North Carolina CPAs Respond to Financial Literacy Deficit Among Young People

The financial literacy community is buzzing over news that only 13 percent of parents are talking with their children about money topics, such as budgeting, saving and planning for their financial futures. The results of the survey, conducted by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), support the fast-growing sentiment among financial education proponents that education relating to financial matters needs to increase among children and the youth population.

Given the significant financial illiteracy among young people based, in part, on the lack of financial-related discussions among families, the North Carolina Association of CPAs (NCACPA) is rolling its fifth annual Making Cents: A Financial Literacy Program.  The program is designed to foster the integration of financial education into school curricula through financial literacy information sessions that are tailored to students in grades seven to twelve.  Topics range from saving and budgeting to student debt and credit cards – and the sessions will be available to parents and teachers as well.

CPAs of the NCACPA will conduct the Making Cents sessions, which began initially in 2009 in response to the mandate from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to incorporate financial education into North Carolina’s state education curriculum.

There is little debate regarding the efficacy of financial education for middle school and high school students, who can learn important financial lessons early enough in life to maximize their financial planning aptitude.  The Making Cents program not only prepared young people by boosting their financial literacy, but also strengthens their support network with educational programming for parents and teachers, who are best positioned to reinforce informed financial decision making.

Additional information about the NCACPA's Making Cents program can be found here: visit http://www.ncacpa.org/MakingCents.aspx