June 26, 2009
New CalCPA Chair Stresses Need for More Minority CPAs
Andrea G. Cope Heads Largest State CPA Association
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Recently named 2009-10 chair of the 35,000-member California Society of CPAs, Andrea G. Cope will emphasize the need to attract more minorities to the CPA profession during her term. She assumes the position as CalCPA celebrates its 100th anniversary.
As the leader of the nation’s largest state accounting association, Cope noted that while 37 percent of Californians identify themselves as Hispanic, only 4 percent of the CPA profession within the state is Hispanic. She also mentioned that only 2 percent of California CPAs are African Americans, compared to 6 percent of African Americans in the state’s population.
“I believe it is critical that we continue to support CPA career outreach,” Cope said. “We want to attract the best and brightest to the profession. While we have made great strides in attracting women—60 percent of new licensees in California are women—it is particularly important to reach out to students who are ethnic minorities, so that our profession mirrors the public we serve.”
Cope, a CPA for more than 25 years, is a partner in the San Francisco firm of Burr, Pilger & Mayer. She provides accounting, tax and financial management services to businesses and their owners.
During her CalCPA term, Cope wants to extend the organization’s outreach efforts to the broadest possible audience of high school and college students. She encouraged her fellow members to volunteer to visit school campuses to discuss the advantages of an accounting career.
In honor of CalCPA’s 100-year anniversary, Cope challenged each of her fellow members to donate $100 to CalCPA Institute, a 501(c)3. She noted that the fundraising effort will help support important programs, including financial literacy presentations to the public and a scholarship program that provides more than $300,000 annually to accounting students.
Loretta Doon, CalCPA CEO, congratulated Cope on her new leadership role and said, “The CalCPA staff looks forward to working with Andrea and all our members to reach out to high school and college students, particularly minorities. The accounting profession offers numerous career possibilities for students. And the profession needs more accountants who can work within the minority communities.”
About CalCPA
Headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) (www.calcpa.org) is the nation’s largest state accounting organization and the largest CPA association in California. It serves 35,000 members in public practice, private industry, education and government. Through CalCPA Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, CalCPA members provide financial literacy programs to high schools and community groups.
