18 Last year, the KSCPA invited four young profes

THE FUTURE IS PRESENT
L
ast year, the KSCPA invited four young professionals to come together and discuss the CPA
profession. Noelle Caldwell, CPA, Partner of
Harvey & Caldwell, P.A. in Leawood; Dominic Ortiz,
CPA, CGMA, Assistant General Manager at Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino; Patrick Lee, CPA, Assistant
Professor of Accounting at Southwestern College; and
Stephanie Bunten, JD, CPA, Budget & Fiscal Officer at
the Kansas Judicial Branch discussed their CPA journeys and where the profession is headed. You may view
the discussion on the KSCPA wensite.
This year’s Up and Coming Professionals edition of
Skyscapes theme “The Future is Present” provides
readers the opportunity to witness the future of the
profession is truly present in our Kansas accounting
students. They are achieving success today and positioning themselves to thrive in an ever-changing,
globalized world. These students have voices, desire
challenging opportunities, and can provide important
insight into how best the profession can continue to
grow and develop young CPAs.
The KSCPA welcomed Amber Kunz, Kansas State
University; Michael Jones, Ottawa University; and
Brandon Ebeck, Wichita State University to participate
in a discussion about the future of the profession and
how they are preparing themselves today to be leaders
tomorrow.
Why Accounting?
As the push towards developing young professionals in
the areas of STEM continue — with headlines proclaiming the areas of science, technology, engineering
and math have the most potential for growth —
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By Michelle MacBain, M.A.
accounting often gets left out of the conversation. But
those in the accounting and those interested in accounting and desire to become CPAs understand the
opportunities this profession provides.
“If you understand accounting, you understand business and what the company needs to succeed,” said
Kunz. “I started out bookkeeping at a family-owned
lumber yard, where the owner didn’t trust technology.
I had to do everything by hand. When I moved onto
another company that utilized technology, the principles were still there. I knew this was the profession for
me. This is not an easy major, but this is something I
love to do.”
For Michael Jones, he analyzed what profession would
be the best fit for his natural math abilities. “When I
took accounting, I realized this was math. But, better
yet, it was math that no one else understands! It takes
a special type of person to understand and problem
solve in accounting. You are the one who can take data
and translate it into a language. People look to you
to help them make decisions and to communicate to
them what that data means.” Jones continues, “As a
student working in a bank, I knew the boss made ten
times my salary, but would never understand the work
I was doing. In accounting, you have to have humility
to be an advisor, and I can connect with that.”
Brandon Ebeck found himself on a different journey.
“My first accounting course was in high school. Our
teacher was great and offered a variety of business
courses, so I tried to take as many as possible. Sophomore year I took accounting and thought it would
be boring number crunching. As she started to dig
deeper, I knew this is where I wanted to be. I need
something that provides a different challenge every
day. I went into college with three courses of accounting under my belt. In college, I learned accounting is
diverse and complex. Not everyone understands what
we do. As Amber said, this is the language of business.
And I tell people I’m bilingual!”
Amber is a military wife,
mother and Senior at Kansas
State University. She began
her career 10 years ago as
a bookkeeper, and is pursuing her MAcc in the fall.
Originally from Wisconsin,
Amber is the Vice President
of Reporting for KSU Beta
Alpha Psi.
Influences
When asked who influenced them the most in their
desire to pursue accounting, Ebeck began by reinforcing the power educators have. “My high school teacher
constantly promoted accounting, because people have
a misconception of the profession. She was very successful and obviously influenced my decision to pursue
accounting,” he said.
Amber Kunz
Jones agreed, “My professor in college definitely influenced me. We all know the stereotype accounting
has. With the way she teaches and interacts with her
students, she certainly breaks the mold. She’s engaging
and charismatic and promotes the profession. She is
passionate and loves her students.”
Unlike Ebeck and Jones, Kunz acknowledged her father as her greatest supporter. “My dad always wanted
me to find something I loved to do. I worked for him
and he saw I had a knack for accounting. When I was
trying to figure out how I was going to make a transition into school, he was pushing me and telling me I
understood this better than others.”
Accounting Evolved
From the small town of
Wellsville, KS, Brandon has
big dreams. He is currently
working as an Accounting
Assistant at Vantage Point
Properites. Upon graduation
from Wichita State University
in 2016, Brandon will sit for
the CPA exam as he will have
completed his 150 hours.
Brandon Ebeck
The students were then asked to reflect on how accounting has changed and how their experiences are
different than those 30 years ago. They pointed to
technology and advantage.
A Senior at Ottawa University, Michael is a leader. He was
Student Body President, a
board member of the Ottawa
Area Chamber of Commerce
and United Way, and both a
member of the KSCPA and
MSCPA. He has accepted a
position with Ernst & Young
in Kansas City and plans to
sit for the CPA exam.
“The profession has struggled with attracting enough
students to meet the demand. As CPAs retire, there aren’t enough young CPAs to take their place,” Kunz said.
“There’s almost too much opportunity,” explained
Jones. “As Mark Koziel pointed out at the KSCPA
Member Value Day, there may be more graduating in
accounting, but there aren’t enough experienced millennials who can step into those positions.”
