The New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) joined forces this past May with its members, firm pipeline partners and the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) in partnership with EVERFI, a web-based learning management company that produced a national financial literacy program, to get the word out to college and high school students about the many job opportunities that are available in accounting.
Cultivating College Students
On May 16, the NJCPA held its inaugural Accelerating Scholars in Accounting (ASA) event at its office in Roseland. More than 50 accounting students from universities/colleges and county colleges attended.
Interactive discussions about the accounting profession and becoming a CPA were held on cultivating a positive mindset for success, how to sharpen one’s professional presence, the CPA Exam, scholarships, networking, how to enhance one’s personal brand and a business chemistry workshop conducted by Deloitte & Touche LLP.
“The Accelerating Scholars event provided the perfect setting for gaining the professional skills needed to succeed in the accounting industry. I left the event knowing that the group of participants was inspired to make an impact! Thank you to the NJCPA for playing such an important role in the future of our next generation,” added Joseph Hunt, CPA, PSA, manager at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), chair of the NJCPA Emerging Leaders Council and a session volunteer at the event.
Aiysha (AJ) Johnson, MA, IOM, CEO and executive director at the NJCPA, offered guidance to the students on striving towards goals. “Don’t be afraid to fail. The reality is if you fail, you have time to try again. Stay focused and don’t give up,” she explained. “It’s wonderful to see such enthusiastic future accounting professionals. We are grateful to our members who helped make this event happen.”
The ASA event was possible thanks to the following firm pipeline partners: CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), CohnReznick, Deloitte Foundation, Forvis Mazars, WilkinGuttenplan, Wiss and Withum.
High School Outreach
On May 31, the NJCPA teamed up with the CAQ and EVERFI to help get the word out about the profession to more than 70 students from Barringer High School in Newark. Students heard discussions about accounting and how it relates to their everyday lives. Ras Baraka, the Mayor of Newark; Liz Barentzen, vice president of Operations and Talent Initiatives of the CAQ; Aiysha (AJ) Johnson; Ray Martinez, president and cofounder of EVERFI; and former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones were on hand to discuss the initiative with the students.
NJCPA members at the event shared their journeys in becoming CPAs. Attendees heard from the following:
- Jose Borbon, CPA, CRC, vice president and audit manager at Northfield Bank
- Joseph Polanco, senior automotive accountant at Withum
- Matthew Stenger, CPA, audit manager at Forvis Mazars
- Yan Zhang, CPA, partner at EisnerAmper
The event also featured the distribution of a $5,000 check to Barringer High School senior Patrick Asare. The award is part of a larger program that awarded $75,000 in scholarships this year under CAQ’s Accounting+ initiative (joinaccountingplus.com).
Raising awareness of the profession among high school students and conducting year-round outreach to high schools and educators was one of the recommendations of the NJCPA’s Pipeline Task Force, formed last year to study the accounting profession’s pipeline challenges and develop a set of actionable and measurable recommendations.
Students interested in attending future events and learning about scholarship opportunities can become free Student Members of the NJCPA at njcpa.org/join.