My First CPA Experience

Hi everyone! My name is Asjad and I am a Grade 12 student at St Francis Xavier Secondary School. Today, I had the pleasure to attend the National High School Business Conference. Here are my thoughts highlighting what I learned about how beneficial CPA can be in the field of entrepreneurship.

Firstly, I learned that CPA is not a niche career and can be used in various fields and branches into different pathways such as forensic accounting, auditing, and consultancy. CPAs are individuals in high demand as the speaker stated, however, what I found most interesting was how essential it can be if one wants to be an entrepreneur.

I am currently a Senior Highschool Graduating Student and enrolled in Bachelors of Business Management this fall as I want to pursue entrepreneurship. After my undergraduate I aspire to pursue an MBA however my dad also suggested CPA due to him being one. Prior to this workshop, I knew very little however I did learn a lot. One of the speakers described how she has her baking business which grew exponentially over time, and she could not keep up and required her mom's help who was an Accountant. She helped her figure out key factors such as determining costs, pricing, break-even points, and net profit. As someone who is aspiring to be an entrepreneur, I can pursue it part-time after my undergraduate and have acknowledged many benefits of doing such.

What I have learned from the keynote speakers are the many requirements for CPA, what courses to take, the average pay, and future careers. I also learned a lot about what it takes to succeed in the corporate world to get to the VP, CFO, and Director levels. One must be a leader, social, and well-spoken, among many other skills which I acknowledge to work on during my years of post-secondary. As a student wanting to enter the field of business, and indecisive between pursuing an MBA or CPA this was definitely beneficial.

What I enjoyed the most from NHBC is the experience of meeting new people and working together with them. In a short amount of time, we had to work with strangers to come up with a case analysis that had to have the potential to win. Me being outside of my comfort zone and meeting new people was the most fun part!

The way I will apply my learnings is to take all my learnings from this presentation and groom myself using the tips to be a leader fit to lead a company. Build my leadership skills, speaking skills, do extracurriculars to stand out, and network.