7 minute read
Shaping the next generation
NEXT GENERATION
By Marcia Tillett-Zinzow
Dorothy Conduah, CPA, MBA, CGMA, an accounting faculty member at Madison College, did not think teaching was in her DNA, but she knew accounting was. She learned this early on when, as a child, she would help her shopkeeper grandmother count the cash in her store at the end of the day. So, after finishing high school in London (she was born in Ghana, West Africa), she went on to college and majored in accounting. Conduah eventually moved to the U.S., where she pursued the CPA designation. Conduah took the CPA Exam and passed all four parts on the first try (while pregnant with her first child, no less). She then worked in public accounting, gaining diverse and practical experience in the field. When she decided to pursue her MBA, Conduah transitioned into the corporate sector, going to work for American Girl’s corporate headquarters in Middleton. She obtained her MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, going through their evening MBA program while working full time.
From a spark to a flame
Conduah spent 16 years of her career at American Girl, and during her time there, she began teaching a night course in accounting as an adjunct instructor at Lakeland University. Her goal was really just to improve her presentation skills. “I already had my MBA, and I felt like I should be consistently engaged in situations where you have that challenge of speaking in front of a group,” she said. Before long, the reward of seeing students achieve and grow began to fan a spark into a flame. “I loved the interaction with students — seeing them learn and grow in pursuit of their career goals. That’s when I first fell in love with teaching,” she said. In addition to her adjunct work, Conduah has visited area high schools throughout her career to speak to students about accounting and the benefits of a career as a CPA. When she was at American Girl, she felt she was setting an example as a culturally diverse female CPA working in the corporate world. “It is important for students, especially diverse students, to see successful CPAs who look like them,” Conduah said. “Very often, students don’t even know this is an option for them. You cannot become something you don’t even know is a possibility,” she said. Then an experience with a colleague nudged her into seriously considering teaching full time.
During one Take Your Child to Work Day, a colleague asked if her daughter could shadow Conduah for an hour or so. “So we sat down, and we talked about what I do and about accounting as a career and the benefits she could expect if she were to take that path,” Conduah said. The daughter, who was in high school at the time, had been thinking she would go to business school and pursue marketing or maybe human resources because her mother was in HR. “But after our conversation, she went back and told her mother how much she enjoyed our conversation and that she was going to make a switch into accounting,” Conduah said. “I thought, If I can make that kind of impact by spending just an hour with a student, imagine the effect I could have as a full-time instructor in front of the classroom!” So when the opportunity to teach full time at Madison College presented itself, Conduah made the transition to teaching full time. That high school student, by the way, did go on to college and major in accounting at UW–Madison, Conduah said, and now she is a CPA practicing in one of the Big Four CPA firms. “This is why I love what I do and why I transitioned from a successful corporate career to academia. In the classroom, I have a chance to make a difference every single day. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing students persist and succeed,” she said. “I have the opportunity to help shape the next generation of CPAs.” One of Conduah’s successes is Angela Thomas, CPA, a past chair of the WICPA board of directors and the current Wisconsin state controller. “She is a former student whom I’ve mentored over the years, and she is doing great things with her career,” said Conduah. “Makes me quite proud if I may say so!”
The pipeline issue
College professors are one of the kingpins in filling the CPA pipeline. It’s often a professor who helps solidify a student’s career path. But, Conduah points out, the challenge is owned by all CPAs, from those who go into the pre-college classrooms to promote the field to the managers who mentor the interns and direct reports in their offices. She suggests starting early in students’ educational lives, visiting middle school and high school classrooms to talk about accounting and make it relatable to them. “Getting in front of the students is step one. Getting them into the accounting classes is step two — and once they are there, as educators we must make sure they are getting the education that keeps them interested in the field,” she explained. Sometimes keeping them interested means making accounting “cool.” Conduah believes this is even more important at the high school level, and she opines that high school accounting teachers do a phenomenal job of it. She talked about her son, Jonathan, who is now 26 and a CPA working in the field in Chicago.
“Several of Jonathan’s high school classmates, who like him were student athletes, ended up majoring in accounting, pursuing their CPAs, and are currently working in the field — most in the Big Four,” Conduah said. “And when other students see these student athletes taking accounting, suddenly it’s not such a boring field anymore!” Students see the value of accounting when they can relate it to their lives, she said, but even more important, they see the value when they can see the variety of options and employment potential in the field. Step three, she said, is up to the organizations who hire young professionals aspiring to become CPAs — especially when it comes to bringing more diversity to the profession. “If we educators are able to nurture them enough to get them into the field, our corporate leaders need to do their part to retain them,” she said. That may mean becoming culturally aware and providing additional mentoring and support to those who need it. “To retain these professionals in the field, business leaders must maintain a culturally diverse environment for them to grow and develop in their careers. Today’s professionals have options and will take their talents to where they are valued,” Conduah noted. The support needed by students early in the pipeline may be a bit different, she explained. “Culturally responsive teaching practices, financial assistance and even emotional support may be what it takes for them to succeed — because in our society, we don’t all start at the same level, and we need to recognize and acknowledge this.” Very often, Conduah noted, diverse professionals are called upon to come up with answers to the diversity question, but the solutions lie with a wider audience. “We all own it together,” she said. “It should be up to the entire profession to take on this effort. We must work together to bring about change and shape the future of our profession.”
Conduah with her husband, George, receiving the WICPA’s 2020 Accounting Educator Excellence Award.
Family ties
Conduah has been married to her husband, George, since 1994. “He is the kindest person I know, my anchor and my greatest champion, who supports and challenges me to be my best self in all my endeavors” Conduah said. The couple’s younger son, Madison (Maddy), is a senior in pre-med at Emory University in Atlanta with plans to pursue a career in medicine. The couple enjoy traveling among other pursuits. With both boys playing soccer, basketball and hockey between them while growing up, the family have traveled across Wisconsin for various sporting events. Believing travel to be an education, the couple have traveled across the globe with their boys, with their last trip before the pandemic to Tokyo. Conduah also believes in the importance of giving back to our communities and volunteers her time to causes she believes in. Over the years, she has served on nonprofit boards, including the WICPA Educational Foundation board and the Accounting Careers Committee. She was the 2020 Accounting Educator Excellence Award recipient.
Marcia Tillett-Zinzow is a Wisconsin freelance writer and editor. Contact her at mtzinzow@icloud.com.
