoted nationally through discussions with AICPA Council and the Interchange Conference of other state societies. Pennsylvania will once again be acknowledged as a leader in increasing the profession’s presence in communities across the country.
Member Involvement
We all have a responsibility to encourage the next generation to consider a career as a CPA. You can assist with this initiative by volunteering to serve as a key contact to a public, charter, or private high school in your area. Specifically, duties would entail encouraging the high school administration or faculty members to find time for additional financial literacy sessions or participating in a career night. If you want to be an active participant in PICPA Careers programs, contact schools@picpa.org. We are particularly interested in nurturing alumni connections, so please indicate your high school affiliation, when appropriate. We may be able to achieve significant success in feeding the accounting pipeline if each PICPA member takes it upon himself or herself to identify, nurture, and mentor his or her replacement. The continued health of the profession will benefit from this type of commitment.
Denise L. Devine, CPA, is founder and CEO of Nutripharm Inc. in Media and PICPA president. She can be reached at ddevine@nutripharminc.com.
Albert E. Trexler, CAE, is executive director and CEO of PICPA. He can be reached at atrexler@picpa.org.
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