How the simple economics of a lemonade stand can introduce the next generation of talent to the accounting industry
Solving the accounting talent pipeline challenge feels bigger than any one group or person can solve — however, the National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG) was charged to do just that.
Over the course of 13-months, the NPAG studied the data, identified barriers, tested solutions, and provided recommended strategies in six thematic areas. Yet, no single association, organization, regulation, or person can solve the problem alone. It will take everyone involved in the accounting profession committing to do their part in attracting talent to a career in accounting and helping future leaders stay in the profession.
It is natural to wonder “What can I do that will matter?” The NPAG made a call to action for all members of the profession to participate in a Pipeline Pledge, which asks for an individual, educator, or employer commitment to participate in at least two activities that could positively impact the talent pipeline. To support pledge efforts, the NPAG provided resources showing how stakeholders across the accounting profession can easily get involved.
For example, Michelle Randall, CPA, CGMA, is a pipeline pledge participant who is using her position and passion to influence her network to see the opportunities a career in accounting can offer. She has been finding creative and innovative ways to introduce young middle school students to a career in accounting. Some of her tips on how to get involved include:
Share your story
Randall says she appreciates the career flexibility she has experienced within accounting, and her work experience demonstrates the versatility that an accounting degree can offer.
After taking Calculus 2, Randall says she decided to rethink her plan of becoming a math teacher. At that point, a family member in accounting took an interest and introduced Michelle to this field of study, and that is where it began.

Randall explains that an accounting degree allows you to work in any industry, for profit, not-for-profit, governmental, and more — and you don’t have to spend your entire career in any one of these areas. She personally started in public accounting at KPMG but then joined a corporate accounting team in the automative industry. Most recently, Randall is teaching accounting at Schoolcraft College in the Detroit Metro area.
Throughout her career, she has been able to use her skills to transition to positions that gave her flexibility and a work environment that fit her needs at each stage of her life.
Make the learning engaging
Randall uses the mantra, “accounting isn’t math, it is money” to introduce the concept of accounting to young people. Growing up, she had an affinity for counting money, sorting coins, and rolling them up. As children begin to learn about money, even at an early age, they can be introduced to the concepts of accounting.
Borrowing from an idea from the book The Accounting Game by Darrell Mullis and Judith Orloff, Randall started taking middle school and high school students back to the summer days of setting up a lemonade stand through the use of an interactive presentation. From choosing the right lemonade recipe, to selling the goods, to forecasting sales based on the weather, she introduces how accounting is used to grow a lemonade stand business and, more importantly, to make money. And who doesn’t want to know how to make money?
The key to creating engagement in learning is to include as many of the five senses as possible, suggests Randall. Getting students really interacting with the process with props and physically going through the process of making and selling their lemonade keeps them interested.
Randall also recommends that we should think about ways to make presentations to students more engaging and interactive. Start by getting to know the students and let them know about you. Take time to listen to the students instead of delivering a pre-planned, canned presentation.
Listen
In fact, we all need to listen to the next generation. “It is the most important thing we can do,” says Randall. Connect the ideas and principles to those areas in which the students express interest. Show them how accounting is part of what they are most excited about — like fund raising for a sports team or saving for that first car. Connecting with students and making learning engaging is simple when we listen.
Get started
First, don’t overthink it. Randall suggests starting within your own sphere of influence, such as, at your dinner table. Remember, it was a family member that saw her areas of interest and introduced the field of accounting to her at a time when becoming a math teacher was not panning out.
To identify additional ways in which you can connect and get involved, reach out to:
-
-
- leadership in your organization that runs volunteering and recruiting events;
- your state CPA society for opportunities to get involved;
- school and career counselors at high schools with job-shadowing opportunities;
- schools of your children, nieces, nephews, and neighbors’ kids to share your experience about a career in accounting; and
- college professors to offer to discuss the many options available with a career in accounting.
-
There’s a myriad of ways to start. Generate your own ideas or borrow from others or engage talent in your own organization to retain them or focus on the future talent pipeline.
Then, as you begin to share your story, think about the impact you make and what you enjoy about the work you do. Also, notice how much you talk about the negative aspects of your job and take note of who is listening.
This doesn’t mean we ignore what needs to be improved in the profession, of course. Address those issues with the leadership inside your organization and within associations to begin making strides to make a career in tax, audit & accounting more competitive and compelling for potential new talent.
Clearly, the accounting talent pipeline challenge is being felt across the profession — and participating in the NPAG’s Pipeline Pledge could be one way to solve the problem.
You can find out more about the talent challenges facing tax firms here