Future Firm, Meet Future CPA: How Whitman Sets Up the Connection
It’s a fast-growing field, and lately, an even faster race for talent. According to a June report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, accounting and finance were the fastest-growing business majors in the country this spring, posting year-over-year enrollment increases of 8.9% and 9.4%, respectively—well ahead of the 2.2% growth seen across business majors overall. More states have also simplified CPA licensing requirements in recent years, making the path to certification more attainable and the profession more visible to students weighing their options.
The upside for students is real: firms are raising starting pay and, in some cases, offering bonuses of up to $10,000 for passing the CPA exam. But as more students enter the industry, standing out takes more than a strong transcript. Rather, it takes the right introduction, made early and made well. Events like the Whitman School of Management’s CPAs of CNY are designed specifically to help bridge that gap and introduce Whitman students to the impressive network of CPAs right here in their community.
Co-hosted by the Whitman Career Center and Beta Alpha Psi (BAP), Whitman’s professional accounting fraternity, the event grew out of students asking for more networking opportunities. The goal was to provide something different from the large-scale career fairs already available on campus. It put students eager to break into public accounting in the same room as local renowned firms looking for their next great hire, many with an eye toward interns for the upcoming spring tax season.
Nine organizations accepted the invitation: DiMarco, Abiusi & Pascarella CPAs, Daley, LaCombe & Charette, P.C., Firley, Moran, Freer & Eassa, CPA, P.C., D’Arcangelo & Co., LLP, Dermody, Burke & Brown, The Bonadio Group, FustCharles LLP, Grossman St. Amour CPAs and Spinoso Real Estate Group.
For Eliza Ginivisian ’28, a professional accounting and supply chain management dual major and community service chair for Beta Alpha Psi, events like this are what get students excited about the possibilities ahead.
“You get a much better read on a company’s values, and the type of people who work there, than you ever could from a job posting,” she says. “BAP and the Career Center prepared us to network and present ourselves professionally going in, and honestly, it makes meeting new recruiters a lot less intimidating.”
The Matchmaker: The Whitman Career Center
Behind every successful pairing is someone who set the table—and that’s the job the Whitman Career Center fulfills for Whitman students. Long before students shake hands with a recruiter, the Career Center has already done the work of preparing them to make a strong first impression: resume reviews, interview prep, certification guidance and a steady calendar of networking opportunities, from regional firm nights like this one to on-campus visits and coffee chats with firms like PwC, EY and Goldman Sachs, among others.
It’s a system built with intention, and the results speak for themselves. In 2025, 98.1% of Whitman graduates actively seeking employment were placed in jobs within 180 days of graduation.
Emily Shaughnessy, associate director of career advising at Whitman, shared her vision of what events like this can accomplish for students. “I hope students walk away not being afraid to network,” she says. “There are so many local opportunities in accounting, and it doesn’t start in summer. Spring internships exist, and they’re a great way to get experience and get ahead of the game.”
What Makes a Whitman Accounting Grad Worth Meeting
Whitman accounting graduates bring a rare blend of technical rigor and strategic agility to the profession, starting with an integrated curriculum that embeds cutting-edge data analytics, Python, SQL, and business intelligence directly into accounting coursework. For students who know their goal is to sit for the CPA exam, Whitman’s Accounting CPA B.S./M.S. dual-degree pathway makes the process seamless, helping students accumulate the 150-credit hours they need in five years, arriving on day one fully eligible for licensure and prepared with the technical foundation to make an immediate impact. Combined with a diverse set of specialized focus areas—from forensic analysis to corporate tax strategy—graduates enter the workforce as well-rounded advisors. This academic excellence is further amplified by a fiercely loyal Orange alumni network that continuously connects Whitman talent directly with leading local and national CPA firms.
For Mark Ciaralli, a partner at Grossman St. Amour CPAs, the eagerness to scout talent at nights like this is personal: several Whitman alumni already work at his firm, and he knows the graduates deliver. “What I look for is someone who takes initiative and communicates clearly,” he says. “These Whitman students are learning just that, especially with certifications like Excel already under their belt. It already puts them ahead before they even walk through the door.”
As the accounting field gets more competitive, Whitman is preparing its students to have every possible advantage in the job market. That’s what nights like CPAs of CNY are for.