J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

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J. of Acc. Ed.

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Main article

Bridging the education–profession gap: The AccountingStudent–Practitioner Day (ASPD) program

David Law a,1, Raymond J. Shaffer a,2, David E. Stout b,*

a Department of Accounting & Finance, Williamson College of Business Administration,Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH 44555-0001, United Statesb Andrews Chair in Accounting, Williamson College of Business Administration, Youngstown State University, One UniversityPlaza, Youngstown, OH 44555-0001, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords:Student–practitioner interactionProfessional developmentProfessionalismOut-of-classroom experiences

0748-5751/$ - see front matter � 2010 Elsevier Ltdoi:10.1016/j.jaccedu.2010.06.001

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 330 941 3509 (E-mail addresses: bus3616@yahoo.com (D. Law

1 Tel.: +1 330 941 1881.2 Tel.: +1 330 941 3196.

This paper provides a detailed discussion of an annual (and cost-effective) professional-development event we call the AccountingStudent–Practitioner Day (ASPD). This program brings together,for a single day, students, accounting faculty, and accounting pro-fessionals in a conference-like setting. The conference format pro-vides a unique, and formal, link between the classroomenvironment and the professional world students will be entering.The program is attended by accounting and non-accounting stu-dents from our university, senior students from area high schools,and undergraduate students from other universities in the area.Specific objectives of the program are to help students learn whatit takes to become an accounting professional, to provide studentswith information that facilitates their career-choice decision, andto encourage networking and community-building activities.Assessment data indicate that the ASPD program is successful interms of its stated objectives. The relatively low cost of operatingthe program makes it attractive for other accounting programs.The paper includes a set of recommendations for those facultyinterested in implementing an ASPD program at their owninstitution.

� 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

d. All rights reserved.

off), +1 330 965 9504 (res).), rjshaffer@ysu.edu (R.J. Shaffer), destout@ysu.edu (D.E. Stout).

134 D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

1. Introduction

How to prepare students to be accounting professionals is a question that challenges manyaccounting programs and faculty. Evidence from stakeholder groups (alumni, accounting practitio-ners, etc.) suggests that most accounting programs today do an adequate, if not admirable, job of com-municating technical knowledge to our students. It is not uncommon to hear that externalstakeholders appreciate the technical training, but not the ‘‘professionalism,” of recent hires. The chal-lenge of professional education for universities, then, is to provide education about the components ofthe profession that lie outside of technical material covered in class. These components include theconcept of service (to the profession and society in general), the professional/client relationship, socialcommunication skills (networking, oral presentation, meet-and-greet skills, etc.), and a concern forboth the current state and future direction of the profession. In short, these skills all relate to the pro-cess of preparing students to be accounting professionals.

An important issue for accounting educators is therefore how to provide a bridge between ‘‘account-ing student” and ‘‘accounting practitioner.” Some of the necessary components of this transition can beaddressed through activities sponsored by an institution’s accounting society or honorary organization(such as Beta Alpha Psi). Guest speakers, office tours, internships, and functions such as ‘‘Meet theAccountants” nights are also helpful in terms of the professional development of our students.

At Youngstown State University (YSU), we sponsor an annual, all-day event to both complementand extend other activities of the department, such as those referenced above. This program, called‘‘Accounting Student–Practitioner Day,” is perhaps best characterized as a mini-conference, offeredin a format that provides a unique link between academic preparation for accounting and the profes-sional world students will be entering. In addition to smoothing the transition from student toaccounting professional, our program has the following benefits or characteristics:

� it is cost-effective, and therefore likely generalizable to other accounting programs;� it strengthens the bonds between the university, our students, and the profession;� it helps achieve service-related goals related to institutional mission (e.g., outreach activities asso-

ciated with area high schools and local colleges) and AACSB-accreditation requirements; and� it serves as a recruiting event for the department, university, and profession.

This article provides information for accounting program leaders and faculty who might be inter-ested in implementing a program similar to the YSU Accounting Student–Practitioner Day program. Assuch, we provide a descriptive account of our program, evidence regarding the program’s effective-ness, and recommendations/tips for program implementation.

The rest of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 provides an in-depth descriptive account ofthe ASPD program at YSU, including: an overview of the historical antecedents of the program; a state-ment of program objectives; information regarding primary participants of the program; an overviewof benefits/advantages of the program; and evidence regarding the uniqueness of the program. Sec-tion 3 focuses on information pertinent to program planning and a discussion regarding challengesto program success. This is followed in Section 4 by a description of the assessment plan associatedwith the program—the instruments used to collect stakeholder-response data and details regardinginformation analysis and dissemination. In Section 5 we provide assessment results from a recentASPD program. We then offer, in Section 6, a set of recommendations that should be of interest to fac-ulty at other institutions who might want to institute a similar program. The paper concludes, in Part7, with a short summary.

