Tomorrow's CPA: The Blog

CPAs are in your Face(book)

I am told that there are more than 175 million Facebook users worldwide and the number is growing at the rate of nearly half a million per day.  If only the world economy could start growing at that rate!

CPAs are actively getting into the mix, especially here in Maryland.  In fact, MACPA has launched three separate Facebook pages that will be of interest to Tomorrow's CPA members.

The MACPA page highlights the mission of the organization, its current events and initiatives, and of course the people who work here.  The NYPN page centers on the many activities of MACPA's New Young Professionals Network, made up of CPAs who are under 40 or were licensed in the past five years.

Best of all, The CPA Careers page brings you news and views (including blogs and videos) direct from the Tomorrow's CPA Web site and other sites across the country.  It's a great way to keep up to date and to connect with your fellow future CPAs.

As Tom Hood, chief executive of the MACPA and a pioneer in online outreach, says, “CPAs are in the relationship business and these tools help manage relationships. CPAs are in the information and knowledge-management business and these tools help manage information and get answers. CPAs are in the communication business and these tools help to communicate.”

So why not join all three MACPA pages as a Fan?

Are CPAs getting Twitterpated?

You surely recall from your Disney days the wise old owl in Bambi who observed that Bambi and friends were getting "twitterpated" in springtime.  Old owl was referring to the mating season, but a different kind of mating is going on with Twitter, the online social network.

Now, you may think CPAs have about as much to do with Twitter as they do with Bambi.  But the truth is, according to this great interview with MACPA CEO Tom Hood, CPAs are plunging into LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and Plaxo and Twitterand even YouTube-ing for fresh recruits and for new clients.

CPAs and social media.  Who'd have thought?  And by the way, what do you think?  Does this change your perception of the CPA profession?

Accounting prof disses students

Accounting prof disses students

In a recent article Professor J. Edward Ketz  of Penn State says that compared with the students in the 1970s, today's accounting students are uneducated and unfit for a college education.

Let's count the ways he finds you so inadequate:

"Today’s average accounting major cannot perform what used to be Algebra I and II in high school. Students cannot solve simultaneous equations."

"Today’s students cannot read at what used to be a tenth-grade level."

"Worst of all is attitude. Yesterday’s student was willing to work; today’s student is not. Past students thought of education as a privilege; current students view it as an entitlement. Earlier students took responsibility for their mistakes;  contemporary students call mom and dad, who in turn call their attorneys."

Wow!

This is obviously a rather extreme perspective. I doubt your own teachers feel this way--at least about those students who are members of Tomorrow's CPA.

But do any of his arguments ring true?  If so, what do you have to say in your, or your parents' defense?

What's your personality?

Is it better to follow your heart or your head?  Would you rather meet Oprah Winfrey or Albert Einstein?  Would you rather be rich or famous?

These and other probing, offbeat questions are part of a Personality Quiz designed to help you figure out what kind of CPA you might become.

You should fit your career choice like those perfect jeans (though your size may indeed change considerably over time).  Continuing the metaphor, you may not be ready for a career yet, but it is never too early to size yourself up.

This quiz is fun and revealing.  It's also multiple choice, just like most of the CPA Exam.  And unlike school, there are no wrong answers.

What's my own personality?  Turns out I'm a Critical Thinker and I would make a heck of a good forensic accountant.

How about you?

While you are on this site, check all the other valuable information about the CPA career.