Retaining nontraditional accounting students

A day-in-the-life-of-a-CPA program offered by the University of Memphis has been the catalyst for hundreds of nontraditional students to stick with accounting and pursue a career in the profession.

James Miller, CPA, is one of them.

Miller attended the Accounting Careers of Tomorrow (ACT) Program in 2015. At the time he was 38, a small business owner with a chemistry degree who returned to school for a career change and had just changed his major from management information systems to accounting. The ACT program made him feel he had made the right decision. Today, he is a mergers-and-acquisitions adviser and president of the Memphis chapter of the Tennessee Society of CPAs.

“The ACT program was pivotal in shaping my understanding of the CPA profession, particularly as a nontraditional student,” he said.

The ACT program was launched in 2014 to increase the awareness of students minoring or double-majoring in accounting about potential career paths in the profession, understanding of the CPA Exam, and knowledge of public accounting in general. Hosted by Reynolds, Bone, and Griesbeck PLC (RBG), a midsize Memphis, Tenn., firm, the free program focuses on developing students’ career path knowledge, interviewing skills, and ethical awareness. About 330 students have completed the program since its inception, with 80% of them going on to pursue a career in accounting.

Catherine Duncan, RBG’s COO, said the program helps “develop top accounting professionals in our region” and that the firm “takes great pride in the quality of student learning and growth outcomes.”

Lasting just one day, the ACT program appeals to nontraditional and historically underserved students who tend to fall through the cracks of many recruiting and development programs because they may have full-time jobs, family responsibilities, and/or other financial obligations that restrict them from participating in clubs that require weekly meetings and/or professional dues.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

The program offers a firsthand experience of a contemporary office environment. Students immerse themselves in case studies on professional ethics, network with local professionals from various firms and accounting backgrounds, listen to a panel of accounting professionals, meet executives from local companies, and prepare for and participate in mock interviews.

The emphasis on cultivating essential success skills underscores the practical, real-world focus, reassuring students and professionals that an accounting career is not just about theoretical knowledge but also about developing the nontechnical skills necessary for the profession.

The ACT program’s agenda is the same every time. It starts with a brief program history and student introductions, followed by a session on a real-world ethical dilemma led by a local accounting professional or accounting instructor and a tour of RBG’s office and facilities. If the program is highlighting critical thinking rather than ethics, a short case study could be used, walking through the thought process for each step in the process of reaching a decision.

A faculty representative might then guide students through interview best practices to prepare for mock interviews later in the day and lead a panel discussion with various accounting professionals on career paths and the CPA Exam. During lunch, students would be seated alongside local professionals for informal networking and conversation.

In the afternoon, students participate in multi-round mock interviews with local accounting professionals and recruiters. The program then concludes with brief remarks from a local accounting leader who presents certificates of completion.

PROFESSIONALS PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE

Local accounting professionals from external audit, internal audit, corporate accounting, and state and local government participate in the day’s events and are involved in every session. This allows them to build and strengthen relationships with the next cohort of accounting professionals soon entering the workforce.

This opportunity gives accounting professionals the ability to not only “give back” to the university, but also an opportunity to tell a more compelling story about the profession in general, from their individual perspective. Additionally, this program allows for professionals to expand their networking and recruiting to students they may not have otherwise met.

Professionals are also pivotal to the mock interviews. They conduct each 20-minute mock interview rotation and provide individual feedback to students after each of the three interview rounds.

HOW THE PROGRAM BENEFITS THE PROFESSION

In our experience, the ACT program not only helps address the talent shortage by reaching traditionally underrepresented students — those who work full time, commute to campus, and have other financial and time constraints — it also increases the representation of underserved individuals because networking often leads to job opportunities.

Mimi McCarroll, RBG’s recruiting and HR coordinator, said, “The ACT program is a great follow-up to the college recruiting activities, and we believe it helps students see our team and our culture.”

While the ACT program provides benefits to the profession, it is specifically designed to help undergraduate accounting students who have completed Intermediate Accounting I. The course is mandatory for students majoring, double-majoring, or minoring in accounting.

Intermediate Accounting I is one of the first courses where students develop true accounting competencies. The AICPA Foundational Competencies Framework for Aspiring CPAs recommends the development of foundational technical, organizational, and leadership competencies. Classrooms typically emphasize technical knowledge, which requires us to look for other ways to help our students develop other professional skills.

