Last Monday, I spoke via Zoom to two high school classes about the wonderful opportunities available in the profession of public accounting. It was arranged by the New Jersey Society of CPAs. I spoke to the teacher, and the timing worked out since other accountants weren’t available and, if I passed on it, the next available dates at the school were at the end of April. My attitude is that if you are going to do something, the sooner the better. It also fit into my schedule since that day was my birthday and I kept my schedule clear of appointments. I originally set myself up with a “present” of a quiet day to get some of my backlog cleared up.
I have a great deal of material I use for students, but pre-COVID I had it printed into booklets and gave the students something to walk away with. To present a program on Zoom, I needed PowerPoint. I could have used the PDF pages from one of the booklets but felt it would be too cumbersome. I would need to go slower and wouldn’t get to cover everything I wanted. I ended up with a really good PowerPoint, which I covered in a half hour, and the students asked some insightful questions in the remaining 15 minutes. I will incorporate those questions into the PowerPoint the next time I present this program.
The teacher called me afterward and told me she liked some of the information on the slides and will go over it again with her students. Here is some of what I had on the slides that provide traits needed to become a successful CPA:
Accountants need to be careful to present numbers in a useful, meaningful way. There are times to be exact. There are also times when estimates are necessary to present a context, framework or perspective. Being exact is necessary when you report amounts on your tax return, when you balance your checkbook or when you split a dinner check with another couple. If you are discussing trends, ranges or future activities, estimates can be more relevant and put things in a more appropriate context. Further, exact-sounding numbers that are really estimates can hinder a conversation since they divert attention toward numbers that aren’t really relevant to the goal of the discussion. People use numbers for many purposes, and it is up to accountants to provide them so they can be used properly and deliver the right guidance or information.
Accountants need to be:
- Curious and inquisitive;
- Aware and awake;
- Focused on what they are doing, the main thing and the goal;
- Able to work deliberately;
- Able to connect the dots, think and act sequentially and see through the maze of transactions to get to what is really important;
- Good with numbers, able to write well and be great critical thinkers;
- Well-rounded people, well read and great outside-the-box thinkers;
- Skillful with technology and eager to quickly adopt and become adept with new processes and procedures;
- Able to work in a team and also by themselves;
- Keenly possessing interpersonal and communicative skills for interactions with colleagues and clients;
- Able to provide information and recommendations that are clear, meaningful, succinct and direct;
- Able to work effectively under pressure when necessary and to always meet deadlines;
- Able to meet the highest ethical standards and to never compromise their principles and values; and,
- Gripped with an internal drive to always perform at a top level and provide the most value to clients and everyone else they interact with.
This is my list. You can come up with your own, but this is what I shared with the students.
If you find that you will be speaking to a high school group and want my PowerPoint, send an email to
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