KENT, Ohio – Area high school students learned about the benefits of a career in accounting while participating in the Kent State University High School Accounting Case Challenge on November 3.
Hosted by the Kent State Department of Accounting, the event brought together 85 students from Kent Theodore Roosevelt High School, North Canton Hoover High School, Aurora High School and Tallmadge High School. The competition was sponsored by The Ohio Society of CPAs, Pease Bell CPAs, Robert Fay, Ernst & Young, Novogradac and RSM.
“Jobs in the accounting field have many benefits such as positions in every organization, job security and opportunities for different roles and promotions,” said Wei Li, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Accounting at Kent State. “The job market for accounting graduates is booming and is expected to continue growing over the next 10 years. We hosted this event to share information about these opportunities with high school students and attract them to the accounting profession.”
Li noted that the competition also corresponds to action plan developed by the Ohio Society of CPAs to address the shortage of accounting professionals within the state. Li and Kent State colleague Don McFall, professor emeritus of accounting, came up with the idea for the event to encourage high school students to research and promote the accounting profession among their peers. From there, the event became a collaborative effort among faculty in the Department of Accounting.
“Faculty members developed details for the case, served as judges for the competition and interacted with students and teachers during the competition,” Li said. “In addition, eight accounting majors served as student ambassadors for the event.”
Nine teams participated in the case competition. Prior to the event, teams were asked to develop a plan and prepare a five-minute presentation on how universities can attract students to the accounting profession and help to solve the accountant shortage. Teams presented their cases during the event on campus on November 3.
In total, $2,500 was awarded during the competition. Each high school received $500 for the Accounting Excellence Award and each winner received a cash prize. Two teams from Kent Theodore Roosevelt High School won the first and second place, as well as the People's Choice Award. North Canton Hoover High School took third.
The case competition received positive feedback from students, teachers and sponsors.
“My students are very young - sophomores - however, today's experience will most definitely benefit them in their futures. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity you presented to our school,” said Kimberly Brendel, finance instructor at Tallmadge City Schools.
The department plans to make the case competition an annual event.
To learn more about the Kent State undergraduate accounting program, visit https://www.kent.edu/business/accounting-bba.
About Kent State University’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship
Kent State University’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship is among 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in both business and accounting. The college offers 10 undergraduate majors, 14 minors, and an undergraduate Professional Sales Certificate; MBA; master’s degrees in accounting, business analytics and economics; graduate certificates, dual degree programs and a Ph.D. program. For more information about Kent State’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, visit www.kent.edu/crawford.