Sowing seeds
Minnesota firms launch high school internships
Corey Butler, MNCPA communications manager | April/May 2024 Footnote
Sara DeRoo understands the importance of attracting would-be CPAs to the accounting profession.
The partner at Christianson PLLP — a firm with six offices in central and western Minnesota — said offering job shadows to college and high school students, visiting schools to discuss opportunities within the profession and providing resources to teachers throughout the school year have all been part of the firm’s plan for years.
But it hasn’t been enough to meet the needs of the firm and the communities they serve — and that’s at no fault of Christianson, or any other firm or company that’s working to attract more students into the profession.
“Every community in greater Minnesota would love for their kids who graduate to come back and live and thrive there,” DeRoo said.
But the numbers don’t lie — and they paint a challenging narrative.
In 2022, according to Pew Research, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college in the United States was approximately 1.2 million fewer than 11 years prior.
Therefore, there are fewer students to compete for and competing industries attracting students with similar aptitudes have increased. The career opportunities available today compared to even 20 years ago are numerous, so it’s imperative for leaders within the accounting profession to rise to the challenge, just as DeRoo and Christianson have.
“We need to recruit as early as we can and get the word out there about what opportunities exist in the accounting profession,” DeRoo said.
Enter the high school internship.
Next-level cultivation
To further connect with high school students considering their professional choices, Christianson launched a high school internship program in the summer of 2023.
The program launched offering freshly graduated high school students a summer internship at their Willmar office location.
During the monthslong commitment, the interns were exposed to various aspects of the role of a CPA in a community where Christianson operates. That means tax preparation was a heavy dose of the curriculum, but so were audits, accounting engagements and community involvement — such as Chamber of Commerce events, golf tournaments and business development exposure.
“They were motivated to learn,” DeRoo said of the trio of interns. “I think it was a really well-rounded experience.”
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP also launched its own high school internship program last summer.
Don Loberg, CPA, the managing principal in CLA’s Minneapolis office, was part of a group of partners throughout the country to carry the seed of an idea to fruition. He said the firm has long recognized the tide of the talent pipeline and needs to continue to find ways to help change its course.
“Our fearless leader Jen Leary called up all of us and said we need to do something differently,” he said.
So, CLA did, putting the program together in the early part of the year and opening it up to applicants.
And, boy, did they get a response.
While Christianson focused on recent high school graduates who were mere weeks away from starting their collegiate careers, CLA allowed any students older than 16 to apply. After receiving 400 qualified applications, CLA closed the application window early.
“The reaction was way beyond what we thought it would be,” Loberg said.
All told, 15 of CLA’s offices across the country brought on four interns each for an eight-week experience. It was important, Loberg said, for each office to have multiple interns so they could develop camaraderie with one another.
In addition to traditional audit and tax services, Loberg said CLA interns also learned about the firm’s digital services, cybersecurity, data analytics and wealth management efforts.
And the CLA staff got to learn more about the next crop of potential CPAs, who infused their youthful personalities and experiences into their work and workspaces.
“The number of selfies taken in the office was hilarious,” Loberg said.
Similarly to CLA, each Christianson intern worked around 25 hours a week for the duration of the internship. Two of those three interns have indicated their intentions to pursue an accounting degree.
“I was very happy with the experience,” DeRoo said.
Shovels at the ready
It is often said the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second-best time is today.
This is a concept both DeRoo and Loberg grasp.
“It’ll be seven years before we see any fruit off the tree,” Loberg said of CLA’s upstart internship program.
But these firms, like all organizations reliant on the CPA pipeline, are facing the same reality all employers are.
U.S. birthrate trends are not favorable. They have been in a steady decline since 2007, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2007, the United States produced 14.3 births per 1,000 people. In 2022, it had declined to 11.1 births per 1,000 people — nearly 23%.
In raw numbers, there were nearly 600,000 fewer annual births in 2019 than in 2007. However, nationally, births have been relatively level since 2020, with even a slight uptick from 2021 to 2022.
The Brookings Institute believes: “The size of the COVID-related baby bust and subsequent rebound were meaningful in that context, but they also represent short-term deviations from an ongoing trend of considerably greater importance. Birth counts in 2022 are still below what they were in 2019.”
In Minnesota, from 2007 to 2022, the CDC reports there was a decline from 14.2 to 11.2 births per 1,000 residents, a decline of 20.9%.
Why does this matter? Those kids born in 2007 are heading to college in the next couple of years. The years to follow are projected to be increasingly difficult. So, it’s vital for those in the profession today to find meaningful ways to attract future generations into and through the CPA pipeline.
“We found that many quality candidates are locking in opportunities early on in their college careers,” DeRoo said, reinforcing the need to connect with potential candidates earlier and earlier. “Getting that exposure early on is key.”
Loberg agreed, saying it’s part exposure, part messaging in what is now a world of opportunities for college-bound students.
“Our profession is one of the best kept secrets,” he said. “We’re CPAs; we’re not always great about marketing ourselves.”
As for the firms’ programs, both Christianson and CLA will welcome interested students back to their offices this summer after a successful first year.
After all, it’s time for planting.
“It just takes one person with an inquisitive mind to change the future of one kid,” Loberg said. “I believe if firms out there banded together, I think we could change the tide of the pipeline that isn’t there today.”
Corey Butler is the MNCPA communications manager, working to enhance the professional reputations of members through content, media relations and public affairs. He’s been with the MNCPA since 2013. Before joining the MNCPA, Corey was an award-winning journalist and editor. You may reach him at 952-885-5530 or cbutler@mncpa.org.