2. The ASPD program at YSU

2.1. Historical antecedents

The Accounting and Auditing Advisory Committee (AAAC) at YSU provides input to the departmentregarding curriculum-related issues and sponsors a variety of continuing professional education (CPE)

D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146 135

programs. Approximately 15 years ago, members of the AAAC began to express concern that account-ing graduates, while technically competent, seemed to lack an understanding of what it meant to bean accounting professional.

Thus, in 1995 one member of the AAAC proposed that the committee sponsor an annual seminar-like event for accounting majors, one that would help bridge the transition from accounting student toaccounting professional. The event would not be a reincarnation of ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night,” butwould be a formal, all-day business event. Students who participated would not only receive valuablecareer and professional information, but would also begin to develop their own professional networkof contacts, gain a better understand of career options, and acquire a better sense of ‘‘what it takes tobe an accountant.” To provide the reader with a sense of an actual program, we present in Appendix Athe description of the components of an ASPD program held recently at YSU.

2.2. Program objectives

In a broad sense, the annual ASPD program at YSU helps the accounting department meet its mis-sion-based service goals by providing an ongoing mechanism that promotes interaction betweenfaculty members, students, and professionals. In more specific terms, our program is designed tohelp accounting students learn what it takes to be an accounting professional. For non-accountingmajors (including high school students and non-accounting majors from across our university),the program is designed to provide information about what accounting offers as a major and as acareer option.

A secondary objective of the program is to promote student–practitioner interaction: the ASPD pro-gram affords students the opportunity to network with professionals and it provides professionals achance to interact with students in an extended, non-interview situation. The opportunity for studentsand professionals to interact and mingle is a powerful motivator for both of these stakeholder groupsto participate in this on-campus event each year.

2.3. Program participants: planning and delivery

Planning for the annual ASPD program is executed through a departmental planning committee(consisting of accounting faculty members, plus student representatives from our Beta Alpha Psi[BAP] chapter and our student chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants [IMA]), selectedaccounting professionals, and our department’s Student Ambassador from the Ohio Society of CPAs(OSCPA). Our experience is that the views of all major stakeholders are critical to making the eventa success. For this reason, the planning committee each year has broad membership.

YSU accounting faculty members are substantively involved in both program design and programdelivery. Not only do our faculty members participate in the aforementioned planning committee(along with students), but many participate in the event itself—either as a session moderator, a panelpresenter, or both. Such active involvement links directly to the mission-based service imperatives ofthe department and AACSB International (2007).

Presenters in the ASPD program include accounting faculty, alumni, and other business profession-als. The community of accounting professionals has enthusiastically supported the annual ASPD pro-gram, both financially and by providing speakers. Local accounting practitioners’ participation has ledto the involvement of the OSCPA, which provides guest speakers and financial resources. Table 1 con-tains information regarding the number of participants for each of the last five ASPD programs. Panel Aof Table 1 presents the total number of participants (both student and non-student), by year. Panel Bof Table 1 provides a breakdown of YSU students, by year and by class (freshman, sophomore, etc.),while Panel C of Table 1 provides a similar breakdown for non-YSU student attendees.

2.4. Benefits and advantages of the program

Many of the strongest benefits of the program stem from its capacity to address the missing link inthe education of accounting students; that is, what it means to become a professional. Over the past20 years, in both the U.S. and abroad, there have been calls for a shift in focus from technical expertise

Table 1ASPD program participant summary, 2003–2008.c

Panel A: total number of participants, by year

Program year Non-faculty presenters Facultya YSU students Students from other schools

2003 21 7 94 02004 24 8 133 02005b 31 8 65 32007 44 14 173 442008 36 14 86 24

Panel B: student attendees from the sponsoring school—percentage breakdown

Year N Percentage breakdown

Freshmen (%) Sophomore (%) Junior (%) Senior (%) MBA (%)

2003 94 10 26 37 26 12004 133 5 26 31 38 02005 65 2 12 36 45 52007 173 11 42 28 15 42008 86 12 30 31 27 0

Panel C: student attendees from other schools—percentage breakdown

Year N Percentage breakdown

Freshmen (%) Sophomore (%) Junior (%) Senior (%) High school (%)

2005 3 0 0 0 100 02007 44 5 30 27 38 02008 24 0 0 16 42 42

a Totals for this category include instructors and students who by virtue of expertise or internship were qualified to presentor serve as moderators.

b This program was not offered to non-majors.c The ASPD program was not held in 2006.

