Minority 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) are collaborating to introduce minority high school students to career opportunities in the accounting profession during a five-day program.

Approximately 24 students from area high schools are expected to attend the sixth annual Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program, taking place June 26 through June 30 in the School of Management on UB's North Campus.

“The goal of the program is to increase awareness of the many opportunities that an accounting education and career can provide,” says Ann Burstein Cohen, associate professor of accounting in the UB School of Management.

Working with the NYSSCPA, Cohen has led the Buffalo COAP program since its inception in 2006. “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 adds.

The program will feature a comprehensive series of breakout sessions designed to provide participants with insights into all the components of an accounting education and career.

A number of area accounting firms will give presentations on campus, and students will make off-site visits to Lumsden & McCormick, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Rich Products, where they will take company tours and speak with accounting representatives from those firms.

A session entitled “The Accounting Profession: 360 Degrees of Possibilities,” led by Daniel Tirone ’81, CPA, partner, Downing & Tirone, will feature a panel of accounting professionals.

Alicia Alexander ’05, CPA, senior associate, PricewaterhouseCoopers, will introduce the students to accounting concepts and will present a “Build Your Own Business” seminar, followed by group work sessions and student business presentations before a panel of judges. Several UB accounting faculty and staff members will lead sessions as well.

The program also will include a wide variety of professional development opportunities, including a business lunch called “Putting Your Best Fork Forward,” which will feature etiquette tips for working meals; a “dress for success” session; a “speed-meeting” event; a résumé-writing workshop; and sessions on job-search strategies, interviewing techniques, public speaking and ethics.

This year’s program will conclude with a banquet for students and their parents at 6 p.m. on June 30 at the Jacobs Executive Development Center, 672 Delaware Ave., in Buffalo. Reginald Z. Burt, vice president, special credits unit, HSBC USA, will serve as keynote speaker at the event.

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 has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, 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, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. 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.