ACADEMICS

“Start Here, Go Places” Website Aims at Accounting Aspirants

The RISCPA recommends the recently revamped website “Start Here, Go Places” for those in Rhode Island who are considering an accounting career. A national site produced by the AICPA, it is relevant to anyone interested in pursuing the path of a CPA or educators in the field.

Visitors to “Start Here, Go Places” can view a wide range of educational material about what they might expect as members of the accounting profession. One of the main features of the site is an activity called “Build a FutureMe,” which guides those considering an accounting career through a series of questions that help determine what kind of job they might find that fits their interests and priorities.

Users of “FutureMe” answer questions like what size company they’d like to work for, whether they want to work for a boss or for themselves, what kind of salary they’d like and whether they’re willing to travel. According to the responses, the site delivers a list of possible hand-selected careers. Examples might include Payroll Accountant at Disneyland Resorts, Compliance Analyst at Epic Games, Auditor General of the State of Rhode Island or Accountant Manager at Burt’s Bees.

“Start Here, Go Places” also addresses concerns from the average career-seeker, such as how much an accountant might expect to earn, the various possible career paths one could follow, and even whether others in the profession are “interesting” people.
 
With a sense of humor and a sleek interface aimed at capturing the attention of young aspirants, the website seeks to answer questions and retire some old myths about the profession.

“Years ago, someone started a rumor that accountants sit in a cubicle all day, crunching numbers in total isolation,” the website proclaims. “But nothing could be further from the truth.”

Throughout the pages on the site, “Start Here, Go Places” seeks to prove that point. A major theme of the site is that you can’t pigeonhole the career of a CPA, that there are as many possibilities within the profession as one might imagine.

“Pizza eating. Whale watching. Punk rocking. Whatever your interest, you can turn it into a career in accounting,” proclaims the site in the “Career Options” section. It goes on to detail various areas where an accountant might find work, from entertainment to technology, sports to food, fashion, environment and more.

The site promotes accessibility to the profession of accounting, seeking to dispel the notion that the career is only for a certain type of person. It includes a glossary of accounting terminology, and an area specifically aimed at educators. By joining the online community at “Start Here, Go Places,” teachers can access downloadable lesson plans, multimedia features, discussion forums and more.

And just to further drive home the fact that accounting can be fun, and that it’s not all serious, the site includes some quirky “facts” (just to make sure you’re paying attention), like this important statistic: “Less than .004% of accountants wear glasses fixed with duct tape.”