136 D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

to a more integrated combination of technical, personal, and broad business skills for accounting ma-jors. For example, the AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Profession (1999) lists var-ious functional, personal, and broad business perspective competencies. Within each of thesecategories the AICPA Framework lists several elements or skills. The personal competencies categoryincludes ‘‘Professional Demeanor” and ‘‘Interaction” skills, both of which can be further developedthrough student participation in the annual ASPD program.

Not only do students attend this event as aspiring professionals in terms of dress, behavior, andinteraction, they also interact with professionals modeling professional behavior. The professional val-ues of life-long learning and service are being lived out for them to see. The format of the event mirrorsthe format of other professional conferences, allowing the students to experience the types of eventsthey will be attending as professionals.

The low cost of the program serves to amplify its power in helping students bridge the gap fromclassroom to the profession and its transferability to other colleges and universities. We have beenable to tap into various funding sources (accounting firms, companies who want to have a table inour Human Resources room, our college of business, the state professional society, and an endowedchair in the accounting department) so that students are charged only $5 to attend the day-long event,including lunch and refreshments.

The university, the college of business, and the accounting department collectively benefit from thepotential to recruit high school students to come to YSU, from the ability of the department to recruitaccounting majors from the realm of undecided business majors, and from our ability to recruit areaundergraduate students to our graduate business program.

The professionals also benefit in several ways. One benefit is the opportunity to give back to theirprofession and their alma mater. Some professionals have participated in almost every ASPDprogram we have offered. Another benefit is the potential to attract internship/job applicants with

Table 2Sample of peer institutions and offerings related to the ASPD program.

# Institution Annual accounting-sponsored event?

Event title

1 University of Akron Yes ‘‘Evening with the Accountants”2 Arkansas State University (EBI

Peer)Yes ‘‘Meet the Employers Night”

3 Ashland University Yes ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night”4 University of Baltimore No5 Bloomsburg University No6 Bowling Green State

UniversityYes ‘‘Meet the Firms Night”

7 Bucknell University No8 Canisius College Yes ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night”9 Carlow University No

10 Clarion University No11 Cleveland State University Yes ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night”12 University of Dayton Yes ‘‘Meet the Firms/Career Fair”13 Duquesne University No14 Eastern Kentucky University Yes ‘‘Meet the Firms Night”15 Gannon University No16 Grove City College Yes ‘‘Career Panel Night” (speakers, but all business

majors)17 Indiana University Southeast

(EBI peer)Yes ‘‘Accounting Career Day” (includes speakers)

18 John Carroll University Yes ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night”19 Kent State University Yes ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night”20 Missouri State University (EBI

peer)Yes ‘‘Accounting Career Day”

21 Northern Ohio University Yes No title—similar to ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night”22 Ohio University Yes ‘‘Meet the Accountants Night”23 Otterbein College No24 Penn State University—

HarrisburgNo

25 Penn State University—Erie Yes ‘‘Business Bridge” (two-day retreat for all businessconcentrations)

26 Robert Morris University Yes Accounting Career Fair (includes speakers)27 Sam Houston State University

(EBI peer)Yes ‘‘Meet the Firms Night”

28 Shippensburg University Yes ‘‘Public Accounting Night”29 Southern Illinois University Yes School of Accountancy Career Fair/Golf Outing

(two-day event)30 University of Toledo No31 Towson University (EBI peer) No

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a table in the Human Resource (HR) room that is available at each program.3 The final benefit forprofessionals is the day-long access to and interaction with students in a non-interview situation. Boththe professionals and students find this a more relaxing atmosphere because there is no employmentimmediately at stake.

2.5. Uniqueness of the ASPD program

We looked at a sample of 31 institutions to see what type of program, if any, each of these institu-tions offers to its accounting students on an annual basis (see Table 2).4 Column 3 of Table 2 indicates

3 The HR room is a single large room in which HR personnel from participating firms and organizations set up promotionaldisplays and, in many cases, have a representative or two available during the day to meet with students. Students are encouragedto bring their resumes and visit the HR Room during any free time during the day or even in place of a scheduled session. The taskof coordinating and organizing the HR room has been delegated to the OSCPA Student Ambassador.

