New York High School Students Gain Insight into Accounting Profession

High school students from the Aquinas Institute of Rochester, Bishop Kearney High School, Wayne High School, and Webster Central School District gathered in downtown Rochester on April 27 for the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) World of Accounting event.

Organized by the NYSSCPA Rochester Chapter, professionals, professors, and college students gave presentations to the students about the accounting profession. Since its inception in 2003, nearly 1,000 students have participated in the World of Accounting event.

The event showcased the benefits of majoring in and pursuing a career in accounting in the midst of a difficult job market. Speakers made presentations and talked with students one-on-one about going to college as an accounting major and what it is like to work in the accounting profession.

“We give them a good menu of different accounting careers,” said Ken Hall, a past Rochester Chapter President and one of the event’s organizers. “The volunteers that come and speak are very good role models.”

Panel speakers included board members from the NYSSCPA Rochester Chapter, IRS Criminal Investigation Division Special Agents, private sector accounting professionals, and accounting professors and recent graduates from SUNY Geneseo, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. John Fisher College, and Canisius College.

The seminars presented at the event covered college academics, mock student/recruiter interviews, discussions with recent college graduates, and segments on corporate and government accounting. Students also got the opportunity to tour two local CPA firms.

“They get the opportunity to look out of a 15th floor office into downtown Rochester,” Hall said of the tours. “For them it leaves an impression.”