Auditor, chief financial officer, data scientist, regulator, entrepreneur. Those are some of the many careers available to a certified public accountant (CPA).
Unfortunately, however, interest in the accounting profession is waning. And with the stability of capital markets and the business world overall dependent on a thriving profession, the time to act is now.
We need to come together as public accounting firms, public and private companies, industry associations and CPA societies to sell a career in accounting differently. We need to create greater awareness for the work of a CPA and the impact it has. And that starts with storytelling.
The power of connections
Think back to why you chose your major in college. Was it because you knew someone who already worked in the field? Was it just a subject you were interested in? Or was it a conversation with a family member, friend or trusted advisor?
The decision to choose any career often hinges on personal connections. It’s no surprise that the more personal we can make the career narrative, the more meaningful it is.
For me, that connection was a professor in college. In one hour, he told me about the doors that having a CPA could open and how a background in accounting — the ability to find a story in data, problem solve, help companies grow and scale — would set me up for success in so many ways. It was that conversation where he convinced me to change my major from Healthcare Marketing to Accounting.
To attract more people to the profession, we cannot wait to meet potential candidates on campus once they declared a major. We need to start creating awareness of a career in accounting with high school students and right when students start college.
At Ernst & Young LLP (EY US), we recently launched a campaign featuring near-peer EY Assurance professionals sharing stories of their own journeys to accounting, and ways that they’ve found connection, variety and community in their own careers.
Learning continuously
Early-career accounting professionals can find the sheer adventure of their careers and their ability to follow their own intellectual curiosity within it. This is certainly true for Kyle Tackett, EY US auditor, who managed to combine accounting with his love of mastering new languages, his interest in using technology to innovate, and his passion for the media and entertainment industry. One of his engagements is in the entertainment industry. He explains, “We’ll audit the film costs, the revenue, and then my team and I will go together to see the films. If you want to learn how every single thing interconnects in an industry, auditing is the place to be.”
Forging connections
Diego Baca was a first-generation college student from a small town and a low-income family. He worried whether he had the financial means to pursue accounting or the social experience. “Until the interview for my internship at EY US,” he explains, “I had never been in a building higher than three stories tall.”
Feeling overwhelmed on the 33rd floor, he soon found a role in helping others overcome their own hesitations and reservations. Very early in his career, he helped to pilot the EY College MAP program that connects mentors with 11th and 12th graders in underserved high schools to help prepare them for college.
Making the world greener
Mandy Look, a professional in our Climate Change & Sustainability Services group who calls herself an “audit hippie,” says that there is a “full connection” between the sustainable way she lives and the work she does with EY clients. “I’m very proud of what I am doing, keeping climate change top of mind not only for large corporations, but also for entire countries.”
Opening doors to opportunities
Darryl Beneby of EY Assurance started college as an Economics major. He had a moment of revelation when an older fraternity brother asked him, “Well, what are you going to do with that?” and he realized he didn’t really have a good answer. Darryl currently works hard to mentor EY professionals. “For me, it all goes back to building bridges and creating opportunities.”
Innovating with tech and data
EY Assurance and Digital Innovation professional Hailey Robinson describes herself as someone with a creative side, and she uses that on a daily basis. She divides her time between traditional assurance work and developing tech and data solutions for audit teams. “I might work with a data set and put it into a visual format in a dashboard that allows the auditor — instead of looking at a massive spreadsheet — to look at graphs that can be drilled into and investigated.”
Accelerating the CPA journey
A few years ago, Kathryn Moder was an accounting student who wanted to avoid more tuition on the road to becoming a CPA. Instead, she signed up for the EY Career Path Accelerator, combining hands-on experience via an EY internship and virtual learning administered by Hult International Business School. “The classes were really tailored for someone on the public accounting career path,” she explains. “There was a leadership class I had huge takeaways from, as well as classes in digital, data visualization and environmental sustainability. All those were real-world applicable.”
Our shared responsibility
As finance and accounting professionals, we play a critical role in shaping the future of our profession. We influence the investment and talent strategy. We create opportunities for people to learn, grow and achieve their professional ambitions.
And, more importantly, we can be role models and mentors to the next generation of CPAs. Our individual actions and career journeys can inspire others and help create a pipeline of accounting talent for generations to come.
Ginnie Carlier is EY Americas Vice Chair – Talent.