Abstract: P.A.CE.-- A Summer Program to Introduce Minority High School Students to the Accounting Profession
Many recently published articles and reports have pointed out the need to promote the accounting profession as a viable option to high-achieving career-minded high school students. As recently as five years ago, very little, if any, attention was directed at this group of students. Presumably, the profession was satisfied then with both the quantity and quality of their new hires. However, because of the rapid changes in the business environment and the negative jabs directed at the profession via the recent well-publicized mega-bankruptcies, students who were previously attracted to the accounting profession began to defect to other, more lucrative and attractive careers. In response to this "defection," accounting firms, professional organizations, and others began to take steps to reverse the outflow of new talent. Numerous programs have been developed in an effort to get the word out to high school (and college) students that the accounting profession is exciting and rewarding. This paper describes one such program, P.A.C.E. (Professional Accounting Career Exploration), which is conducted by the accounting department at our university.
P.A.C.E. began four years ago and targets talented minority high school students. It is a week-long residential program held on campus in early- to mid-June. The number of students participating has ranged from 18 to 24. Most students are rising seniors while a few are rising juniors. The project is primarily funded by Ernst & Young; funding periodically comes from both Ernst & Young and the AICPA.
The program has three objectives: (1) identify and attract talented minority students to accounting and other business professions; (2) introduce minority students to a microcosm of college life and the experiences of business professionals; and (3) encourage interested students to explore educational requirements, seek access to educational funding, and make an informed decision to pursue accounting or other business- related careers.
Because we want to excite students about careers in accounting and business as well as provide them with a meaningful educational experience, the program activities of P.A.C.E. are many and varied. They include such things as seminars and workshops on accounting and finance, hands-on training with research and presentation technology, coaching in communication and interpersonal skills, and site visits to local manufacturing facilities. Concisely, the focal point of P.A.C.E. is a comprehensive and challenging financial analysis team project, with group social, recreational, and team-building activities rounding out the agenda.
