While many people kick back in the summer, an elite group of students from the College of Business Administration stayed busy attending special events designed to prepare them for careers in accounting. Grant Thornton (GT) LLP, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), and KPMG ran programs this summer targeting those from diverse backgrounds, helping groom them specifically for their firms and/or for success in the field in general.
Grant Thornton offers Footsteps program to put students on a solid career path.
“We use our Footsteps program to identify internship candidates a year earlier than our customary recruitment period and give them a chance to learn more about what a profession in public accounting is like,” said Michelle McNulty, GT’s South Florida university recruiter. “This early identification program enables us, in general, to zero in on students whom we feel will be good candidates for our internship program.”
According to McNulty, GT “recruits heavily from Florida International University, where we continue to see really bright students,” among them Gabriela Manrique and Yanisledy Delgado—the first students from the college to participate in the newly launched local version of the national GT Footsteps program. Held at the GT’s Miami office May 22-23, 2007, the event included a tour, presentations on GT’s service lines and career options, lectures from company principals, team-building activities, and a Marlins game.
“It was a great opportunity to interact with GT employees and to obtain information about the company, its people, and its culture.”
—Gabriela Manrique, Footsteps participant
“It was a great opportunity to interact with GT employees and to obtain information about the company, its people, and its culture,” said Manrique, a junior who started the accounting program in the college in January, 2007. “It also was an opportunity for people at the firm to get to know us.”
For more information about Grant Thornton, visit www.grantthornton.com.
AICPA holds Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop with international flair.
From May 31-June 2, 2007, seven students from the college—Carlos Canasi, Nuria Huillca, Gabriela Manrique, Martha Murillo, Krystel Ramos, Daniel Toribio, and Catalina Zorrilla—met 81 undergraduates and graduates from across the country, Canada, and Puerto Rico; formed ad-hoc teams to develop presentations on financial literacy; learned networking techniques; and got valuable insights from academics and practitioners. AICPA sponsored the all-expenses-paid program.
“The event focused on diversity, providing an environment for a unique interaction among students from different backgrounds and cultures,” said Elizabeth R. DeBragga, coordinator of diversity, work/life, and women’s initiatives, AICPA academic and career development team.
“I was struck by the number of minority students whose parents don’t have a college education and who are striving to attain that.”
—Carlos Canasi, Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop attendee
“I was struck by the number of minority students whose parents don’t have a college education and who are striving to attain that. I am one of them, but I had no idea there were so many more.” said Canasi, who expects to graduate with a Bachelor of Accounting (BACC) degree in December, 2008, who interned with Johnson & Johnson this summer and will intern with Ernst & Young next summer in the firm’s fraud investigation and dispute services.
For Toribo, (BACC ’07), whose current schedule involves working part time while preparing for the CPA Exam and studying for the GMAT in anticipation of entering the college’s Master of Accounting (MACC) program in January, 2008, career development guidance and preparing the presentation stood out.
“The speakers conveyed to us the importance of pursuing our CPA licenses so we can help companies make business decisions,” he said. “Preparing the presentation helped me understand the need to be flexible and to team up with people in different environments.”
KPMG’s new Future Diversity Leaders program taps sophomore.
“Because the competition for talent is so tight, KPMG established the Future Diversity Leaders (FDL) program to enable us to identify top students very early—in their freshmen or sophomore years—and to keep these students in our pipeline,” said Sholon Rucker, KPMG’s southeast area diversity recruiter.
KPMG chose Jaleesa Lynch, a sophomore accounting major with a 3.6 GPA, for the program, which can translate into $6,000 in scholarships, an internship with the firm, and possible full-time employment upon completion of her degree.
“I learned more about KPMG, met students from across the United States and other countries, and got a perspective on how to apply my skills.”
—Jaleesa Lynch, KPMG Future Diversity Leaders participant
“I’m very grateful to have been one of fifty students to attend a leadership program in Hollywood, California, from July 9-11, 2007,” she said. “I learned more about KPMG, met students from across the United States and other countries, got a perspective on how to apply my skills, and realized that I want to focus on IT audit, something that I didn’t know prior to the event.”
Lynch will have the chance to interact with Fern Munk, KPMG Florida International University campus recruiter and also to benefit from having a mentor, Antoinette Lynch, assistant professor, School of Accounting, and FDL faculty sponsor, who will ensure that she uses her leadership skills and who will field questions during the internship at KPMG.
For more information about the workshop at KPMG, visit www.kpmgcareers.com.
