Doing Well by Doing Good
Giving time to children in the community can improve a firm's image--and its bottom line. What do a lynx, a bunch of third-grade students and a CPA have in common? And why would a CPA want to spend otherwise billable hours developing a program that conveys the basic concepts of budgeting to kids? The answer to both of those questions begins with learning about $KiddAccounts--a program for teaching grade-school children the fundamentals of budgeting--developed by Linkenheimer LLP CPAs and Advisors, a one-office firm based in Santa Rosa, California. In addition to teaching about budgeting and what CPAs do, the program has created tremendous goodwill within that firm's community and improved productivity within the firm. WHAT IS $KIDDACCOUNTS? According to Steve Miksis, CPA, a manager at Linkenheimer who played a leading role in developing this program, "The basic goals of $KiddAccounts are to have elementary school kids think of their money as more than something they immediately spend, to convince them it's okay to think and talk about money and how to use it and to help them understand they really can be smart about it." While for adults the budget and financial planning process involves a number of abstract issues, Miksis and his team tailored their presentation to their young audience L using ideas they could grasp. "Adults," he explains, "have long-term savings, tax planning, investments, but the place where it all begins is budgeting and how each dollar that comes in is apportioned." Miksis, who has taught groups ranging in size from 15 to 40 students, keeps children's attention focused by using an interactive approach. "I like to get kids involved in dialogue right away;" says Miksis. "Typically, I'll begin by asking, `How many of you like to spend money?' All the kids wave their hands frantically. Then I ask, `How many of you think it's okay to spend money?' Interestingly, only about one-half raise their hands. Kids really do think about money and its uses, but they aren't clear about how to make reasonable decisions," says Miksis. That's when Miksis reviews the four basic uses of money--spending, saving for emergencies, saving for special things and giving. Although the spending category is quite easy for children to grasp, the "rainy day" and "sunny day" savings categories need some explaining, so Miksis has the students come up with their own definitions. For example, rainy day savings are those used to repair damage to a much-loved bicycle or skateboard, while sunny day savings are those used to pay for tickets to an amusement park. Miksis illustrates the notion of dividing a dollar into four categories with the Budgetbuck, a large, cartoon-version of a dollar bill. He also uses a booklet produced by the firm, Tracking My Money with Lester Lynx, which features a cat that guides readers through the budget process, and offers reminders on how to allocate to each category by using envelopes that are included in the booklet. ($KiddAccounts, Budgetbuck, Lester Lynx and the image of Lester Lynx are trademarks of Linkenheimer, LLP.) This approach reminds Miksis of his own parents cashing their paychecks and dividing the money into little white envelopes. "It was a simple but highly effective way to allocate a scarce resource and make sure it would be around when you needed it," he says, adding that for kids the act of physically dividing money into categories helps them grasp the notion of budgeting. The program is taught in five weekly lessons. During the first classroom visit, Miksis talks with students for about 45 minutes. In the second and fourth sessions of the program, the classroom teacher follows up using materials the firm provides. In the third and fifth sessions, a CPA presenter from Linkenheimer comes in for 15- to 20-minute discussions. At the end of the program, all students receive certificates saying they participated in the $KiddAccounts money program. …