Spring Break
Students gain experience in PPA
By: Laura Swift
Issue date: 9/9/08 Section: News
While college graduates may have trouble finding stable employment because of the present state of the economy, accounting majors are in higher demand than ever.
Within the accounting program at Texas A&M, there is a group of students who have large firms and corporations vying for them. These students are members of the Professional Program of Accounting (PPA).
The PPA is an accelerated program that accepts accounting majors each year who have exemplary grades and citizenship. The program allows students to receive their bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting in five years, with a coveted internship at a top firm.
PPA has been named sixth overall in the country for undergraduate and graduate accounting programs by Public Accounting Report's Annual Professor's Survey.
"The PPA was designed to address the need to take the CPA exam [Certified Public Accountants], giving students the necessary 150 hours in five years," said Annie McGowen, director of PPA.
PPA students are encouraged to take the CPA exam before they graduate to increase their chances of finding a job. The program has a staggering success rate, with 95 percent of students accepting jobs before graduation.
Many of the job offers come from the places the students intern with their senior year. Among the most popular internships are a group of giant international accounting firms called the Big Four, which includes Deloitte and Touche, Ernst and Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
These firms return to A&M to recruit because they know PPA students are well prepared for the industry. Students that do not intern with the Big Four go to middle market firms like Grant Thornton or corporations. Of the PPA students, 96 percent land internships during their senior year.
"There is a very high level of demand for these students who continue to be very successful," McGowen said. "There is a high demand for accountants today because of the ongoing changes in the accounting profession, which needs people to enact the new accounting standards."
Within the accounting program at Texas A&M, there is a group of students who have large firms and corporations vying for them. These students are members of the Professional Program of Accounting (PPA).
The PPA is an accelerated program that accepts accounting majors each year who have exemplary grades and citizenship. The program allows students to receive their bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting in five years, with a coveted internship at a top firm.
PPA has been named sixth overall in the country for undergraduate and graduate accounting programs by Public Accounting Report's Annual Professor's Survey.
"The PPA was designed to address the need to take the CPA exam [Certified Public Accountants], giving students the necessary 150 hours in five years," said Annie McGowen, director of PPA.
PPA students are encouraged to take the CPA exam before they graduate to increase their chances of finding a job. The program has a staggering success rate, with 95 percent of students accepting jobs before graduation.
Many of the job offers come from the places the students intern with their senior year. Among the most popular internships are a group of giant international accounting firms called the Big Four, which includes Deloitte and Touche, Ernst and Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
These firms return to A&M to recruit because they know PPA students are well prepared for the industry. Students that do not intern with the Big Four go to middle market firms like Grant Thornton or corporations. Of the PPA students, 96 percent land internships during their senior year.
"There is a very high level of demand for these students who continue to be very successful," McGowen said. "There is a high demand for accountants today because of the ongoing changes in the accounting profession, which needs people to enact the new accounting standards."
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