CLASSIFIED AD Practice for Sale, Be Your Own Boss! Lincoln, Neb., CPA is looking to retire and needs the right person (or persons) to step in and provide service to his clients. Great location, ready for a motivated person to step in and take over operations. Good cash flow at 60%, can expand with enough space to add a couple more people. Tax work is about 60%, attestation engagements 25% and 15% other services. Busy all year round, but mostly during tax season. Good opportunity to be your own boss and keep what you earn! Please contact Gary Riggs at Riggs & Associates, CPAs, PC at (402) 483-7885 or griggs@riggscpas.com. By working together to open doors and provide support, we can ensure a bright and diverse future for the accounting profession and ensure a fully stocked talent pipeline. perspective and shaping my thinking on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to this day. Today, I support a variety of philanthropic causes that are devoted to first-generation college students, students of color, and those from diverse backgrounds. LAYING THE FOUNDATION Giving back to the community is a priority for me, which is why I continue to support students in need with funds for textbooks and summer school courses that are not covered by the state-funded scholarship. I also recently established an endowed professorship, to contribute to the long-term sustainability of the Goodrich program. Beyond a successful career, one of the most important things a scholarship program like Goodrich provides students is the chance to break the cycle of poverty. There’s no question that having scholarship support to allow students to achieve a college degree is critical to making that a possibility. My journey from a working-class background to a global leadership position at KPMG is just one example of how targeted support during college years can transform lives and strengthen the accounting profession. A CALL TO ACTION As we face the challenges of declining accounting graduate numbers and an evolving professional landscape, it’s crucial that both the accounting profession and educational institutions take decisive action. Accounting firms must look beyond traditional recruitment methods and invest in long-term solutions. This could involve partnering with universities to create scholarship programs similar to Goodrich or developing internship opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds, such as the KPMG Empower High School Experience program. Educational institutions, for their part, need to reimagine their accounting curricula to ensure access and equity in the student body. This might include integrating more interdisciplinary elements, as the Goodrich program does with its humanities requirement, to showcase the breadth of skills and knowledge relevant to modern accounting. Universities should also work to make accounting programs more accessible, perhaps by offering more flexible study options or additional support for first-generation college students. Moreover, accounting education should align with the rapidly evolving needs of the profession. This could involve co-developing courses that focus on areas like AI, data analytics, or sustainability reporting. The investment in these initiatives may seem significant, but the return—a robust, diverse, and well-prepared accounting workforce—is invaluable. As my own journey demonstrates, providing opportunities to those who might otherwise be excluded from the profession can yield remarkable results, benefiting not just individuals but the entire field of accounting. By working together to open doors and provide support, we can ensure a bright and diverse future for the accounting profession and ensure a fully stocked talent pipeline. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25 26 Nebraska CPA
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