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Lee, Henry J.

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eGrove (Univ. of Mississippi)

University of Mississippi eGrove Association Sections, Divisions, Boards, Teams American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Historical Collection 9-1948 What Can a State Society Do to Cooperate with Schools of Business Administration? Henry J. Lee Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_assoc  Part of the Accounting Commons WHAT Can a state society do to cooperateWITH SCHOOLS Of BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION?It is the purpose of the Institute, in the best interests of the profession, that future employees and clients be authoritatively and accurately informed regarding the pro­fession and that students of college grade have made known to them the nature of the work of the public accountant, the character of academic and other preparation essential to success.The student studying accountancy as a major subject does not need a sales talk on the selection of a career - he has made his choice - but he does need inspiration and guidance over and above that so well given by his teachers. Enthusiasm and greater effort can be engendered by contacts with accountants who are willing to give of their time and experience, and there are many such men.It is the purpose of this paper to outline very briefly what can and has been done in many states by the local certified public accountants societies in activating the aims of the Insti­tute with college grade students.Probably the most essential step is to establish cordial relationships with the local colleges - we found that in Rhode Island the college officials were just as interested in proposed projects as we were. There are several methods then available to activate plans, both from the standpoint of the faculty members, and the student.Many state societies have special annual meetings with bankers, credit men and tax authorities and this practice can be extended to include a special annual meeting with educators at which time subjects of mutual interest can be informally discussed.Again, the Committee on Education can meet with faculty members, hold discussions, and bring the results of such meetings to the attention of the state society for necessary action. Many questions concerning local and current practice arise, which may often differ somewhat from the theory, and can be factually answered by questionnaires.It is also possible to arrange informal meetings of the faculty members of the many institutions of a state and provide speakers who can bring to them the ideas of the Institute on such mutually vital matters as courses of study, staff turnover reasons, etc.There are so many subjects in which the accountant should be proficient from speedy addition, fast shuffling of papers, to the knowledge of law, economics and administration that it is ex­tremely difficult to select the subject matter of an accounting course and evaluate the many subjects thought necessary to teach in a limited time.- 1 -Local accountants can aid the colleges in such deter­minations by being willing and prepared to answer questionnaires on specific items which some institutions already send out and others could be encouraged to circularize the local practitioners.Now, how about the student? All of our endeavors be­come humdrum and laborious unless new incentives are provided, or unless new vistas are discovered. This can be especially true with a student. Accounting can become a dry, day to day drudge. Local accountants can help here also by bringing to the student live daily experiences that picturize techniques and procedures, bring new angles to old subjects, bring in mundane problems of how to get a job, or how clients are discovered, which are always of great interest to students.Several plans can be followed in arranging interesting addresses and discussions. The State Society may furnish speakers for dinner meetings of accounting major groups, or for evening gatherings of interested accounting students. The subjects dis­cussed, depending on the group size, may be general as "Profess­ional ethics”, "Is the Accounting Profession a Closed Group?" or specific technical discussions of some current class room phase of accounting. Some colleges have formed professional accounting societies which meet once a month, with limited enrollments, de­pendant on grades attained in class work. These societies are addressed by members of the State C.P.A. Society and also by mem­bers of local chapters of National association of Cost Accountants and like professional groups.An invaluable source of information about accounting and the profession is the literature of the Institute which, in my experience,does not get the student distribution which it merits. This distribution can be improved and interest in constant reading of new material engendered by using pertinent literature at the group meetings of students, by Interesting the faculty members so that such material is either used as reference material, or as class room supplementary reading, a part of the prescribed course of study. Local state societies can finance initial dis­tributions to school libraries.Last, but not least, incentives can be offered through regular school channels to promote research, debates and papers on selected accounting subjects. There is, I presume, plenty of material available, pro and con on all the topics discussed in the Institute bulletins to keep debates lively for a whole aca­demic year. A good incentive, other than the normal awards of medals and money, is the knowledge that winners will receive first consideration for positions with accounting firms of the State Society. Projects of this type to be successful must be well planned with plenty of enthusiastic support from the donors and assured cooperation of an interested college faculty.- 2 -These are some of the things members of a State Society can do, is doing, or has done, to promote the aims of the Insti­tute, to get better trained young people in the profession and, incidentally, to get a lot of personal pleasure out of it them­selves, and vary often new knowledge, new ideas and ideals. If we want young students to know the profession, it’s work and it’s aims, let’s bring the information to them personally at every opportunity through the helpful channels of the Schools of Busi­ness Administration and their faculty members.

What Can a State Society Do to Cooperate with Schools of Business Administration?

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What Can a State Society Do to Cooperate with Schools of Business Administration?

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