Accounting students crunch numbers for underserved community members this tax season.
A grant funded through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows students to provide free tax preparation for basic return types.
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) is a program that has partnered with Colorado Mesa University (CMU) for about 25 years now. This year, the clinics started in February and go through April 5.
Clients are referred through the IRS website as well as local tax preparation services. Professor of Accounting and Law Dr. Gary Hypes is the administrator for this program and said that the students will likely process about 300 tax returns this season.
“If you were in the accounting program you would hear this many times from students – ‘tax is boring.’ It really is, until you get to start to practice,” said Hypes. “This gives them the ability to get out there and not only help the community but is also helping them to make that dry, boring stuff into real-life, fun experiences.”
Participation in this program is a requirement for students graduating from the accounting program. It is part of ACCT 442 – Advanced Tax and Tax Research. Students undergo training from the IRS prior to assisting community members with their tax preparation.
Gavin Anderson will graduate from CMU in the spring with his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) as part of the Davis School of Business 3+2 MBA program. His bachelor’s degree will be in accounting.
“We are, as citizens of the United States, constitutionally obligated to pay taxes but it’s also your constitutional right to pay as little as possible,” said Anderson.
Anderson is also a member of the swim and dive team. He’s proving himself extremely valuable to the team by processing some of his teammates’ tax returns in addition to the VITA clinics.
Accounting is an incredibly high-demand field and students graduating from this program tend to have favorable prospects for high-paying jobs in their field. With a high volume of current accountants nearing retirement, many accounting students graduate CMU with multiple job offers. After a dip in program numbers due to COVID, there has been a steady increase in the number of students in the program at CMU.
“It’s not a field of interest for a lot of people and so that has created, kind of shortage of accountants, and that mixed with a lot of CPAs and former accountants retiring within these past few years, it’s really created a boom job market for people like me,” said Anderson. He currently has two offers to choose from when he graduates.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the accounting field is growing at a rate of about 6% per year. The median salary is around $78,000. After graduation, new accountants can expect to earn around $50,000 on average.
“I think over the next several years, you’re going to see people gravitating towards a very valuable degree,” said Hypes. “There’s a sexy part to accounting too.”
Employees from 10 local firms such as Eide Bailly LLP also participate in the program and provide additional guidance to students. The students are able to fulfill program requirements, develop their professional skills, rub elbows with potential employers and help members of the community with a stressful process.
“We save the community, students, faculty and staff […] tens of thousands of dollars every year by doing this program,” said Hypes.
The VITA program has three more clinics this semester and space is available by appointment only.
Hypes said that the team may be outgrowing the space and is looking to open a branch office to accommodate even more clients for next year.
