The Accountancy Department, in partnership with the Ohio Society of CPAs (OSCPA), hosted Accounting Career Day at the Voice of America Learning Center on September 24. The event was attended by approximately 50 high school students from the Cincinnati area.
Department Chair Anne Farrell welcomed students and spoke about the evolving role of accounting professionals in the age of AI, highlighting Miami’s 3+1 combined BS/MAcc program.
Jenny Harves ’99, assistant vice president of accounting operations and financial controls compliance at Western & Southern Financial Group, then shared about the opportunities in accounting.
Her presentation highlighted how studying accountancy provides a transferable set of skills that are needed in diverse industries, and how obtaining a CPA can pave the way to meaningful work in many different directions. “Harves likened the CPA to a ‘driver’s license’ that can lead to different career paths.” She also shed light on some common myths about accountancy and provided resources to learn more about the field.
Participants were then placed in groups to simulate operating a lemonade stand business. Each team discussed their approach to managing operations, tracked key financial elements such as revenue and expenses, and practiced making real-world business decisions using basic accounting concepts..
The high schoolers were then invited to ask questions in a panel discussion with Miami accountancy students, which included Kendall Hemsath (MAcc ‘27), Kelsey Gruber (MAcc ‘27), and Will Clauson (MAcc ‘28) and was moderated by EY Professional Development Advisor Amanda Pyzoha. The student representatives shared valuable experiences, including:
- why they picked Miami
- why they chose accounting as their major
- how they transitioned from high school to college
- what a typical school day looks like for them.
After lunch, a panel of accounting professionals from Deloitte (Emily Royle), Forvis (Lexie Knox), Kirsch CPA Group (Nathan Schuster), and PwC (BriAuna Keys) answered questions about what it’s like to work in accounting.
Many thanks to the OSCPA, the Ohio CPA Foundation, and Deloitte Foundation for their support of this program!