Michael Jones
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“Even though technology has aided the profession,
I think sometimes it’s also a downfall. I love the way
they teach at K-State, because we have to do everything
by hand. You set yourself apart knowing those operations,” said Kunz. Jones and Ebeck agreed their experiences in high school and college were similar: they had
to do it all by hand.
Kunz continued, “I’m not sure how they do it in other
states, but one accountant I worked with told me I had
such an advantage because I learned accounting off
the computer. She had only ever used technology and
didn’t truly understand what she was doing.”
“If you compare from 30 years ago, there’s a lot more
responsibility placed on the profession. No matter
what happens in the financial world now or in the future, the CPA is the one
looked upon to provide
clarity,” said Jones.
“But there’s also a rebuilding of trust,” Ebeck
said. “Look at what
happened with Enron.
The public may still be
rebuilding that trust.”
Jones added, “There’s an
internal challenge to become better and always
challenge ourselves in
addition to building that
outside trust. The CPA designation is powerful. Yes,
there were a few folks that broke that for the public,
but this is why we are here. This is why we work so
hard.”
CGMA
In October, the governing council of the AICPA approved a resolution authorizing an additional pathway
to the Chartered Global Management Accountant
(CGMA) designation. The pathway would allow nonCPA professionals to obtain the CGMA after satisfying
a rigorous education, examination and experience
requirements. The panel recognizes the change is
positive, but may be challenging to develop the same
valued recognition the CPA commands.
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“I’m not sure people fully understand the CGMA. You
say CPA and people connect. It took a long time for the
CPA to become recognized as trusted advisors, and we
are still working to overcome stereotypes. It could take
time for the CGMA to be recognized the same way,”
Kunz said.
“If you walk up to someone here and say you’re a
CGMA, they won’t know what it is,” Ebeck added.
“But I also think beyond benefiting CPAs who want to
expand their knowledge, the designation allows others
to better understand what we do, it provides them with
access to this amazing profession, and grows our global
impact.”
Kunz added, “Those that pursue this designation
already work in our world, and I’m happy to share my
knowledge with them.
It’s important to grow
the environment of
collaboration because
we are both important
to businesses.”
“I’m actually excited that
non-CPAs will become
CGMAs. It’s difficult
to work with people
who don’t understand
our language. If we can
grow CGMAs within
our organizations, then
we have co-workers and
collaborators who understand us. It also provides consistency to the market at large,” Jones said.
Millennial Culture
As the profession’s demand for young talent grows,
firms and companies have evolved their work environments to attract the best and brightest. Reports indicate the millennial generation desires a culture very
different than the baby boomer generation. Desires
may include work-life integration, flexible scheduling, different benefits, or leadership development. The
panel of millennials was asked if these truly are their
desires and whether organizations are doing a good job
of acknowledging their desires.
“I’m going to speak from a female perspective,” began
Kunz. “I look at my class and its full of females wanting to make a difference and be looked at the same as
men. Even millennials struggle with this. So, I think it’s
fantastic what the firms are doing to expand how they
operate. It allows them to attract a more diverse work
force passionate about the profession and still have
families. They make it possible for both women and
men to be home and take care of the children.”
Ebeck continues, “I know for me - going into industry
- companies are changing how work is scheduled. Your
life and other responsibilities don’t have to sacrifice for
a rigid, nine to five schedule. I’m attracted to companies that offer work from home. A popular example is
if a child gets sick, you don’t have to take the day off.
You can still work and take care of your family.”
“I read an article on how millennials define success,”
Jones said. “And contrary to what you may assume,
money and power was not defined as success. It was
more enjoyment of the work, passion, justice, and
giving back. We want to be a part of something bigger
than ourselves. Companies must allow us to do that,
Continued on page 24
CURIOSITY
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It’s what we do here everyday.
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today at MarksNelsonCPA.com/careers.
21
even if that means going outside of work and into the
community. Companies are providing money for employees to continue their education and pay for things
like joining the KSCPA. Those are the “benefits” we
desire, beyond vacation and health care.”
“I think we will see a change in the future. We are still
working on the baby boomer generation of white men
in power, while the women stayed at home. As they
retire, we will see more and more diversity in those
roles,” Kunz said.
“Companies are noticing what others started doing ten
years ago,” Kunz added. “Look at Google or Zappos.
They wanted to be a different type of company. They
wanted to be a company everyone wanted to work for
because of the different benefits. Now, companies are
taking a step back and adapting so the best and brightest will be recruiting them!”
“It’s not only going to take time, but take people who
are open-minded and champion the change,” added
Ebeck.
The panel acknowledged the amount of opportunity and need provided them with numerous options.
Although someone may want flexibility and work from
home benefits, others may like going into the office.
The culture and environment in business is changing
to allow each employee a unique opportunity best for
them.
The Face of the Profession
Diversity and inclusion is an important initiative for
the profession. When asked about their impression
of the “face” of the profession, the panel agreed the
profession has come a long way, but should continue to
do more.