4 The programs we chose were either peer institutions for EBI assessment purposes or institutions largely in our geographic areathat had a mission similar to our own.

138 D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

whether the listed accounting program has an annual recruiting or professional-development event. Ofthe institutions in our sample, 11 (35%) have no annual recruiting or professional-development event. Ofthe remaining 20 institutions, 16 (52%) have what can generically be labeled an annual ‘‘Meet theAccountants Night” or a traditional career fair.

Four of the institutions in our sample (i.e., 13%) had something more involved and more similar toYSU’s ASPD Program. Two institutions, Indiana University Southeast and Robert Morris University, of-fer a twist on the traditional career fair structure—prior to the career fair portion, these schools havepanels of accounting professionals speak about their work and take questions from students. Anotherinstitution, Grove City College, has an event in which five or six Grove City College business alumnispeak about their careers to an evening gathering of business majors.

The one program most similar to the YSU program is the Business Bridge, offered by Penn StateUniversity—Erie. Each year, this school invites 40–45 sophomores from all business areas to attenda two-day retreat. In this retreat, small groups of students meet in rotation with one of 12 businessprofessionals to discuss the various business disciplines. Other activities include time with majorsfrom the various business disciplines and networking meals and activities with the professionals.The ASPD program differs from the Penn State—Erie program because it focuses only on accountingand brings together a much broader student base (high school, non-accounting students, accountingstudents, and accounting students from other schools) with a much larger variety of professionals. Inshort, the evidence presented in Table 2 suggests that the ASPD program is unique, at least in terms ofthe self-selected set of comparison institutions.5

3. Program planning

3.1. Planning steps

Planning for the annual event has changed over the years. Appendix B contains a rough timeline forplanning the Accounting Student–Practitioner Day. In the broadest sense, planning consists of: secur-ing a main (plenary session) speaker for the program; putting together a listing of follow-up, small-group sessions; and, making session assignments (presenters and moderators). These three planningsteps are the most crucial and, based on our experience, should be completed at least two to threemonths prior to the date of the program.

Choosing the plenary speaker is based largely on what issue is of timely concern to the profession.However, practical considerations include the speaking skill and reputation of the speaker, as well asthe speaker’s availability. Topics or themes to be covered in the small-group break-out sessions thatfollow the plenary speaker (such as those listed in Appendix A) are determined on the basis of:

� current developments within the profession;� feedback from students, presenters, and faculty moderators from the prior year;� the desire to provide variety for returning student participants;� consultation with student representatives on the committee; and� informal discussions with accounting professionals.

Once the topics for the plenary presentation and for the small-group break-out sessions have beendetermined, members of the planning committee must then secure presenters (and moderators) foreach session. By design, we try to balance presenters across the major categories of accounting as wellas between seasoned professionals and recent hires. It is the responsibility of committee members to

5 To provide additional evidence regarding the uniqueness of our program we searched back issues of three leading accountingeducation journals: the Journal of Accounting Education (Vol. 1 [1983] through Vol. 27, Issue #2 [June 2009]), Issues in AccountingEducation (Vol. 14 [1999] through Vol. 25, Issue #2 [May 2010]), and Accounting Education: An International Journal (Vol. 13 [2004]through Vol. 19, Numbers 1/2 [February and April, 2010]). This extensive examination yielded not a single article regarding aprogram similar to the ASPD program and therefore provides additional evidence regarding the uniqueness of the ASPD programoffered at YSU. For examples of how generic skills (such as those addressed in the ASPD program) are addressed within the formalaccounting curriculum, see Vol. 19, Number 1/2 [February and April, 2010] of Accounting Education: An International Journal.

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contact each potential participant, to try to secure a commitment from that participant, and to providethe individual with details of the overall program as well as the particular session(s) in which the indi-vidual would be participating.

Another planning strand has to do with logistics. The last two ASPD programs have been held in ourstudent center (centrally located on campus). In addition to rooms for receptions (e.g., the openingreception [light breakfast], lunch, and the closing session) and for the plenary speaker, we typicallyreserve six to eight rooms for the event. Because of the number of rooms needed, room reservationsat the student center are typically made a year in advance.

After the list of sessions and targeted speakers has been determined, the departmental planningcommittee must then make room assignments. This matching attempts to balance spatial cohesionand expected attendance for each session.6 For example, the room chosen for a workshop on commu-nication skills is typically smaller than the room chosen for a session on employment opportunities,while the room chosen for a session on spreadsheet skills requires student seating and resources for alaptop computer and projector. Additional logistical requirements each year include the following:

� making parking arrangements for non-university participants;� providing morning refreshments, lunch, and snacks during the day;� handling signage and coordinating student volunteers within the student center to direct partici-

pants to registration, the plenary session, lunch, and individual sessions;� developing handouts for distribution by participants;� obtaining gifts for the presenters; and� conducting the closing session where evaluations and feedback are obtained.

The final major planning strand has to do with promoting the event. Because the event takes placein the fall semester (to avoid the tax season), most of the promotional effort happens in the month ortwo prior to the event. The planning committee works with the dean’s office and the university mar-keting office to publicize the event to the community at large as well as to the YSU student body. Com-mittee members are responsible for contacting accounting faculty at nearby colleges to invite thesefaculty members and their students to the event. Business students at YSU (both accounting andnon-accounting majors) are approached through multiple channels–emails, classroom announce-ments, posters, ads in the school newspaper, BAP and IMA Student Chapter meetings on campus,and special in-class presentations. The departmental secretary handles the registration forms and$5 student registration fee, either directly or through classroom instructors. We charge the nominalfee principally to ensure student attendance and to help defray some of the costs of the program.

After the last three ASPD programs, a wine-and-cheese reception was held for the presenters, par-ticipating faculty, and student members (21 years of age or older) of the planning committee. Thisreception has proven to be popular because it allows not only for some informal debriefing aboutthe day’s event, but because it encourages dialogue among faculty members, students, and accountingprofessionals that could not otherwise occur during the busy schedule of the day.

An additional planning requirement has to do with sponsorship of the event. For recent ASPDprograms the planning committee was able to secure some financial support from corporate andpublic accounting firm donors. Firms/companies were able to sponsor morning refreshments, lunch,afternoon refreshments, or the afternoon reception. Recognition for these donations was providedthrough the use of signs and by verbal announcements (opening session, lunch, etc.). Some organi-zations also provided gifts, which we gave to students at the wrap-up (group) session held at theend of the day.

3.2. Challenges

Two primary challenges in planning the program have emerged over time: motivating students toattend the program and selecting practitioner participants.

6 Such estimates are based in part on observed attendance at similar sessions held in prior programs.

140 D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

3.2.1. Motivating students to attend the programAlthough the program is given almost unanimously good reviews by students who attend, it is

challenging to get students in the door, especially freshmen and sophomores. Part of this problemis that most of our students work, many with full-time jobs, as well as attend school. We have to com-municate the value of the program to students who work so that they are willing to choose attendanceover work. A particular problem for first- and second-year students is that many of them have Fridayclasses—our ASPD program is held each year on a Friday, during the day. The departmental planningcommittee is currently evaluating the possibility of allowing students to attend on a half-day as wellas the traditional full-day basis.

Some faculty members have helped support student attendance by offering class credit and, in onecase, requiring attendance. The planning committee has also promoted the event heavily in our intro-duction-to-business course, which has a graded requirement for students to attend at least threeactivities sponsored by student organizations or the college.

3.2.2. Selecting practitioner participantsAs mentioned earlier, selecting the professionals who will serve as small-group presenters is a crit-

ical and somewhat challenging step in the planning process. Two factors complicate the process ofselecting practitioner participants. One, the planning committee wants to invite representatives fromall firms and organizations who have participants on the college and departmental advisory councils.At the same time, it is simply not possible to accommodate all such individuals on any given program.In response, we have recently instituted a ‘‘rotation system,” the details of which are shared with ouradvisory group and alumni. Two, some presenters who express an interest in attending may have re-ceived poor ratings as presenters in prior years, either by the session moderators or students (or both).In that case, the planning committee tries to find the best possible way to involve that practitioner, ifonly to ask him/her to work as a firm representative in the HR room.

4. ASPD program assessment plan

4.1. Assessment instruments

Formal assessment of our annual program consists of survey questionnaires that are included inthe packet of information provided to each individual at the time of registration on the morning ofthe event. There are two questionnaires, one for Faculty/Practitioners and another for Students.7

The Faculty/Practitioner Questionnaire consists of 13 questions, including perceptions regarding thevalue of the program, potential topics for the coming year’s program, and suggested changes for thestructure of the program. Responses from faculty and practitioners are usually received one to twoweeks after each program.

The Student Questionnaire consists of 18 questions, including demographics (class rank, degree, ma-jor, gender, and age). Our questionnaire asks students to list sessions they attended, and whether andhow the program provided value to them. Students are also asked whether they plan to attend thenext year’s event and whether they would recommend the program to others. We also ask studentsto list the most and least informative sessions, what they liked most about the program, topics theywould like to see in future programs, and any recommendations regarding the structure of the pro-gram. Finally, students are asked whether they planned to make any changes in their studies or careerplans based on what they learned in the ASPD program. Student questionnaires are completed at thewrap-up session held at the end of the program.

4.2. Information analysis and dissemination

Each year, assessment information gathered through the use of the formal questionnaires andinformal discussions is summarized by our departmental secretary and graduate assistants. The

7 These questionnaires are available, on request, from the authors.

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annual assessment report is used as the basis of discussion by members of the departmental planningcommittee. Major recommendations contained in the report are assessed for feasibility and desirabil-ity (i.e., whether they are economically feasible and whether they help accomplish the stated goals ofthe program). This final debriefing meeting actually becomes the first planning meeting for the nextprogram. It is important to make sure students are present at this meeting; they have always had veryinsightful and relevant input and ideas. Since the practitioners are interested in the feedback results, itis necessary and helpful to disseminate the assessment information to these stakeholders. We distrib-ute our assessment report, as part of a formal ‘‘thank you” note, to all of the professionals who partic-ipate in a given year’s program.

5. Assessment results

The following selected assessment results from a recent program are typical and support the prop-osition that our program is successful in meeting its stated objectives. Results and excerpts from boththe Faculty/Practitioner Questionnaire and the Student Questionnaire are presented below.

5.1. Faculty/practitioner assessments

All of the respondents (n = 23) to the Faculty/Practitioner Questionnaire either ‘Strongly Agreed’ or‘Agreed’ with the following statement:

The goal of this program is to broaden the education of students by introducing students to

accounting professionals and exposing them to various issues in accounting. I believe these goalswere met. The most common response to the open-ended statement ‘‘One thing I liked most about the pro-

gram was?” related to feedback and interaction with the students. Responses to the question ‘‘Basedon your experience, what are three benefits you believe the students gained today?” include thefollowing:

� Knowledge of accounting topics, interaction with professionals, and information about accountingcareer opportunities.� Need to develop solid communication skills, need to obtain professional certification.� They (students) saw how the professional community supports YSU.� They (students) saw the real side of being a professional (the person behind the suit), and they

could ask questions in an informal setting.� Real-life examples, interaction with workforce, and ability of students to ask questions.� Value of internships, importance of communication skills.

5.2. Student assessment results

Student questionnaire responses provide confirmatory evidence that the ASPD program is meetingits stated objectives. For example, 94% of student respondents from our most recent program ‘StronglyAgreed’ or ‘Agreed’ with the statement ‘‘This program broadened your education by introducing you toaccounting professionals and to various issues in accounting.”

Student responses to the statement, ‘‘The thing I liked most about the program was. . .” included thefollowing:

� Networking opportunities.� Information on different areas of accounting.� Learning from and meeting other YSU alumni.� It helped me determine that I want to pursue a degree in accounting.� Meeting all the professionals and YSU faculty.� Information and experiences from the speakers and moderators.� I got to interact with many people in different kinds of accounting fields.

142 D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

Finally, and possibly most importantly, the ASPD Program seems to affect students’ college and ca-reer plans. Selected responses to the question ‘‘Based on what you learned today, what changes (ifany) do you plan to make in your studies?” included the following:

� Go to grad school.� I am looking into forensic accounting maybe take a couple criminal justice classes.� Put forth more of an effort because it will definitely pay in the end.� I am more motivated.� Get a masters in tax degree.� Change my major from finance to accounting.� Study harder, receive high GPA, and make the most out of my accounting courses.� I plan to study harder.� Take the CPA exam.� Look into more governmental or manufacturing areas of accounting.� Stop memorizing and focus on learning.� I would like to look into forensic accounting further.� Get an internship and try to get better grades.

5.3. Assessment results: summary

The assessment results presented above, though from a single year, are representative and supportthe premise that the ASPD program is successful in meeting its objectives. Specifically, the conferenceformat of the ASPD program provides: a unique, and formal, link between the classroom environmentand the professional world students will be entering; an opportunity for significant stakeholder inter-actions (which, in turn, help support mission-related service expectations of the department and thecollege of business); an opportunity for students to increase their knowledge of career opportunities inaccounting; opportunities for students to develop networking capabilities; and, a venue for attractingstudents into the accounting major. In fact, the ASPD program at YSU has evolved to become a flagshipprogram of our college of business and our university.

