CAQ and EVERFI Develop High School Curriculum to Draw More Diversity into Accounting

The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), a nonpartisan organization serving as the voice of U.S. public company auditors, and EVERFI, Inc., the nation’s leading social impact education innovator, today announced a new accounting education initiative for high school students.

This innovative curriculum, announced during back-to-school season, will expose students to careers in accounting, attract greater diversity and representation within the profession, and address barriers to entry from underrepresented and underserved groups. This program will play an important role in helping to encourage greater diversity in the profession and building a more diverse talent pipeline.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 76.3 percent of the total employed accountants and auditors in the U.S. are white. While the accounting profession has made notable strides towards increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion – through programs like the CAQ’s Accounting+ and Bold Ambition – industry professionals increasingly recognize the gap in providing educational opportunities and resources about the profession to students from underserved communities. This education initiative formed from the strategic partnership between the CAQ and EVERFI will provide high-quality programming about careers in accounting in an accessible, digital format to encourage interest in accounting among high school students.

“We are focused on addressing the diversity gap that exists within our profession,” said Liz Barentzen, Vice President Talent Initiatives, CAQ. “Now with a national schools program, we are able to reach the next generation of accounting professionals and ensure that students can see themselves within this growing profession. We are committed to making accounting more approachable and cultivating equitable representation within the field.”

The program will begin this fall by delivering short-form resources on accounting careers for teachers and students with a focus on building a more diverse student pipeline and ultimately increasing the number of students choosing to major in accounting. During the spring term, the program will expand to an interactive digital experience for students nationwide. The digital, interactive curriculum will give students access to education that exposes them to careers in accounting through a lens that can help to attract a more diverse population into the profession. The first-of-its-kind national education initiative aims to be used in at least 1,000 schools across the country in the 2022-2023 academic year and 3,000 schools in the 2023-2024 school year.

As part of the commitment to help grow and expand interest in the accounting profession, the CAQ will also sponsor a scholarship contest for students, awarding $50,000 in college scholarships in the 2022-2023 academic year and $75,000 in the 2023-2024 academic year.

“It’s important for students to see themselves and feel represented in careers they can pursue,” said Ray Martinez, president and co-founder, EVERFI. “It’s critical to reach students before they leave high school with resources around career exploration. Accounting provides a highly desirable career track and one that can have long-term positive effects on an individual and their family. We look forward to working on this important initiative with the CAQ to ensure that students have access to dynamic, tailored education about all the accounting-centered professions that are available.”

To learn more about EVERFI’s financial education programs, visit https://everfi.com/financial-education/.