Ernst & Young announced the launch of its Career Path Accelerator program Thursday, designed to give more accounting students an accessible path to the 150-credit-hour CPA licensure requirement.
The Career Path Accelerator program offers skills development training to EY interns who are on the road to CPA licensure, but who are not currently enrolled in a master's program or additional studies that will complete their 150-credit-hour requirements. The Accelerator program features accredited business and elective courses that look to offer CPA hopefuls a more "accessible and affordable path for CPA licensure," according to EY.
“While there are several different pathways for students to meet the requirements to be eligible for CPA licensure, time and financial resources can limit the choices or feasibility for a significant number of students, particularly those from marginalized or socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds,” said Ginnie Carlier, EY Americas vice chair of talent, in a statement. “With this program, we’re not only helping students jumpstart their accounting careers earlier, but we also hope to attract the next generation of transformative leaders, while equipping them with relevant, future-focused skills and the mentorship necessary to succeed.”
The program features a combination of online courses administered by Hult International Business School and in-person learning through the EY internship program. Course subjects will cover future-forward topics including data visualization, data integration and strategy.
In addition to attracting more students to complete CPA licensure requirements, EY hopes to see the Career Path Accelerator program open more doors for diverse accounting candidates.
"Knowing that students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, including first-generation college students, are likely to be disproportionately impacted by additional credit requirements, we believe this is one step toward addressing this barrier to entry and improving diverse representation within our firm and within the profession," Carlier told Accounting Today.
The program currently includes a class of 60 EY US interns and is expected to have 200 young professionals enrolled for the 2021-2022 academic year.
"As the program is scalable, we can accommodate any number of students who are interested in participating," added Carlier. "Our goal is to continue growing this program year-to-year and attract the next generation of transformative leaders, while equipping them with relevant, future-focused skills and the mentorship necessary to succeed."
Students will also have access to EY academic counselors throughout the program. Credentials earned through the program are portable, with no obligations or commitments to EY US.
For more on the program, head to EY's
