USU's BAP Chapter Wins Regional Deloitte Best Practices Competition

By Bonnie Villarreal

The team that will compete in Milwaukee in International Impact: Jacob Fryer, Derek Droesbeke, and Josh Richards

Utah State University's Delta Omega chapter of Beta Alpha Psi is famous for being the longest concurrently running "Superior" chapter in the entire organization. They are also famous for being ambitious and competitive; this year they have kept that tradition alive by taking both a first place and third place award in the Deloitte sponsored Best Practices Regional competition in Denver, Colorado April 9 and 10.

The winning presentation was in the category International Impact and featured the award winning VITA Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program that benefits approximately 700 students by preparing and e-filing their tax returns. For this competition, the BAP chapter decided to focus on supporting the inbound side of Global experience by supporting and assisting the hundreds of international students who attend USU and are required to comply with United States tax laws that are foreign and complex to them. The judges particularly liked that the chapter was innovative in their approach to develop new procedures that would keep students from waiting hours in the hallways for their turn to get a tax return prepared, reviewed and ready to file. The presentation team included Jacob Fryer, Josh Richards and Derek Droesbeke.

 

The Financial Literacy 3^rd place team:  Stephen Brown, Alyssa Kohler, and Eric Graves

The third place finish was in the category of Financial Literacy and was presented by Alyssa Kohler, Stephen Brown and Eric Graves. Trevor Frank and Jeff Fielding also presented in the Effective Operations division and while they did not place, they shared ideas about how the Delta Omega chapter has refined their success to be more inclusive and leadership oriented rather than an elite organization with benefits only for a few students at the top of their class.

The Rocky Mountain Region has chapters from 17 different schools in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and New Mexico and includes some powerhouse accounting programs like University of Denver, University of Utah and BYU. Teams that place first in the region are invited to compete at the annual meeting in August which this year will be held in Milwaukee Wisconsin.

The entire team from left to right: Stephen Brown, Jon Medrano, Alyssa Kohler, Jeff Fielding, Eric Graves, Trevor Frank, Josh Richards, Derek Droesbeke, Bonnie Villarreal (advisor), and Jacob Fryer

USU Delta Omega Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi Sets World Record

This month the USU Delta Omega Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi achieved the prestigious Superior status, which makes them the longest concurrent superior chapter in the world. The Utah State chapter has achieved this status every year since 1977. Worldwide there are 298 active chapters representing over 17,000 members.

The chapter will be recognized at Beta Alpha Psi’s Annual Meeting and receive $275, which mostly covers chapter maintenance fees or dues for the year. Superior chapters are also recognized as such with a ribbon on their nametags when they attend the annual meeting and on the executive website.

The recognition is designed to:

• Encourage chapters to fulfill the objectives of Beta Alpha Psi and prepare members for careers as financial information professionals,

• Identify chapters needing assistance from Chapter Advocates and Professional Partners, and

• Recognize chapters that excel in serving their members, campus, community, and/or profession.

“We are an ambitious group with superior students, caring faculty, and engaged alumni,” Bonnie Villarreal, Beta Alpha Psi Faculty Advisor, said.

The club has set “to add value to the experience at the School of Accountancy at USU” by:

• Holding a leadership role and strong visual presence in the school’s activities

• Participating in all competitions and nominations that will represent and enhance the reputation of the USU SOA

• Continuing to build a “two-way bridge” between the academic and professional community enabling placement of students and opportunities for alumni to give back and stay involved

• Improving interaction and thus improving the educational experience

· Student to student – encouraging study groups and collaboration

· Student to faculty – encouraging academic pursuit/postgrad work/better classroom engagement

· Student to professionals – lifetime networking for Aggies

A Beta Alpha Psi chapter can be a Mission Based, Distinguished, or Superior chapter depending on the requirements they attempt and fulfill. Currently, to be a Superior chapter the following must be completed and timely reported to the executive office:

1. Beginning of the Year report (plan of operations for chapter activities)

2. Initiation ceremony for candidates meeting all qualifications for membership

3. Officer elections

4. End of year report including financial statements and tax reporting

5. Minimum of six professional activities including at least one “essential skills” session. Such as hosting a visiting professional speaker, mock interviews, joint meetings with other professional organizations, etc - Each involving at least 25 percent of the chapter membership.

6. Minimum of one service activity involving at least 25 percent of the chapter. Our chapter helps run the Juvenile Diabetes Walk for a Cure, Stokes Nature Center Auction, Child and Family Support Center Santa’s Workshop project, and has presented merit badge workshops for Boy Scouts and other community service events.

7. Minimum of eight “reaching out activities” such as attendance at regional and annual meetings, hosting of regional meeting, presenting in an information session at a regional or annual meeting, mentoring a developing chapter, alumni events, and other specifically identified events.

There are also requirements of at least 12 professional activity hours and 12 service hours per chapter member with a total of at least 32 hours of combined professional and service activities per chapter member.

School of Accountancy Spotlight

The School of Accountancy at the Huntsman School of Business has made some pretty impressive accomplishments. Here area a few facts about the School from our 2011 Annual Report:

• The Master of Accounting program has been offered for 30 years
• First time candidates taking all parts of the CPA exam saw a pass rate of 75 percent
• MAcc graduates have a job placement rate of greater than 90 percent
• The School of Accountancy has 300 undergraduate students
• MAcc students have an average GMAT score of 623

See why these students of the School of Accountancy chose to study accounting: