Students gain experience in PPA

By: Laura Swift

Posted: 9/9/08

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."

To get into PPA, students apply during the fall semester of their junior year and interview with a professor or accounting advisor. The average GPR of PPA students is 3.5.

Trenton Wright, a senior accounting major, applied for the program in the fall of 2007.

"I first had an interview with a professor and was told I would be notified if I made it at the end of the semester when grades came in," Wright said. "A big determinant of whether or not you make it in is what grade you make in intermediate accounting, after the grades come in from that class, PPA advisors look at your overall GPR."

After being accepted into the program, students meet with an advisor and plan their remaining semesters to ensure that 150 total credit hours are completed.

"They try to plan it out so you only have to take six hours during your last semester, so you'll have time to study for the CPA exam," Wright said.

One of the busiest times for PPA students is the recruiting process, which takes place in the spring of junior year.

Representatives from accounting firms travel to College Station to interview potential intern candidates in the first round of recruiting. If a firm likes a student, they are invited to make an office visit to get a better grasp of the firm's environment.

"They will put you up in a hotel, take you to lunch and show you around the office," Wright said. "You get to know the partners better and meet other employees."

The office visit is essential for students with the opportunity of choosing between different firms because they can find one that suits them best.

Wright, who landed an internship with Ernst and Young in Dallas, said the experience has been great so far.

"You can't beat having firms come and recruit you," Wright said.

The first graduating class of PPA students was in 1997 and the program, along with its success, has grown each year. This year, there are more than 260 students enrolled in the program.