• Why Accounting?
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Noel Abdur-Rahim

Assurance Manager
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Atlanta, GA

 

Here’s Noel’s Story, in her own words: “I graduated high school in Detroit and decided to attend a large university. At Michigan State I got my BA in accounting and learned the core accounting principles and skills I use every day. After MSU, add a Masters in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University, insert four internships during undergraduate and graduate school, combined with volunteer work and lasting friendships, and there you have it.”

Of course, it’s not quite that simple. Going back a little further, there was the accounting teacher in high school, who made the subject sound so interesting that Noel “had to give it a try in college.” After her first few accounting classes at MSU, she knew it was for her.

There have also been some surprises along the way. For one thing, while she knows her stuff about the technical parts of being a CPA, “I feel my communication skills are just as critical.”

She also loves that she interacts with different people every day. She probably didn’t know starting out that she’d be visiting universities regularly to show students that the typical auditor is a "real person," with a personality and intelligence and everything, or that she would volunteer with youth around the metro Detroit area.

Most of all, though, “I never knew the possibilities attached with becoming a CPA before I got my license,” Noel says. “Now that I know there are numerous paths I could follow, I'm excited about considering all of them!”

Get the feeling Noel’s story is about to get even more interesting?

Got questions of your own? Ask a CPA.