March 27, 2014 New 4+1 Accounting Program Z E TA S I G M A C H A P T E R Beta Alpha Psi The Department is proud to announce its Accelerated Bachelors/ Masters Degree Program (ABM) in Accounting. The planned start date for this program is Fall 2014. ABM students will be able to take nine credit hours of graduate level coursework that count toward both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. As a result, they will only have 21 credit hours of graduate coursework during the following year to complete their MSM degree. Consequently, students will be able to complete both the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Accounting and Master of Science in Management (MSM) with an Accounting concentration in five years. To be eligible, students must maintain a 3.25 GPA through fall semester of the junior year. We hope this program will be a significant step in helping our undergraduate students work toward the 150 semester hours required to obtain the CPA certification. Zeta Sigma Chapter at the National Meeting in Anaheim, California Five representatives from North Carolina A&T attended the National meeting. Over 500 students attended the conference from all over the US and around the world. I was able to connect with schools not only from the United States but Inside this issue: Project Run With It 2 Hosting the Regional Meeting 2 Trunk or Treat 2 also with a school from Australia. I also had the pleasure of presenting at the national meeting with Shernelia Cooper on Achieving Superior Status as a Small Chapter. The meeting was not all work, though. I was treated to dinner at a wonderful four star seafood restaurant; saw the Angels Baseball stadium and I even went to Disneyland! It was truly an unforgettable experience especially since it was my first time in California. I want to thank Dr. Jackson and the Accounting and Finance Department for affording me this opportunity. Attending the 2013 Beta Alpha Psi National Meeting was a great experience, and I m not just saying that because of the food. -Peter Honorary Initiate 4 Accounting Ambassadors Visit 5 Bowling with Dixon Hughes 5 Best Practice Competition at Regional Meeting 3 Graduate School Panel 3 Visit to Michigan State University 3 NCACPA Day of Service at the Newcomers School 5 KPMG Case Competition 6 Dean Craig BAP / BGS Scholarship Fund 6 Member Spotlight 4
Project Run With It In August 2013, Munachimso Nnebe-Agumadu had the pleasure of attending the Beta Alpha Psi National Conference in Anaheim, California where he participated in the Project Run With It Case Competition. This competition was designed to get Beta Alpha Psi student members from all across the country to engage in a real-world consulting project by providing solutions to some financial issues that actual not -for-profits face. During this year s competition, Muna and his team members had to figure out creative ways for one of the local not-forprofits, A Place Called Home, to overcome its financial woes, while achieving its goal of empowering its youth through vocational programs. Project Run With It provided Muna with a great opportunity to meet and work with other remarkable students from all over the country, and further develop his team building and presentation skills. Hosting the Regional Meeting On February 21, 2014, the members, initiates, and advisor of the Zeta Sigma chapter of Beta Alpha Psi were fortunate to serve as a chapter co-host along with The University of South Florida for this year s Beta Alpha Psi Southeast Regional Conference held in Orlando, Florida. Our very own chapter advocate, Dr. Gwendolyn Highsmith- Quick, was responsible for the operations conducted during the weekend long conference. All of our members On Sunday October 22, 2013 two of our members, Jasmine Lesane and Rana Riddick, participated in the United Way s Trunk or Treat event. During this event, volunteers met in the Dowdy parking lot and passed out candy to the children who visit their cars. This event provided a safe family environment for trick-or-treaters. Page 2 and initiates were responsible for presenting, moderating, or monitoring events at the conference. Two of our initiates, Ashley McCullough and Omozokpia Olumese, presented our chapter operations to the other universities, on how we as a chapter managed to obtain and sustain superior or gold chapter status. Our members were also given the opportunity to network with professionals and other Beta Alpha Psi members. Of the Rana and Jasmine decorated their car with cobwebs, fake spiders, and rubber snakes, and passed out all the candy to the trick-or-treaters. Both members enjoyed participating in this event and had a great time volunteering! seventy+ chapters in attendance, the Zeta Sigma chapter was the one of only three to compete in all three Best Practices presentations. This is the second year that the chapter has competed in all three best practice categories. We have placed second for the last two years. We look forward to attending next year s Southeast Regional conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Trunk or Treat B E TA A L PHA PSI
