An Interview With Professor Clarissa Wilkerson, Jd, Cpa

On Wednesday, February 24, 2016, I conducted an interview with Professor Clarissa Wilkerson, JD, CPA. As an accounting major, I am extremely interested in pursuing a career in accounting and am a student in Professor Wilkerson’s class. Her enthusiastic personality continues to inspire me to pursue a career in this field. After explaining my career goals and the details of this assignment, she gladly accepted when I asked if she would be willing to conduct an interview to help me complete this interview report. Professor Wilkerson received her Master’s degree in Taxation from Georgia State University. She is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and has considerable experience in the field of accounting. A few of the topics we discussed were: the importance of teamwork, the way technology is changing accounting, the value of understanding finance and economics in relation to accounting, and the usefulness of receiving a degree in accounting and earning a CPA license. During the interview, Professor Wilkerson stressed that teamwork is a desirable skill to possess when entering the accounting field. She stated that it is important to provide examples of experiences working with teams or leading teams during the interview process, because most employers will place entry-level accountants in groups or teams. The importance of teamwork is twofold; engaging in teamwork is an opportunity to show leadership skills while simultaneously meeting the challenge of