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MACPA’s Accounting Education and Career Task Force tackles profession’s resource challenges

By Don Butt, CPA

The MACPA’s Accounting Education and Career Task Force was created to focus attention on identifying and working toward reducing the impact of challenges facing the recruitment and development of accounting students and the successful entry and retention of these students into the CPA profession.

The well-rounded composition of the task force has facilitated important communication, discussion and group interaction between MACPA members representing the profession and the academic communities. Recent graduates and existing students have provided input to the task force via personal interviews and participation at the 2006 MACPA Accounting Educators’ Conference.  

Under the leadership of MACPA Executive Director and CEO Tom Hood, CPA, and Richard Rabicoff, the MACPA’s Career Initiatives and Public Relations manager, the task force has held four successful planning sessions. These f sessions have been supplemented with smaller focus group research projects related to key themes identified by the task force.

The following is a review of the progression of key outcomes to date.    

Twenty attendees representing the public accounting, private industry, governmental and education sectors identified five priority themes that would serve as the focal points for further research:

1. Building a more effective bridge from school to career.
2. Effectively communicating CPA career paths and options.
3. Obtaining and retaining accounting majors.
4. Improving cooperation and communication among stakeholders.
5. Bridging the generation gap.

After identifying these priority themes, task force members volunteered to serve on focus groups pertaining to a particular theme.

Each focus group presented primary findings related to its research on a specific theme.  From this research, some common priorities emerged:

1. The profession needs more effective promotion of the CPA career and must leverage the momentum of the MACPA’s Tomorrow’s CPA program. The importance of obtaining the CPA license should be stressed.
2. The profession should enhance the emphasis on non-traditional (age and career path) students.
3. We should review and, as needed, refocus attention on the academic accounting curriculum.
4. Better alignment of expectations between students and the profession should be created.
5. Communication between educators, the profession and students should be improved, and messages should be consistent.
6. The specificity of Maryland’s 150-hour requirement should be revisited.

These priorities were then placed into a framework that will be used to guide efforts for the completion of the initial phase.

The framework is comprised of three key relationship-based focus points and linkage activities that support an individual’s transition from one key relationship to the other. The common theme throughout the framework is a consistent focus on supporting the development of the individual’s ability to successfully enter the accounting profession and obtain licensure as a certified public accountant.

The task force is in the process of identifying and prioritizing specific activities that support the successful delivery of each of the framework’s elements.

The task force expects to have a draft report summarizing key outcomes of its efforts in the spring of 2007.

Members of the task force are:

• Tami Bensky, CPA (Myers and Stauffer, LC; MACPA Board of Directors)Bensky & Associates
• Barbara Stewart, CPA (Towson University; Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy)
• Lisa Cines, CPA (Aronson & Company)
• Al DeLeon, CPA (DeLeon & Stang)
• Gerry Lindner, CPA (Ernst & Young)
• Jeff Lawson, CPA (Stoy, Malone & Company; MACPA’s New / Young Professionals Network)
• Chris Wehner, CPA (Stegman & Company; MACPA’s New / Young Professionals Network)
• Tom Foard, CPA (Publishers Circulation Fulfillment, Inc.)
• Cindie Rosenzweig, CPA (Northrop Grumman)
• Gary Spivey, CPA (Maryland Office of Legislative Audits)
• Don Butt, CPA (Mount St. Mary's University)
• Lamont (Doc) Steedle, (Towson University)
• Bruch Lubich, CPA, (UMUC graduate school)
• Gary Bulmash, CPA (University of Maryland College Park)
• Dr. Sharon Finney, CPA (Morgan State University)
• Kathy Wessman, CPA (Montgomery College)
• Phil Korb, CPA (University of Baltimore)
• Barbara Vlaisavljevic, CPA (Villa Julie College)
• Brian Lazarus, CPA (BCCC)
• Chris Downey (Reznick Group)

Don Butt, CPA, is an assistant professor of accounting and finance at Mount St. Mary’s University.