“Growing up, I remember CPAs as white and male. But
places like EY, for example, do a lot with diversity and
inclusion and they are thriving. In Wichita, EY gets all
the best students, in my opinion,” said Ebeck.
“If you look at professional associations, you can see
the diversity among CPAs. We have associations for
Asians, Polynesians, African Americans, Latinos, and
so on. It’s awesome! There wasn’t anything like that
back in the day,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, in Ottawa,
the diversity is only male and female, and that’s frustrating. I wish we had different races and ethnicities to
learn from, to experience different thoughts and ideas.”
“And drive,” said Kunz. “We are a generation that’s very
open-minded, but we lack a lot of drive sometimes. It’s
disappointing to see some of my fellow students lack
motivation. You know they won’t make it to the top.”
Research shows a dramatic decrease of women in the
profession around mid-career, right about the time
their male counterparts are
transitioning into leadership roles. The panel agreed
it takes support to achieve
success. They discussed how
important it is for women to
have a spouse who supports
them in their career goals.
Many of the KSCPA “Women to Watch” attribute their
success to the support they
receive from their spouses.
“If I have a wife more successful than me, I’m not too
proud to be at home with the
kids. Even though I’m driven to succeed, I still need to
support her 100%,” said Jones. “But how does the culture of the company support her as well? If the reason
they are dropping out of the profession related to the
duties as a mother, then how can the company change
how they support working mothers.”
“I’m a mom, a full-time student and a part-time employee. Sometimes I go home and wonder why I got
myself into this,” Kunz said. “But then I get this little
Even though diversity exists throughout the profession, hug and he is so proud of me for doing it, and I know
the panel acknowledged diversity ends when you look
this is why I work so hard. So, I need a culture that
at the “face” of the leaders in the profession. We are
allows me to achieve my greatest success and still be
seeing more women in leadership roles, but not a lot of there for my son.”
racial diversity.
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Frustrations
Professional Involvement
Accounting is a profession of great opportunity, challenges and responsibility. But — as the panel discussed
— it must continue to find news ways to improve.
It should come as no surprise that as the profession
changes, so does involvement in a professional society.
The KSCPA membership remains flat, and we — like
other associations — are looking for ways to involve
new members. The panel agreed the KSCPA and
AICPA provide its members the opportunity to collaborate with and meet other CPAs from around the state
and the country. Unfortunately, some students aren’t
introduced to the associations until they become CPAs.
“The recruitment process for talent is frustrating to
me,” said Ebeck. “You have students, like me, who may
not have the 3.8 or 4.0, but work incredibly hard. I
work full-time and go to school full-time. I wish drive,
motivation and work-ethic was reflected more in the
process.”
“There is a significant lack of communication between
universities and the profession,” said Kunz. “Even at
K-State, they are changing their program and the curriculum to give the profession what they want. Yet,
your professors and your
department chair are telling you one thing, and the
recruiters are telling you
something else. It’s a best
guess for the students.”
Ebeck adds, “My sister is
an accounting major at
K-State, and I’ve seen their
curriculum. We talk all the
time about the differences
in education and curriculum between K-State and
Wichita State.”
“Michelle and I talked for an hour about the recruiting
process at Ottawa. There is none,” said Jones. “I’m not
saying the bigger firms have allegiances to the bigger
schools, but I’m fairly certain they do! Once they get
their numbers from the bigger schools, they don’t need
to come to little Ottawa. I was offered my position because I did it on my own. I took the initiative to make
those connections. It wasn’t brought to me.”
Jones continued, “Then, those smaller schools aren’t
seen as a good opportunity. They aren’t guaranteed a
position. You ask why students aren’t becoming CPAs?
It’s because they don’t see the opportunity. Unless they
get picked up at one of these recruiting fairs, it’s not
going to happen.”
“I know the KSCPA has hardly any presence at Wichita State,” said Ebeck. “But it may go back to motivation. I was the only one at your Annual Meeting from
Wichita. I know there has to be effort from the educators, as well, to help promote the KSCPA. Michelle was
at our Meet the Firms handing out information, but
she’s only one person. There has to be support from all
sides.”
“Michelle and I discussed having student ambassadors on campus. We could be on campus spreading
the word and hosting events to educate our classmates
about the KSCPA. I think that would be great for any
size school, but especially the smaller ones who may
never see the KSCPA on campus,” said Jones.
“I know my involvement with Beta Alpha Psi was
my gateway into the KSCPA and AICPA. But not
all schools have it,” added Kunz. “My professors are
heavily involved in these societies. That’s what they are
promoting. You have to have that involvement outside your university and outside your firm in order to
understand the profession as a whole. Don’t live inside
your classroom or your office. Don’t live inside the
bubble. The KSCPA and AICPA bring the issues of the
profession to you. If the professors aren’t promoting
the KSCPA, they aren’t doing their students justice.”
The Future is Present
It is clear the future of the profession is present.
Accounting students are investing themselves in the
profession and want to contribute. The profession must
value their insight, their ideas, and give them voices.
These are our future leaders and innovators. It’s is the
duty of the profession to embrace and develop them,
and not be afraid of the changes ahead. The profession’s
future is in good hands.
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