The Illinois CPA Society recently hosted more than 270 local accounting students as part of its annual Jumpstart to Accounting program.

The event, held online this year, connects Illinois accounting students with thought leaders, motivational speakers, recruiters and career coaches to help them get a head start on successful accounting and finance careers.

The two-hour program featured professionals from firms and businesses, including Accountemps, Becker, Caterpillar, Gleim, Roger CPA, Salesforce and Wipfli, who covered how to successfully navigate networking, interviewing practices, securing internships, resume writing and earning CPA licensure.

“Given the challenges students are facing due to COVID-19, it’s especially exciting to see so many accounting students turn out to take advantage of this great opportunity to prepare themselves for bright futures in the accounting and finance profession,” said Illinois CPA Society president and CEO Todd Shapiro (pictured at an earlier event) in a statement. “We strategically bring together a diverse group of experts to offer these students valuable takeaways that will help them succeed in both their academic and professional careers — and position them to become future CPAs.”

Information on the 2021 Jumpstart to Accounting program will be released in February on ICPAS’s site here.