The Center for Audit Quality and Everfi, a web-based learning management company, debuted
Before launching the campaign, the CAQ did some research to better understand student perceptions about accounting, how students make career decisions, who influences them, and at what point they decide on a certain career.
The results showed the No. 1 influencer is personal connections, whether they're from a family member or mentor. But given that accounting is not a diverse profession, students of color don't have those important connections. Everfi offers a classroom connect feature where teachers can choose to have an accountant come to their classroom and connect with students to rectify this educational inequity.
"Diversity should be a table-stakes discussion at this point," said Liz Barentzen, vice president of talent initiatives at CAQ. "It's important from a social and business perspective for a company to look like our society at large. We know from countless studies that performance increases with a more diverse workplace, and this generation of talent entering the workplace is the most diverse generation that we've seen in our lifetime."
In line with the goals of CAQ's
Barentzen said that Everfi had been in on her radar for quite some time before her organization reached out for a partnership, and Ellen Patterson, Everfi president and chief impact officer, said her organization's track record with digital curricula was what made it the ideal partner for the initiative.
Based in Washington, D.C., Everfi is available in more than 25,000 schools across the country to deliver digital resources that equip students with critical life skills, such as financial literacy, mental health, education, prescription drug safety and others. Everfi provides these services at no cost and offers pre- and post-assessments to students over 13 to track the knowledge they have gained between the beginning and the end of a course. Everfi also dives into behavioral changes and anticipated behavioral changes.
"This is at no cost to the schools themselves because we believe education is a right, regardless of zip code, and we're able to fund that through the generosity of partners like the CAQ," said Patterson. "We also partner with large corporations in areas that are important to teachers and their communities, because we really want to reach low- to moderate-income community schools to ensure that there's access for all."
To celebrate the nationwide launch of the accounting education initiative, the CAQ and Everfi hosted an interactive event for students and guests at H.D. Woodson STEM High School in Washington, D.C. The first of the Accounting for Your Future series, the event featured retired NFL linebacker Dhani Jones as a host and included talk-show style components to help high school students engage with each other and the curriculum. A key component of the event featured accounting professionals who spoke to students about their real-life experiences in their careers.
Barentzen said it was important to bring in professionals whose careers could truly appeal to students and who could discuss relevant topics such as sustainability, education and social media. As a result, the CAQ brought in Jamil White, controller at New Energy Equity, Jessica McLain, the CFO at the Girl Scouts of America, and Courtney Arrington, who specializes in assisting influencers with their accounting.
"It was a powerful image to see these guest speakers, all professionals of color, tell their stories and have breakout groups with the students to talk about the pathways that lead them to those careers," said Patterson. "I was so excited to watch the students' eyes light up and see them go from typical high school students sitting in an auditorium to raising their hands and being super engaged."
The event concluded with the presentation of the CAQ's first $5,000 scholarship, which was awarded to high school sophomore Keith Petty, one of the participating students. In an essay that Barentzen called "very compelling," Petty expressed his goal to become a football player and discussed the accounting field as a potential career where he could still participate in sports while providing stability and creating wealth for his future family.
The CAQ sponsored $50,000 in scholarships this year, with the goal of eventually increasing the amount to $75,000. Barentzen believes Everfi to be an important partner because it will allow the CAQ to reach 1,000 high schools this year, and 3,000 more next year. She said the organization will be announcing more partnerships in the near future to amplify their message, and will host another event with Everfi in the first few weeks of May.
"It is our hope that we're exposing as many students as possible to this digital curriculum and continue supporting Accounting+ and all the great resources that website offers students," said Barentzen. "We want to bring more students back into the accounting pipeline and for them to feel supported by all the resources that we have regarding internships, scholarships and digital mentorship."