Best Practice Competition at Regional Meeting At this year s Southeast Regional Conference in Orlando, Florida, the Zeta Sigma Chapter presented in all three Best Practice categories. These cate- gories included Leadership, Strategic Planning, and Collaboration. Zeta Sigma joined forces with the Lambda Epsilon chapter to bring home second place for their Collaboration presentation. The presenters included D Andria Gilmore (Zeta Sigma), Symone Johnson (Zeta Sigma), Telia Williams (Zeta Sigma), and Mary-Nina Ukariwo (Lambda Epsilon). Their presentation showcased how each chapter collaborated with other student organizations throughout their universities to promote service, professionalism, and leadership. In addition, the presentation demonstrated how the two chapters worked together to build a mentorship and guide each other towards award status. As a result, both chapters are well on their way to superior status! Congratulations to the Collaboration Team! Graduate School Panel The Zeta Sigma chapter of Beta Alpha Psi hosted a Graduate School Panel for both the Master s in Accountancy and MBA programs during the fall semester. Eight schools and universities participated, including one new school (Syracuse University). The others included Wake Forest University, UNC-Wilmington, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, North Carolina State University, Michigan State University, UNC- Charlotte, and North Carolina A&T State University. The program was a success for the chapter and its members. Five members will be attending graduate school in 2014. Randolph Brown, Symone Johnson, Jasmine Lesane, and Charnice Taylor will brave the cold and attend Michigan State University on full scholarships. Muna Nnebe-Agumadu will be attending Wake Forest University s 9-month MACC program on full-scholarship. Next year, the chapter plans to add more universities to the program, including the University of Notre Dame. In 2015, the program will return to Craig Hall in an effort to attract more School of Business and Economics students. Visit to Michigan State University Five students went on a campus visit to Michigan State University the week of February 26. The students (Randolph Brown, Jasmine Lesane, Charnice Taylor, Munachimso Nnebe-Agumadu, and Symone Johnson) were in the process of applying to graduate schools. During the visit, the students were able to tour the campus with Professor Matthew Anderson. They also attended one of the graduate seminars and enjoyed meals in two of the many cafeterias. Dr. Owens-Jackson accompanied the students and spent time negotiating a new partnership with Michigan State University. Faculty from each university will visit the other, present research, and make guest lectures starting in fall 2014. Both universities will see benefit form this strategic alliance. M AR CH 27, 20 14 Page 3
Member Spotlight Member Spotlight Munachimso Nnebe-Agumadu is a senior accounting student from Nigeria. He currently serves as the Vice President of Beta Alpha Psi. In addition, he is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Golden Key International, Omicron Delta Epsilon, and Alpha Kappa Mu Honor societies. In the summer of 2013, Muna was one of 72 Beta Alpha Psi student members across the country selected to participate in the Project Run With It Case Competition. Muna currently works as a Peer Mentor with Housing and Residence Life. He is contributing to the university s retention efforts by assisting fellow student residents with the academic and social aspects of college life. During the summer of 2013, Muna interned in the Corporate Audit office of Bank Of America where he had the opportunity to work on Point in Time audits and assist with the Bank s SOX rationalization efforts. He will be interning with KPMG in the summer of 2014. Muna has been a recipient of the Michael Conway Endowed Scholarship and the Reginald Enoch Accounting Scholarship. He is also a Who s Who Among Students In American Universities & Colleges honoree, and a Six Sigma Greenbelt. After Graduation in May 2014, Muna plans to pursue a Master s of Science in Accountancy degree at Wake Forest University, while working towards becoming a Certified Public Accountant. Honorary Initiate Jini Davis Thornton is, a proud alumna of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University s accounting program. After she began her career at KPMG as a Tax Associate, Jini found a way to use her business knowledge and her spark of creativity to educate others on a variety of subjects including investing, taxes, credit, retirement planning, college planning, real estate and a variety of other financial/legal topics. She was able to do this via the award winning Money Talks financial commentary segment on the Atlanta Radio One Station WHAT-FM, Hot 