Advocate to Congress
Ask Your National Representative or Senator to Support Designating Accounting as a STEM Field
Two bipartisan, bicameral bills would establish accounting as a STEM field – providing K-12 students with equitable access to accounting awareness and education.
Please use the letters below to ask your U.S. senator and congressional representative to co-sponsor these AICPA-endorsed bills.
1) Find your representatives’ contact information.
2) Check the House bill (H.R. 3541) and Senate bill (S. 1705) to see if your representatives have already signed on as cosponsors.
If you have any questions, contact Lauren Pfingstag Vahey, Director of Congressional and Political Affairs, at Lauren.Pfingstag@aicpa-cima.com. On behalf of the accounting profession, thank you!
Sample Letter to your U.S. Congressional Representative:
Dear Representative [Name]:
I am writing to respectfully request that you cosponsor H.R. 3541, the Accounting STEM Pursuit Act of 2023, introduced by Representatives Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Young Kim (R-CA).
This bipartisan bill, which was first introduced in the 117th Congress, would allow the addition of accounting education to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curricula for K-12 students. Early accounting education should help reinforce the interwoven relationship between accounting, math, and technology while exposing diverse students to potential careers in accounting.
Specifically, the legislation adds “activities to promote the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach accounting” to the list of allowable uses of grant funding under the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program (Title IV, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act), with a focus on increasing access to high-quality accounting courses for students through grade 12 who are members of groups underrepresented in accounting careers.
The profession believes that it is an important step to having accounting recognized as a STEM field. The CPAs and accountants in our practice, and others who work in accounting throughout the business world, have had to acquire new skills to remain competitive. For example, accountants may use statistical analysis to uncover fraud or predictive modeling to help clients make strategic decisions. Artificial intelligence is being used to assess financial risks in real time, while Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can be used to flag anomalies. Firms have also developed proprietary technology to improve their reporting capabilities.
These skills are integral to the audit function and other accounting services that we provide to American businesses, including data analytics, forensic and predictive accounting, IT governance, and cybersecurity.
I believe this bill, because it recognizes accounting as a STEM field in K-12 education, would help younger people considering future career paths understand that accounting, math, and technology are intricately linked – and that a profession that requires a mastery of advanced mathematics and digital technologies will set you up to be successful in many different fields. Designating accounting as STEM at the K-12 level should increase diverse student engagement within the accounting profession.
I respectfully ask that you cosponsor this bill in the House. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you for your commitment to the future of the accounting profession.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Title]
Sample Letter to your U.S. Senator:
Dear Senator [name],
I am writing to respectfully request that you cosponsor S. 1705, the STEM Education in Accounting Act, introduced by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).
This bipartisan bill, which was first introduced in the 117th Congress, would allow the addition of accounting education to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curricula for K-12 students. Early accounting education should help reinforce the interwoven relationship between accounting, math, and technology while exposing diverse students to potential careers in accounting.
Specifically, the legislation adds “activities to promote the development, implementation, and strengthening of programs to teach accounting” to the list of allowable uses of grant funding under the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grant program (Title IV, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act), with a focus on increasing access to high-quality accounting courses for students through grade 12 who are members of groups underrepresented in accounting careers.
The profession believes that it is an important step to having accounting recognized as a STEM field. The CPAs and accountants in our practice, and others who work in accounting throughout the business world, have had to acquire new skills to remain competitive. For example, accountants may use statistical analysis to uncover fraud or predictive modeling to help clients make strategic decisions. Artificial intelligence is being used to assess financial risks in real time, while Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can be used to flag anomalies. Firms have also developed proprietary technology to improve their reporting capabilities.
These skills are integral to the audit function and other accounting services that we provide to American businesses, including data analytics, forensic and predictive accounting, IT governance, and cybersecurity.
I believe this bill, because it recognizes accounting as a STEM field in K-12 education, would help younger people considering future career paths understand that accounting, math, and technology are intricately linked – and that a profession that requires a mastery of advanced mathematics and digital technologies will set you up to be successful in many different fields. Designating accounting as STEM at the K-12 level should increase diverse student engagement within the accounting profession.
I respectfully ask that you cosponsor this bill in the Senate. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you for your commitment to the future of the accounting profession.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Title]