2017 Leadership Institute – Now Accepting Applicants!

Smith and Howard’s 12^th Annual Leadership Institute for Accounting Students will take place July 13-14, 2017 at our office in Midtown Atlanta (Atlantic Station).  Lodging and meals are provided.  This is an exciting opportunity for attendees to network with our firm and gain invaluable knowledge that will help them succeed in the future.

Below is a recap of last year’s Leadership Institute:

Smith and Howard’s 11^th Annual Leadership Institute for Accounting Students was held July 14-15, 2016. Twenty four students from 10 different universities attended the event.  The students participated in several activities during the program including:

• A day in the life of a tax staff, an auditor and an advisory staff to help determine which one best suited their interests
• A strengths assessment including a discussion on how to accentuate their strengths and minimize their weaknesses
• An informational session on the upcoming changes to the cpa exam
• A questions and answers panel that included partners and staff and
• A tour of our office which gave them an opportunity to see the environment in which they would be working in when they join the public accounting profession in the future.

On Thursday evening, the students and several members of Smith and Howard enjoyed Maggiano’s Little Italy for dinner and networking opportunities.  After dinner, the students and Smith and Howard staff boarded a charter bus and headed to Escape the Room Atlanta.  Our group was divided into three smaller groups.  Each group was challenged with a real life adventure game to figure out clues and solve puzzles to earn their freedom and escape the room in less than 60 minutes.  Our quickest group escaped in 44 minutes and their picture still hangs on the wall at Escape the Room as being one of the fastest groups to escape.

Students who attended the leadership institute said it was an amazing experience.  They all had fun and gained some valuable knowledge from the program.  Several students indicated that through this experience, they were able to clearly see that accounting was the right career path for them.  In addition, the day in the life sessions helped some students determine if they were interested in audit, tax or advisory.