Back to High School to Recruit Accounting Majors

Posted by accountingweb on Jul 3 2000 115 printer friendly

A booming economy and fewer accounting graduates (about 10,000 over a four-year period) has motivated the Big 5, along with other accounting and consulting firms, to dig deeper for qualified applicants. One place that seems to be a prime resource for the future of accounting is America's high schools. In some cases, even middle schools makes sense.

The Big 5 are arriving in droves, and this time they have more than promises of employment. They have incentives like scholarships and internships to entice future accountants to rise to the top.

For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers will send recruiters to about 3,000 high schools this year, and are closely looking to see whether middle schools also should be covered.

The AICPA is involved as well, with programs for the classroom that make accounting 'fun' for anyone involved. One section tells how forensic accounting even helped capture Al Capone.

Voice of the Editor

Even though any accounting auditor would tell you it seems like there are an awful lot of tax accountants out there, surely one-third of the country isn't made up of tax preparers, so it's rather startling news to learn that one-third of Americans like to do their taxes. Who knew?

This Week on AccountingWEB

Bill Walter of Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates and Harold Gaar of TravisWolff LLP weigh in on mobile technology use while employees are at work.

WestArk RSVP and Fayette County Community Action Agency – organizations that received grant funding through the IRS Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program – spoke with AccountingWEB about how they assist senior citizens in their communities.

CPA Robert Raiola, who heads the Sports & Entertainment Group of Fazio, Mannuzza, Roche, Tankel, LaPilusa, LLC, talks NFL player income taxes with AccountingWEB.

Retiring KPMG Centennial Professor of Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business Robert May, PhD talks with AccountingWEB about his rewarding forty-three-year career.