So Far, I Love Taxes: Accounting Students Attend Major Industry Workshop

April 4, 2018

Accounting students

From left, Christopher Tetlow 鈥18, Alison Pansecchi 鈥19, Jared Grise 鈥18 and Yuki Li 鈥18, attended 鈥淭he Next Step Workshop,鈥 hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers in Boston, Mass., on March 28.

Before attending an accounting workshop hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers 鈥 one of the largest accounting and attestation firms in the world 鈥 Jared Grise 鈥18 of Pittsfield, Mass., wasn鈥檛 interested in a career with a big firm. 鈥淚 am now,鈥 he said.

Grise, a business administration major with a concentration in accounting and three other accounting students traveled to Boston last week to attend 鈥淭he Next Step Workshop,鈥 organized by the Massachusetts Society for Certified Public Accountants (MSCPA), to which the students all belong.

At the workshop, they discussed job opportunities, career paths, and how to make the transition from student to accountant. The one-day event also included panel discussions and networking activities with other students and professional accountants.

911黑料网 exchange student Yuki Li 鈥18 of Suzhou City, Anhui Province in China 鈥 also a business administration major with a concentration in accounting 鈥 said that the best part of the workshop was the communication with human resource professionals from PricewaterhouseCoopers. 鈥淲e learned how to interview, about resumes and internships.鈥

Li expects to work for a Certified Public Accounting firm, where she will concentrate in the auditing field, 鈥渂ecause I am interested in numbers, and I am serious about the data accuracy. It is a growing industry since the taxations never get old,鈥 she explained.

Alison Pansecchi 鈥19 of Adams, Mass., also studies business administration, with a concentration in accounting, and a minor in economics. She is also looking toward a career in tax accounting, and currently has an internship at a local accounting firm.

鈥淪o far, I love taxes,鈥 Pansecchi said. For me, the best part about this workshop was learning what recruiters want to see in the resumes and applications they receive.鈥

According to Tara Barboza, assistant professor of accounting, who accompanied her students on the trip, the workshop helped to build her students鈥 confidence about their future careers and joining the workforce.

Before attending the workshop, 鈥淭hey all expressed nervousness about being done with their education, and moving on,鈥 Barboza explained. The workshop taught them that they have multiple opportunities, 鈥渁nd they can be as successful as they want to be.鈥

Barboza said the students鈥 general consensus on the most important take away from the experience was that they learned that they don鈥檛 need to know everything when they graduate. 鈥淓mployers expect students entering the field to need mentoring and further training. They also realized that the field is open, and that there are opportunities for every interest and lifestyle.鈥

The workshop also provided a chance for Barboza and her students to bond.

鈥淲hile we spend a lot of time together in class, this was an opportunity for me to interact with them in a new way 鈥 and for them to interact with each other outside the classroom,鈥 she said.