6. Recommendations

Based on our collective experience with the ASPD program over time, our primary recommendationcan be summarized as: ‘‘TRY IT!” At an operational level, the most critical decision is the selection of acommitted planning committee. This committee would likely consist of accounting alumni, BAP andIMA officers, faculty, accounting practitioners, and administrative support personnel. A key word hereis committed: the development and execution of an ASPD program takes a great deal of time and com-mitment. Dedicated and innovative secretaries and support staff are invaluable to the success of theprogram.

Support staff (or GAs) could be relied upon to create, update, and maintain an electronic databaseof contacts consisting of accounting professionals, alumni, and faculty/others from area high schoolsand colleges. Although it may not be feasible when starting an ASPD program, the planning committeeshould try to develop alternative funding and sponsorship opportunities. If the program is successfuland grows, sponsorship and sources of funding will be necessary, and can also be a tremendous way topromote the program overall.

An institution’s ASPD program should be developed to meet the particular needs of that institution.Nonetheless, there are likely to be commonalities across programs. The small-group session topics de-scribed in Appendix A and the planning timeline presented in Appendix B can be used to facilitate aninitial program offering. For control purposes, the timeline agreed upon by the planning committeeshould include assigned duties and responsibilities.

Finally, we recommend careful consideration of an assessment plan for your program. As indicatedin the preceding discussion, assessment results not only guide program improvement, they also

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become important for garnering program support from the administration and business community.Such reports can also be used for accreditation purposes.

7. Summary

Accounting programs, particularly those characterized as ‘‘teaching-oriented,” may be looking formeaningful ways for helping students to become accounting professionals. We believe we have foundan effective way to assist students in this transition process: an annual ‘‘Accounting Student–Practi-tioner Day” program. The ASPD program represents a tested, and cost-effective, mechanism for bridg-ing the gap between accounting student and accounting practitioner. Our experience with the ASPDprogram over a number of years suggests that the program could be implemented by other accountingprograms. To help others develop their own ASPD programs, we provide a sample program, relatedtimeline, and recommendations for program development.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the editor, James E. Rebele, for his helpful comments on earlierdrafts of this manuscript.

Appendix A. Session descriptions: sample Accounting Student–Practitioner Day (ASPD) program

A.1. Employment opportunities

Sure, taking accounting classes is a blast and all, but wouldn’t it be nice to finally just work inaccounting, earn some money, and get on with your professional life? What are the opportunitiesout there for accounting graduates? Find out from our panel of public, corporate, and governmentalaccountants.

A.2. Professional certifications

CPA, CIA, CVA, CMA, CFM, CFE, CGFM—what do they mean? Beyond the CPA, accounting profession-als choose from a variety of professional exams to distinguish themselves and their expertise. Whichcertification is right for you? Professionals with various licenses speak about their exam experienceand its impact on their careers.

A.3. Forensic accounting

Take a look inside the interesting profession of a forensic accountant. Hear what professionals doday-to-day, and what a challenging career option this could be. Forensic accounting utilizes account-ing, auditing, and investigative skills to conduct financial and/or systems examinations. Forensicaccountants often perform investigations into criminal acts such as embezzlement or fraud and canbe called upon to give expert testimony.

A.4. Should I go to graduate school?

One of the more difficult decisions for an accounting major is whether and when to go to graduateschool. Certainly, students who hope to sit for the CPA exam need hours in excess of their bachelordegree hours; they might wonder what are the options for both getting those hours and buildingemployability at the same time? What are the pros and cons of doing graduate work right after gettinga bachelors degree as opposed to doing it after working in the field for a while? Come to this session toget some answers.

144 D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

A.5. Communication skills

You might think that good writing is demanded only in English classes or that effective oral pre-sentation skills are required only in the public-speaking class you took. Wrong, on both counts!Numerous studies and feedback from practicing accounting professionals point to the importanceof effective communication skills to success in accounting. This is true across all levels in the organi-zation, from entry-level to partnership/executive positions. At this session you will hear first-hand ac-counts as to why it pays for you to hone your communication skills as part of your professionaleducation in accounting.

A.6. Non-traditional careers in accounting

‘‘Public (or corporate or governmental) accounting is not the right fit for me.” Explore the myriad ofcareer options available for accounting majors beyond traditional accounting. An accounting degreecan lead to successful and rewarding careers in industry, government, manufacturing, not-for-profit,consulting, finance, teaching, and recruiting—find out more about these exciting options from ournon-traditional career professionals.

