Students Clueless on What a CPA Does

Posted by accountingweb on Dec 4 2000 195 printer friendly

How well do you think high school and college students know what a CPA does? Here are some alarming statistics!

More than one-third of high school and college students don't know what CPAs do for a living, according to a recent study conducted by the Taylor Research and Consulting Group.

The students weren't told that CPA stands for Certified Public Accountant. When students were asked, "What do CPAs do?," their answers included:

"Don't know:" 35 percent (high school), 37 percent (college);
"Handle money:" 25 percent (high school), 14 percent (college);
"Tax preparation:" 18 percent (high school), 31 percent (college); and
"Other:" 22 percent (high school), 18 percent (college).

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