Local High School Students Preview Accounting Careers

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo School of Management and the Foundation for Accounting Education of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) announced that 28 local high school rising seniors successfully completed the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program. The five-day program, held at the UB School of Management, aims to introduce minority high school students to the accounting profession.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the week of activities, tours, and guest speakers,” said participant Nicole Gangloff of St. Mary’s High School. “Accounting is still in the running for my future, and I look forward to further researching it.”

Three local firms hosted the COAP participants for firm visits. At PricewaterhouseCoopers, the students met with Mark A. Bruno, Lake Erie market sourcing leader, who talked about the caliber of résumé and interview needed to land a job at a prestigious firm. At Lumsden & McCormick, LLP, the participants took tours and spoke with Sherry L. DelleBovi, firm partner and past-president of the Buffalo chapter NYSSCPA and Carley F. Mealey, senior analyst with Brisbane Consulting Group. Rich Products Corporation provided a luncheon featuring Rich’s cuisine while participants listened to a panel of Rich’s top financial executives. 

Ann Burstein Cohen, associate professor of accounting in the UB School of Management, worked with the NYSSCPA to organize the event. "It is our hope that if minority students realize early on that the accounting profession has a variety of interesting opportunities, we can increase the number of candidates who enter the field," she said.

Daniel Tirone, partner with Downing & Tirone CPAs and past NYSSCPA Buffalo chapter president, moderated a panel comprised of accountants in industry, public accounting, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

COAP activities included résumé and job interviewing exercises, etiquette, ethics and group projects that required participants to come up with a business plan—complete with mock financial statements—and present it to a panel of judges.

The program concluded with a banquet for students and their parents on July 1 at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo Hotel. Karen Stanley Fleming, former director of urban affairs for the City of Buffalo, provided the keynote address.

The NYSSCPA represents 28,000 CPAs and is the oldest state accounting organization in the nation. Incorporated in 1897, the society is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to establish and maintain high standards of integrity, honor and character among certified public accountants. The Buffalo Chapter, with nearly 1,500 members, encompasses Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming counties. To learn more about the society, visit www.nysscpa.org

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.