FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 15, 2010

WICPA names college ambassador at Marquette University

    Brookfield, Wis. - Jill Brown, a student at Marquette University and Wauwatosa native, has been named college ambassador by the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants (WICPA) Educational Foundation, Inc.

    Now in its third year, the College Ambassador Program, which aims to attract students to the accounting profession, is being offered at Marquette University, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

    One student from each University has been chosen to be the College Ambassador for the school. The Marquette University Ambassador, Jill Brown, has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and will graduate with a Master of Science degree in Accounting in May 2011. Through peer-to-peer networking events on campus, she will inspire students to consider accounting as a career path.

     “I'm very excited to be an ambassador,” Brown said. "There are so many people with misperceptions about what accountants do, and many students write accounting off as a career option because of those misperceptions. There are many reasons why accounting makes a great career, and students need to hear about them!”

    Each ambassador receives a $1,200 scholarship from the WICPA Educational Foundation, Inc. to be applied towards tuition. They also receive a free CPA Exam review course provided by Kaplan CPA Review, as well as a student membership to the WICPA. In turn, they are expected to commit 15 hours each month to promoting the accounting profession. The students report to a designated professor and also provide written reports each month to the WICPA.

Goals of the College Ambassador Program include:
• Inform students enrolled in introductory through junior-level accounting classes about career opportunities in accounting
• Break down stereotypes that may deter student interest in declaring an accounting major
• Reach out to students who are not currently enrolled in accounting courses to make them aware of the opportunities in accounting
• Mobilize college accounting majors to become spokespersons for the CPA profession

    “We are excited to promote opportunities available in the accounting profession through the students who have been selected for our College Ambassador Program,” said Gregory L. Ryan, office managing partner with KPMG LLP in Milwaukee and board member of the WICPA Educational Foundation, Inc. “The demand for accountants continues to remain strong due to an enhanced focus on increased accountability, transparency and controls in financial reporting and continued convergence or conversion from U.S. GAAP to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).”

    The College Ambassador program is funded by the WICPA Educational Foundation, Inc. through contributions made from WICPA members. The college campuses were selected by a WICPA Educational Foundation Selection Committee. The Foundation hopes to expand this program to other college campuses in future years.  

The WICPA is the premier professional organization for Wisconsin CPAs, with more than 8,000 members working in public accounting, industry, government and education. Like other professionals, certified public accountants are required to obtain additional education, take a rigorous exam and become certified. Please identify all CPAs by including their credential with their names.

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