The Center for Audit Quality and EVERFI Create Limitless Opportunities in the Accounting Field
Thursday, March 23, 2023
CAQ and EVERFI celebrate the launch of digital curriculum designed to attract more diversity into the accounting profession
Washington D.C., March 23, 2023 – The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), a nonpartisan organization serving as the voice of U.S. public company auditors and EVERFI, the nation’s leading social impact education innovator, today announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind digital education program, Accounting Careers: Limitless Opportunities. The program is designed to help high school students discover how accounting skills can help them achieve their career goals and to attract greater diversity and representation into the accounting profession.
“We’re excited to be able to expose high school students to the accounting profession at a time when they are considering their future and believe this curriculum will help all groups of students see accounting as a viable career path,” says Liz Barentzen, Vice President Talent Initiatives, CAQ. “We know that representation matters, and through this program, we hope to cultivate equitable representation within the accounting field.”
In line with the goals of CAQ’s Accounting+ program, a nationwide campaign to attract a new generation of diverse students into the talent pipeline, Accounting Careers: Limitless Opportunities exposes students to the wide range of careers available in the accounting and finance space. The interactive course covers the extensive benefits accounting skills can provide in business or in daily life, including contexts like entrepreneurship, investing, and personal finance. The course aligns with Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education, ASCA National Standards, and Common Career Technical Core standards.
To celebrate the nationwide launch of the accounting education initiative, the CAQ and EVERFI hosted an interactive event for students and distinguished guests at H.D. Woodson STEM High School in Washington, D.C. This highly engaging event featured retired NFL linebacker and professional athlete, Dahani Jones as MC, and included several talk-show style components to help H.D. Woodson STEM high school students engage with each other and the curriculum. A key component of the event featured accounting professionals who spoke to students about their real-life experiences in their careers. During the event, students participated in activities that saw them exploring what matters to them, what accounting is like, and where a career in accounting can take them.
The event concluded with the presentation of a $5,000 scholarship to one of the participating students.
“Engaging with the students at H.D. Woodson was a valuable experience for our team and true validation of the hard work we are undertaking to ensure that the accounting profession is as diverse as those it serves,” said Barentzen. “We are grateful to District of Columbia Public Schools for seeing the value of this program and the impact it can have on their students and for allowing us to meet and work with them to celebrate the launch of this extraordinary program.”
To learn more about Accounting Careers: Limitless Opportunities, please visit the website.
About the Center for Audit Quality
The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) is a nonpartisan public policy organization serving as the voice of U.S. public company auditors and matters related to the audits of public companies. The CAQ promotes high-quality performance by U.S. public company auditors; convenes capital market stakeholders to advance the discussion of critical issues affecting audit quality, U.S. public company reporting, and investor trust in the capital markets; and using independent research and analyses, champions policies and standards that bolster and support the effectiveness and responsiveness of U.S. public company auditors and audits to dynamic market conditions.
About EVERFI, Inc.
EVERFI from Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is an international technology company driving social impact through education to address the most challenging issues affecting society ranging from financial wellness to mental health to workplace conduct and other critical topics. Founded in 2008, EVERFI’s Impact-as-a-ServiceTM solution and digital educational content have reached more than 45 million learners globally. In 2020, the company was recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company and was featured on Fortune Magazine’s Impact 20 List. The company was also named to the 2021 GSV EdTech 150, a list of the most transformative growth companies in digital learning. Blackbaud, the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, acquired EVERFI in December of 2021. To learn more about EVERFI, please visit everfi.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter @EVERFI.