Long gone is the image of an accountant poring over columns of figures in a dingy office. “Professional accountants are vital for driving the success of modern businesses and enjoy diverse and rewarding careers. A modern accountant needs skills in areas such as communication, negotiation and teamwork as well as technical accounting knowledge and an analytical mind,” said Charles Sturt University (CSU) accounting lecturer, Mr Danny Murphy, based in Albury-Wodonga. To help address the shortage of accountants in regional Australia, Mr Murphy and fellow academic Dr Dianne McGrath have developed a work experience program for budding accountants titled Reaping what we sow, which places Year 10, 11 and 12 students with Border accounting firms. “The project allows local students to get work experience to understand what the job really involves, and the variety of careers open to accounting graduates,” Mr Murphy said. The students this week completed their work experiences and will gather on Friday 25 May at CSU in Albury-Wodonga to see what life is like for a CSU accounting student. Later they will visit the Mars factory in Wodonga to examine the work done by management accountants at Mars.