Professor Elam

Wednesday Oct 3 2012 Last Friday evening from 5 30 – 8:00 PM SA CPA Society held its annual Student Career Night. Sponsors furnished some great burgers and fries, and drinks. All had a good time but we ducked inside to avoid of course the rare downpour during the current drought.

Various firms were on hand to visit with students and there was a panel to discuss their experiences.

I asked for comments from our students, here are the first two I have received.

I enjoyed attending the workshop because of various reasons. I'll start from the beginning, the food was delicious and the location was really nice. Despite the weather, Im glad I decided to attend. I thought the CPA exam would be the last one on my list, but hearing from CPA's themselves, it will now be one of my first ones to prepare for. I learned that being a CPA is the most important and demanded for a business. There are review courses that are pricey but very helpful; like they said, "It's worth it." Another good tip was to take it as soon as possible, when our minds are "fresh". Im glad I attended the workshop because I was able to leave my resume to several business organizations for any internship and job opportunities.

Thank you for the opportunity,

Ericka B

My experience at the CPA Career Night on Friday, September 28 was very eye-opening. Before the event, BKG, LLP; Ridout Barrett; and other accounting firms each provided a representative to discuss their company's needs in intern qualifications and the company's accounting specialities. I was impressed by Ridout Barrett's representative, Tony, who discussed his expertise in producing financial statements— particularly in the construction industry. While visiting the BKG, LLP booth, I noticed a trend as students lined up to speak with their auditing representative. Since I have no particular interest in any one specialty, I decided to speak with the taxation representative; seeing as her line was significantly shorter. She described the range of industries that utilize BKG's tax service; including individuals, oil & energy companies, service industries, and many others. When questioned if BKG had one particular industry that was significant and the qualifications looked for in an intern, she suggested I read some of the documents from the booth and handed me a BKG Human Resource's card.
At the presentation, I found the M.C. to be surprisingly informative and energetic. The other speakers were equally informative about their life experiences and what choices they made in becoming a successful CPA. In one particular speaker, she spoke about the steps she took in making partner at BKG. After their initial speeches, a question-and-answer period allowed the audience to understand the specifics of their speeches and to better decide what path to take in their career. The questions ranged from what steps each took to prepare for the CPA exam to what other certifications would each recommend. Collectively they agreed that the CPA was the best certification to acquire first, however they did not seem to have a particular interest in any other certification. Simply that other certifications could not hurt during the hiring process.
I came away from this presentation with a better understanding of what it takes to be an accountant and a CPA, what specialties accounting students are most interested in, and what specialties are most in demand for the accounting firms. It is one thing to read the Department of Labor's prediction of 16% growth for accountants in the next ten years, but it is quite another to hear representatives from prominent accounting firms in San Antonio speak of the shortage in accountants they are currently experiencing. In addition to the free food, the offer of free annual membership to the SACPA, and the chance to provide a resume with these firms, I found the information from the presentation to be enlightening and as affirmation to the college major I have chosen.
 
Joseph Dupuy
joedupuy@hotmail.com