The importance of accounting program student trips

There has never been a better time to pursue a degree in accounting. Starting salaries are skyrocketing, firms are paying more attention to work/life balance, first- and second-year college students are being courted more seriously for leadership programs and internships, specialty paths within the profession are expanding (e.g., sustainability and analytics), and working from home is more possible than ever.

Yet still, here we are, with a depleted pipeline of candidates looking to enter the accounting profession. To drum up interest in the major at John Carroll University, we reinstated our annual accounting trip, which had been put on hold due to COVID-19.

Our first post-COVID trip

The 2023 trip was Jan. 7–13 and included stops in New York City and Washington, D.C. Through EY’s generous support, the cost was only $500 per student. The trip included airfare, train tickets from New York to Washington, ground transportation to required events, six nights in hotels, two group dinners, a social event, and other experiences. Two faculty members (i.e., the authors of this article) and 17 students participated.

We arrived in New York City on Saturday so students could take the weekend to bond and explore the city. Monday’s events included a guided walking tour of Wall Street and the Financial District, as well as a visit to the EY office in Midtown. Our last official event in New York City was a walking tour through Central Park with an investment consultant from Morgan Stanley. The “walk and talk” was a highlight of the trip, as it opened the students’ eyes to a nontraditional career path with an accounting degree.

Our train arrived in Washington on Tuesday early enough for students to grab dinner and explore the city. On Wednesday morning, after some sightseeing, we met with staffers for Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, at the Hart Senate Office Building. Thursday, we met with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, toured the U.S. Capitol, and hosted a group dinner in Georgetown. Our final day included a visit with National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins and meetings with several members of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel.

What this trip does

There are several major benefits from a trip like this. First, after just one week together, it was clear the students had bonded with one another and developed relationships. Together, they navigated two major cities, met with leaders in the profession, and held each other accountable on a tight schedule.

They also had fun, bonding over sightseeing, museum visits, group dinners, and even a Wizards-Bulls basketball game at Capital One Arena. As a result, these 17 students will undoubtedly remain important pieces of each other’s professional network throughout their future careers.

Second, this reignited the students’ excitement about the accounting profession. By meeting leaders in the field and hearing their stories of hard work and perseverance, the students saw the opportunities that await them. Countless times we heard, “Wow, I didn’t realize I could do that with an accounting degree.” Though we often tell students about the many opportunities in accounting, seeing them in the real world drove the point home.

Finally, our trip served as great advertising for the accounting major. Students posted pictures and videos to social media during the trip, reaching students at John Carroll University and other universities, showing the fruits of pursuing an accounting degree. When back on campus, these students talk about their experiences with others, drumming up more interest from underclassmen about the major and the profession.

What you can do

Successful student trips like ours are the result of efforts from many dedicated faculty, firms, alumni, and professionals. We could not make this trip available to so many students at such a low cost if not for generous donations, specifically here from EY.

We have benefited from alumni being willing to use connections to set up meetings or gain access to an organization we might otherwise not see. We have also been consistently humbled by the firms and professionals that welcome our students and share their success stories.

We are not the only accounting program that hosts a student trip, and you might be the key connection a program needs to set up an unforgettable experience for students looking for new reasons to get excited about a career in accounting.

If you are willing to host student groups, make it known. Use your connections to help students gain access to unique experiences. In doing so, you can play a major role in addressing the pipeline shortage of accounting students.

— Tripp Petzel, Ph.D., and Mark Sheldon, CPA, Ph.D., are both associate professors of accounting at John Carroll University. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Rocky Rosen at Rocky.Rosen@aicpa-cima.com.