Voices

Helping Young African-American Accountants Move Up

It’s not too late to sign up for the upcoming “We’re About Success!” program, an initiative designed to help young African-American accountants move up in their careers and prepare them to earn their CPA credential earlier on. Firms from around the country are invited to support their young African-American accountants with one year or less experience by registering them with this program.

Hosted by the Howard University School of Business Center for Accounting Education [CAE], the program is slated for June 28 to July 2 in Chantilly, Va. RSVPs are being accepted up until June 26.

“Accounting firms across the nation, eager to diversify their ranks, know they must make every effort to ensure that the talented minorities they hire will remain committed to the profession and passing the CPA exam,” said Frank Ross, director of the CAE. “Minorities have traditionally had a low rate of passing the exam and moving up the ladder to senior positions in accounting firms.”

The “We’re About Success!” program is designed to increase the return on investment for accounting firms that have hired African-American associates and want to help them succeed, Ross added.

The program will consists of sessions like Building Support & Alliances, Career Ownership & Planning, and Organizational Culture, which are all designed to help young accountants make their mark and succeed in the workplace. There will also be a session entitled CPA Exam Overview, which will focus on the passing the CPA exam.

This year, there will be three new sessions, Achieving Success in a Changing World, Uncovering Unconscious Bias and The Power of a Cohort, moderated by representatives of participating accounting firms.

For more information about the “We’re About Success!” program, contact Pat Kellibrew, CAE coordinator at pkellibrew@howard.edu.

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