The ACT program bridges the gaps by providing professional development and networking for students with resource constraints. Many ACT participants work jobs during college unrelated to their accounting major, and the mock interviews are often their first and only introduction to behavioral-based questions that many accounting firms use in the interview process. Students also report that the industry panel is eye-opening in that they can learn about various accounting-related career paths.

The university keeps the student ACT pipeline active, maintains relationships with accounting firms, coordinates with various accounting professionals, and provides accounting faculty for the day. The host firm executes the day — impressing the students with their accounting firm facilities and engaged staff members while getting a daylong look at many top students. The program is an efficient and effective recruiting tool for the firm.

Upon completing this program, students are better prepared to interview, professionally interact with accounting professionals, understand what is expected of them, and use their accounting skills more quickly to add value to the firm.

Jorge Prado, a 2021 ACT program alumnus, said he “found it to be an incredible way to help see what public accounting is more about.” Prado earned a bachelor’s degree in business studies and a master’s in accounting from the University of Memphis and joined RBG in 2022 as part of the firm’s tax staff.

SUSTAINING THE PROGRAM OVER TIME

What are the keys to making a program like ACT successful? First, the partnership between the host firm and the university must be established, ongoing, and a priority. Second, these parties need to be highly committed to this symbiotic program. Third, the host firm should take the lead, eventually sponsoring the day, including the breakfast and lunch offerings, the space, the logistics, and the staff for the day-of program. Fourth, all stakeholders, including students, the accounting community, and committed faculty, should fully understand the program’s importance to participants through career connections and other invaluable knowledge that result from it.

After running the program for more than 10 years, we have past participants who return as employers to present and share opportunities with current students. It has come full circle from an idea to a tradition and model of professional development in our accounting community. This program remains one of our most sustainable “outside the classroom” experiential learning, professional development, and career-building opportunities.

STEPS TO CREATE A ONE-DAY, INTENSIVE EXPERIENCE

For universities that want to develop a similar program, the critical steps to creating an ACT-type program include:

• Developing a relationship between a host firm and a university accounting department to collaborate for robust student opportunities.
• Tailoring the program to your student population’s needs (e.g., residential, commuter, nontraditional, and online).
• Identifying your “brand” and creating appropriate marketing strategies to incentivize all involved, including the faculty, the accounting firms, and the former students. This could involve developing signature informative promotional materials.
• Incorporating local accounting leaders, including individuals to serve on an executive panel for a question-and-answer session and lunch with small groups of students for extended interaction.
• Identifying and recruiting targeted students (e.g., second-semester sophomores and juniors).
• Developing an engaging curriculum with multiple presenters and formats to help demonstrate the breadth of opportunity in accounting.
• Maintaining flexibility to constantly innovate the format, curriculum, presenters, and student recruiting strategies.
• Considering embedding the program into a required course (e.g., Intermediate Accounting) and having students write a paper after the program as a graded assignment to ensure commitment from the students.
• Evaluating the program from the perspectives of all stakeholders: the university, the firm, the faculty, and the students.
• Following up with participant students (e.g., keeping metrics for student success such as interview offers, internship offers, and job offers) and adjusting as needed to ensure maximum impact.
• Continuing cultivating and expanding crucial relationships with the host and participating employers.
• Providing recognition of students who have completed the program. This can include follow-up emails after the program directed at students who completed the program and thanking them for participating.
• Highlighting those employers that actively support the program. This can be done in future advertising materials for the program and recognition during annual awards dinners of the employers that participated.
• Providing online platforms to enhance the program (e.g., record certain sections) and facilitating virtual networking using platforms such as Zoom’s virtual breakout rooms.

Steps for firms to implement include:

• Contacting the department chair from the school with which you’re interested in collaborating.
• Meeting with the school of accounting’s chair and relevant faculty to understand the student demographics and current needs.
• Working with the faculty to determine when and how the program should be offered.
• Designating a firm representative and faculty representative to coordinate.
• Contacting other employers in the area to gauge interest.

About the authors

Hannah Smith Antinozzi, CPA, Ph.D., and Kate Sorensen, CPA, Ph.D., are assistant professors at the University of Memphis’s Crews School of Accountancy. Kathy Tuberville, Ed.D., is an associate professor of teaching at the University of Memphis’s Department of Management and faculty director of the Fogelman Women in Leadership programs. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Jeff Drew at Jeff.Drew@aicpa-cima.com.

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