A.7. Unwritten rules

When you are the new hire, there are some things you are just expected to know, even though youwould not find these rules in the company guidebook. This session will help you become acquainted withthose things that ‘‘go without saying” and avoid making some mistakes. The panel of accounting profes-sionals will convey their experience and offer advice on how to look for the more subtle clues, where tofind inside information, and how to handle difficult situations in your new position. You will have theopportunity to ask tough questions and get responses from accountants who have faced those dilemmas.

A.8. From peachtree to peoplesoft

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a tool that enables organizations to automate, integrate, andeven reengineer key business processes. Smaller businesses rely on accounting software packages totrack their business. This session has a panel of professionals, each a specialist in the use of one ormore of the most widely used enterprise resource planning systems or accounting software packages.Panel members will give an overview of the program in which they specialize, highlight the featuresmost important to accountants, and discuss their experiences with the program. The panel includesexperts with the following packages: Peachtree, Quicken, Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains, PeopleSoft,SAP and the university’s ERP system.

A.9. Spreadsheet skills

The AICPA has identified technological proficiency as one of the core competencies needed for en-try into the profession. Expectations in this regard include working knowledge of appropriate businesssoftware, including electronic spreadsheets (such as Excel). Come to this session to see actual exam-ples of how such spreadsheets are used today in the practice of accounting (and why you should con-sider enrolling in the new one-credit course in Excel offered by the college of business).

A.10. Accounting entrepreneurship

If you not only love accounting but would like to be your own boss, this session is for you.Meet alumni who have started their own firms or who have taken over an existing accounting prac-tice. Talk about a full business experience!

D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146 145

A.11. Meet the majors

One of the difficulties in declaring a major is the uncertainty about what it takes to succeed in thatmajor, and accounting is no different. Come to this session to meet some of YSU’s many accountingmajors. You will have the chance to hear about their experiences and their recommendations for stu-dents who aspire to be successful accounting majors.

A.12. Career options

What can I do with a major in accounting? What kind of career options would I have to choosefrom? Here’s your chance to find out. Listen to our panel of accountants talk about the careers for ma-jors in public, corporate, and governmental accounting.

A.13. Why I could not be an accountant

Even students already attracted to accounting may harbor some doubts about their choice of major.Come explore the doubts you may have about the feasibility of your majoring in accounting whilelearning about the overall structure of accounting as a profession. You may be surprised about therange of personalities, aptitudes, and interests students can have and still succeed as an accountingmajor.

Appendix B. ASPD planning timeline

The following is a timeline of the milestones that the planning committee seeks to meet to be readyto put on the ASPD Program on the first Friday in November.

First week in November, the prior year:

� Choose the next year’s date and secure the student center for that day.

End of April:

� Choose all session topics and create the skeleton schedule of the day.� Send a ‘‘Save the Date” note to small, nearby colleges and local high schools.� Contact the committee’s selection for the main speaker.

Mid August:

� Choose and contact accounting professionals to serve as presenters.� Make room assignments.� Discuss room set up with student center employees.� Contact faculty at smaller nearby colleges and local high schools.� Make sure the event is on university and college fall event schedules.

4th week prior:

� Contact and secure faculty and non-faculty moderators.� Secure the final selection of accounting professionals.� Create and print books of student resumes to give to presenters.� Send out a press release to local media.� Start a promotional campaign within the business college.� Secure sponsorship from various accounting firms and professional organizations.

146 D. Law et al. / J. of Acc. Ed. 27 (2009) 133–146

3rd week prior:

� Send BAP and IMA students to Intro to Business and all accounting classes to promote theprogram.

� Send a schedule of the program to all presenters and moderators.� Create folders and name tags for presenters.� Secure commitments from firms for human resource (HR) room usage.

2nd week prior:

� Choose the lunch menu and all refreshments.� Print posters to place in the student center to direct students and to indicate names of sessions.� Arrange parking for all non-sponsoring school attendees and presenters.� Receive commitments from other colleges and high schools about the number of attendees.

Week prior:

� Purchase gifts to give to presenters.� Print programs and name tags.� Prepare folders filled with literature to give to student participants.� Give food service a tentative count for lunch and refreshments.

Accounting Student–Practitioner Day (ASPD).First month after the event: post-event wrap-up meeting (assessment and preliminary planning of

following year’s event).

References

AACSB International (2007). Eligibility procedures and standards for accounting accreditation. Tampa, FL: AACSB International –The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. <www.aacsb.edu>.

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1999). AICPA core competency framework for entry into the accountingprofession. New York, NY: AICPA. <http://www.aicpa.org/edu/corecomp.htm>.