Chartered Accountants often get asked to talk about what they do. Whether it’s at their children’s schools, or by a family member, friend or neighbour.

To help members talk about what they do, we have produced a presentation for audiences in high school (from Year 9) in Australia and New Zealand. The presentation is an aid that members can use when presenting to a high school audience and covers:

• being an accountant including where you can work and what you would do.
• the breadth of roles accountants hold and the variety of industries they work in.
• common misconceptions around accounting.
• how to become a Chartered Accountant.

It incorporates interactive elements such as a quiz, videos and opportunities to ask questions.

This outreach to students – the CAs of the future – allows our members to show that accounting is more than numbers. It is being a business advisor, working in a broad range of industries and can involve activity that is as varied as flying a drone or aiding a criminal investigation.

This is an important tool to boost the perception of accounting and develop our next generation of accountants.