Implementing Financial Literacy Initiatives for High School and College Students-Implementing Financial Literacy Initiatives for High School and College Students

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Presenters Kelly Ulto and Rosa Romeo from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business. Both have audit backgrounds (KPMG/PwC) and over 20 years of teaching experience. They discuss why financial literacy is broader than “managing money,” emphasizing confidence, budgeting, credit, benefits, retirement planning, and long-term goal setting—skills they find many students lack even entering the workforce.

Romeo explains how Fordham embeds practical financial literacy into the curriculum. In financial accounting, students learn through tangible case contexts (e.g., running a construction business), capstone financial statement analysis using 10-Ks and spreadsheets, and guest speakers who spark candid questions about salaries and cost of living. In managerial accounting, students practice budgeting exercises (e.g., planning spring break) to connect decisions to real constraints. Fordham also introduces financial literacy in a freshman “Ground Floor” class and reinforces it through senior integrated projects focused on post-graduation financial life.

They also extend literacy through student organizations. Smart Women Securities trains members via weekly sessions on personal finance, saving, investing, markets, and culminates in stock pitches with peer mentoring. Alto describes Beta Alpha Psi initiatives: popular alumni-led sessions on employee benefits and a new student-led outreach program creating presentations for local high schools on financial literacy, accounting, and ethics—leveraging peer-to-peer impact.

Finally, they describe a week-long summer “Invest in Her” program for 25 high school girls featuring daily exercises, company tracking, party-planning budgeting, ethics scenarios, LinkedIn setup, and an alumni networking lunch. The AAA shares related pipeline efforts and a resource repository at futureaccountants.org.

Keywords

financial literacy education

accounting curriculum integration

Fordham University Gabelli School of Business

financial accounting case-based learning

managerial accounting budgeting exercises

10-K financial statement analysis

student organizations personal finance training

Smart Women Securities program

Beta Alpha Psi benefits workshops

high school financial literacy outreach program