In the News: Paying for a Summer Studying Abroad

As a recent – and I use the word recent liberally – college graduate, one of my few regrets is that I didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to spend a summer studying abroad. I generally excuse this away because I had my hands full juggling my course work and extracurricular activities and was always eager to return to my native New York. If I was being honest with myself, the real reason was that I could never seem to navigate the financial and administrative aspects of applying to take classes overseas during the summer.

For those of you who are still in school and seeking to broaden your horizons, Michael Eisenberg, a Los Angeles-based CPA/PFS, recently spoke to U.S. News & World Report to educate their audience on how to pay for short study-abroad trips.

The article encourages students to look for scholarships and aid to pay for the parts of a short-term educational trip not eligible for 529 plan funding.

If You Like Accounting and TV, Keep Reading

You’re reading AICPA Insights, so I can safely assume that you’re interested in accounting. And since I’m making assumptions, I’m going to assume that you like to watch TV (hey - all the cool kids are doing it). And since you’ve got an inquisitive mind, I bet you wonder how networks decide which shows get made and which shows on TV "make it." Maybe, you got a little fix watching the People’s Choice Awards last month. And since then, you’ve been twiddling your thumbs as you count down the days until the Emmys. Well keep reading, because I have just the thing for you.

Let me set the scene…The TV industry is booming and each network is in search of “the next big thing.” At the same time, accounting is in the spotlight as one of the fastest growing professions. Put the two together, and the network executives have decided this is a profession that should play a role in their next pilot. That’s right, it’s the AICPA’s Project Innovation: Competition of Creative Excellence.

AICPA Scholarships Provide More than $350,000 to Top Accounting Students

The fine folks at U.S. News and World Report have recently released their Top 100 Jobs for 2013 report and ‘accountant’ came in as the third best business job and number 36 of all jobs.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but with the profession’s modest 4.2% unemployment rate, and a median salary of more than $62,000, there is a lot to like about a career in accounting.

Rebecca Mahler, manager of career research at the AICPA, stressed to U.S. News and World Report how important it is for aspiring accountants to become certified. "It's really the gold star on the resume," she said. "It's an invaluable credential, and you get a 10 to 15 percent higher salary."

4 Articles That Made CPAs Smile in 2012

I initially chose to write a feel-good year-end reflection because that’s what all the cool, popular bloggers on the internet do. And I want to be cool and popular, too. But as I started going back through all the news from 2012, I quickly realized that it was an extremely eventful year, even by the lofty standards established by previous years (I’m looking at you, 2002!). That said, an on-the-go CPA could surely be forgiven if they were too busy to notice the top* four articles, which gave us a reason to smile during the course of the year.

As noted right here on AICPA Insights in March, a survey from Careerbliss.com found that being an accountant is the eighth happiest job in America. Employees were asked to rate 10 factors that affect workplace happiness, including one's relationship with the boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks and control over the work one does on a daily basis.

5 Tips for Aspiring Women Leaders

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the very first Women’s Global Leadership Summit, organized by the AICPA Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee, along with sponsors AICPA Private Companies Practice Section, the American Woman's Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. What an inspiring experience with a group of accomplished, empowered women. Women from all areas of accounting gathered to talk about the business case for creating inroads for women leaders in the profession, best practices for onboarding, preparing and maintaining female leadership and the effectiveness of establishing mentorship and advocacy programs. 

I know many of my peers are striving to stay ahead of the complexities of the profession, build a solid reputation and balance work and family in an increasingly challenging environment. I came out of the Summit feeling energized that more women are assuming leadership roles in accounting.  I thought: “What advice do I wish I had heard from my peers and role models when I was just starting out in the profession?”

Here’s what came to mind: