Addressing the talent pipeline — one student at a time
Julia Shiota, MNCPA communications coordinator | August/September 2024 Footnote
Step one foot outside and you’ll get hit from all sides with news about the pipeline! Luckily, the MNCPA has been addressing this issue through several initiatives, including student outreach. One program that has been reaping success since being established in 2018 is the MNCPA’s Scholars Program.
The program provides an opportunity for highachieving high school students from marginalized backgrounds to see what a career in accounting may look like through firm visits, specific student-facing programming and engaging with a mentor. The program follows the academic school year, beginning in August with mentor training and wrapping up the following July with a celebratory dinner for mentors and mentees.
The program accepts around 12 students per academic year. Events range from showcasing what a day-to-day life as a CPA looks like to general business or professional skills development. For instance, in the fall, the mentees are fitted for a professional outfit — dress pants or a skirt, along with professional shoes — and a MNCPA scholar’s button-down shirt to wear to different events, giving mentees the chance to practice their professional skills.
However, the key element of the program is the one-on-one pairing with a mentor who has three to five years of experience and who have their CPA. The intention is to pair scholars with mentors who have the right work experience, while being young enough in their careers to feel attainable to mentees.
MNCPA member, Brady Banken, a manager at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, has been a mentor since the program’s inception.
“This is an innovative, inclusive program to introduce a new group of untapped potential to the profession,” Banken said. “I’m not sure where I’d be without having a mentor in college and I’d like to think the scholars who participate in this program feel the same way.”
Mentors don’t only answer questions about accounting; they are also intended to be a general mentor to help with applying to colleges, achieving academic goals and so on. At the beginning of the program, scholars lay out goals they wish to achieve and work with mentors to attain them. If scholars successfully complete the program, they receive $1,000 to use towards their education.
“The really exciting thing is we are actually seeing results,” said Amy Johnston, MNCPA membership coordinator. “Since I’ve been here, there are several who are currently accounting majors and some have even reached out to me again to inquire about internships.”
Sean Culp, a recent graduate in accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato, was part of the first cohort of scholars during the 2018-19 school year. The program allowed him to experience different paths open to professionals in accounting.
“Being able to talk with professionals, along with seeing the different opportunities that can open up through accounting was the most meaningful part of the program,” Culp said.
Jennifer Acosta, an incoming sophomore at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, is a more recent graduate of the Scholars program. She is currently pursuing an accounting degree and plans to graduate with a major in accounting and a minor in finance.
“The most meaningful part of the program was getting to know people and getting an insight into how the accounting world works,” Acosta said. “When I first applied, I already had a small interest in accounting because of the job security, but the program definitely pushed me to actually pursue an accounting degree.”
During her time as a scholar, Acosta was able to shadow her mentor at Abdo, LLP, learning about how the firm works and what an accounting job entails. She hopes to continue in the industry and earn her CPA in the next few years.
The intention is to grow the program to accept larger cohorts of students. However, because the program is run through the MNCPA Foundation, more sponsors are needed to reach more students.
“We absolutely want to grow the program,” Johnston said. “It’s part of how we are trying to address the pipeline.”
Would you like to become a mentor?
Visit
www.mncpa.org/scholars to learn more! Are you interested in sponsoring the program? Reach out to
membership@mncpa.org
