The Ohio Society of CPAs has introduced a new community college-targeted program titled ASPIRE!, which joins the OSCPA’s annual Accounting Careers Awareness Program (ACAP-Ohio) in the society’s mission to fill the business need for future CPAs.

After a year-long pilot in Ohio, ASPIRE!, which introduces students in business and accounting classes to CPA careers, will take place at Sept. 21 at Columbus State Community College and Sept. 28 at Lorain County Community College. More colleges are planned for next spring.

“The ASPIRE! program readies students for important issues they will soon face—transferring to a four-year university, choosing among various career paths and beginning to network professionally,” John F. Bongorno, CPA and assistant professor at Cuyahoga Community College, said in a statement. “By attending ASPIRE! the student is made aware of these critical future steps at an early stage in his or her college career."

More information about the program is available in this video.

OSCPA and the Ohio CPA Foundation partner with Ohio Chapters of the National Association of Black Accountants to present ACAP-Ohio, a week-long campus residency program hosted at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business every June. The program pairs high-achieving minority high school students with local accounting and business leaders to learn about career options in the field. The students also work in teams on business case studies to win college scholarships.  

Nearly 100 percent of the ACPA-Ohio graduates go on to attend or plan to attend college after high school graduation. Of those now enrolled in college, 69 percent are majoring in accounting or business, and 76 percent said that ACAP-Ohio influenced their choice, according to the OSCPA.