How to Run a Successful Accounting Organization at Your University
Student accounting organizations at universities are critical to starting your career off on the right foot. Every school will have a different name for these groups such as:
SCHOOL Accounting and Business Association
SCHOOL Accounting Club
SCHOOL Future Accountant Organization
Regardless of what the name is, these organizations have the same goal of supporting students in their accounting, education and career. Today, we are going to discuss the three critical areas that these groups need to focus on to support accounting student success.
The “It Depends” Disclaimer - Every school will have a different level of network, funding, and accounting student population. These three components will heavily dictate what these organizations can do. I have personally known some firms that will not visit certain universities because the population of accounting students isn't that high, and those students needed to apply directly on the firm's website instead of having an on-campus visit first. Additionally, some organizations are funded by the university while others get nothing. While most of the activities we will discuss today should not cost any money, you should never underestimate the power of pizza on a college campus.
Regardless of these constraints, the goals are still the same. However, the execution might look a little bit different depending on your circumstances.
Career Support - The primary function of these groups is to support students in their careers before they have even started. Many meetings during the semester should incorporate guests such as accounting firms and professional associations that are local to the university. Oftentimes, these can be a student's first exposure to a working professional and can lead to internship and employment offers. I say this is the primary function of the group because these interactions are incredibly difficult to come by for some students, especially if they do not know what options are out there.
Involve - A student organization is not effective unless it has a large enough number of interested students actively participating. A lot of the benefit that these organizations bring to students comes from the involvement of the students themselves. Personally, I got my first full-time job through networking with a fellow student, and these organizations are where that networking happens. Having frequent club meetings in a forum for discussion among the members is critical to building a community. Additionally, club members should go out of their way to involve first-year students and sophomores as much as they can because long-term members are the lifeblood of these organizations.
Educate - One of the biggest challenges for accounting students is that They do not learn about the CPA and related education requirements until their junior year or later. I have personally had many students who are bright and interested in a career and accounting but will not be CPA eligible upon graduation because they didn't plan for the 150 credit requirement or all the accounting classes. A good accounting organization should educate students about these requirements so they can make an informed decision early in their academic career.
If you are the leader of your school's accounting organization, I strongly encourage you to look at these three objectives and make a plan on how you can support your fellow students. It does not matter if your club meetings are 15 people or 150 people, if you maintain the mindset of achieving these three objectives, you will add value to your community. Now get out there and make a difference!