107.9 and the Macon station WFXM-FM Foxie 107.1 for eight years. Later Jini was able to use her entrepreneurial spirit to start her business, Envision Business Management Group. Envision provides accounting, tax, financial planning, tour accounting and logistics, and other financial related services to artists, song writers, producers and companies in the entertainment industry. Jini is an active member of many professional organizations including Vistage, Georgia Society of CPA s, Georgia Music Partners, Women In Film & Television, (BESLA) Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association and (BWEL) Black Women in Entertainment Law. Not only has Jini been very beneficial to her profession, but she has also done great things for her university. Currently Jini chairs the Student Career Resource Committee in the School of Business and Economics at the university. She also has visited to talk to students about being an entrepreneur, and her journey to entrepreneurship. Jonathan Cothran is an accountant with public accounting experience in audit and consulting services. Jonathan currently works in the Insurance Services Group, High Point office of Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP. He has experience with both small and mid-sized manufacturing, financial institution, and insurance clients. Prior to joining Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, he worked for a mid-sized firm in their general audit group. Jonathan is the treasurer of the RTP chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. He holds membership in the North Carolina Association of CPAs, American Institute of CPAs, and Information Systems Audit and Control Association. In the past year, Jonathan has aided Habitat for Humanity in building homes for the community, donated a NC A&T replica jersey to Greensboro Children s Museum, packed lunches for the homeless through Brown Bag Ministry, contributed to Tanglewood Heart Walk facilitated by the American Heart Association, and promoted the Aggie brand in the accounting industry through various recruiting efforts. Page 4 B E TA A L PHA PSI
Accounting Ambassador Visits Elizabeth City, NC Telia Williams had the privilege of returning to her high school in Elizabeth City, NC. There she shared her college experiences with about 60 high school freshmen and sophomores. In her presentation, Telia highlighted the benefits of attending college as well as choosing a career in accounting or finance. Most importantly she informed the students of the advantages of being an Aggie accounting or finance student. North Carolina A&T produces the most African American CPAs and offers Big Four and Fortune 500 recruiting and scholarship opportunities. The Zeta Sigma Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi started the Accounting Ambassadors program in 2011. Since its inception the chapter has visited more than ten schools and recruited several student to the information professions and to A&T. The chapter will continue these presentations to promote diversity in the accounting industry. Currently 1% of CPAs are African American. Our chapter aims to change this statistic. By going back to her high school, Ms. Williams was able to share with students and inspire them to pursue higher education. She encouraged them to consider accounting and to allow North Carolina A&T State University to be the school that helps them achieve their goals. Bowling with Dixon Hughes NCACPA Day of Service at the Newcomers School This year our members volunteered in the NCACPA day of service at the Newcomers School in Greensboro. All of our members attended and helped elementary students with activities, high school students with math, or worked in the library or the garden. We all enjoyed the time we spent with the students and they enjoyed us as well. GO NEWCOMERS! M A R C H 27, 20 1 4 Page 5
KPMG Case Competition On November 18, 2013, Strategic Mayhem, a case study team comprised of four BAP members (Peter Akinleye, Randolph Brown, D Andria Gilmore, and Munachismo Nnebe-Agumadu) participated in the first round of the KPMG International Case Competition. Each team had a weekend to read, dissect, and analyze a reality based case. After presenting their findings and competing against two other teams from NC A&T s School of Business and Economics, Strategic Mayhem was chosen to represent North Carolina A&T State University in the second round of the competition. The second round was held January 16 th, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed against schools including The Ohio State University, Wake Forest University, University of Mississippi, and Miami University. During this round of the competition, each team had three hours to analyze a case and prepare their presentation. Strategic Mayhem did not advance on to the third round of the competition, however, the entire group found the competition to be a great learning and networking experience.