2026 Accounting Information Night
On January 14, 2026, the SCU Accounting Department hosted its 26th Annual Accounting/A&IS Information Night at Locatelli Center, bringing together over 150 enthusiastic business students and about 60 accomplished business professionals. The evening kicked off with a lively panel discussion led by Ryan Chew ‘11, Strategic Financial Lead at Intuit, and featured a diverse group of accounting alumni.
Left to right: Michael Haenel (’10) – Audit Partner, Frank, Rimerman + Co., Lydia Ku (’14) – FP&A Revenue Forecasting, Alphawave Semi (Qualcomm); Tori Hack (’12) – Partner, ESG & Sustainability Services, EY; Ryan Chew (’11) - Strategic Financial Lead, Intuit; Brendon Bula (’09) – Chief Financial Officer, Substrate
Along with two panels discussions, students had the chance to dive deeper into conversations during interactive small group sessions with professionals representing public accounting firms, professional services firms, and Silicon Valley businesses, including the following:
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Accounting Advisory Board Members · Joe Allanson (former CAO at Salesforce), Mike Brandstetter (Connor Group), Lewis Chew (former CFO at Dolby Laboratories and National Semiconductor), Jack Lazar (former CFO at GoPro and Atheros), Joe Maglione (retired Partner at Deloitte), Ken Miller (former CFO Juniper Networks), David Murdock (Frank Thornton), Ian Nasman (Deloitte), Daniel Olson (Moss Adams) |
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Accounting Alumni Board Members · Ryan Chew (Intuit), Michael Harney (Broadcom), Lydia Ku (Alphawave Semi), Alan Nguyen (PwC) |
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Business Professionals
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· Baker Tilly – Alex Ellison, Tun Ko, Kristin Le, Daniel Olson |
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· BDO – Makayla Bradford |
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· BPM – Zara Hasan, Ken Perez Vasquez |
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· Broadcom – Michael Harney |
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· Connor Group – Mike Brandstetter |
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· Deloitte – Giordano Capovilla, Christine Bui, Iris Do, Ian Nasman, Adrian Santiago, Belle Yei |
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· Ernst & Young – Mike Avery, Rachel Breen, Max Carini, Claire Cocales, Tori Hack, Steve Maier, Monica Ng, Kat Parineh, Kim Sherburne, Grace Quintell |
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· Finance Search Partners, LLC – Ray Nunez |
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· Forvis Mazars – Greta Acarregui, Tommy Ellis, Connor Hughes |
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· Frank, Rimerman + Co. – Naomi Barnum, Michael Haenel, Alex Martin, Colleen Moran |
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· Grant Thornton – Bethany Hunsaker, Kyle Jelicich, David Murdock |
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· Intuit – Ryan Chew |
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· KPMG – Vanessa Bontrager, Lori Kozen, Anika Parkar, Alexa Valentine |
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· PwC – Megan Delay, Alan Nguyen, Lindsey Piziali, Ashish Presad, Eric Yang |
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· Qualcomm – Lydia Ku |
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· RSM – Jesh Chen, Ashley Chou, Shamen Dugger, Ben Shappell, Navaldeep Singh |
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· Substrate – Brendon Bula |
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· XOMA Royalty – Jonathan Tay |
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Accounting Faculty · Dr Michael Calegari, Dr Matthew Cedergren, Dr Yongtae Kim, Dr Siqi Li, Joe Maglione |
Post-event student feedback indicated that participants overwhelmingly found the event both informative and engaging, particularly valuing the panelists’ “brutal honesty” and genuine responses. Students gained insight into how a strong foundation in accounting fundamentals can open the door to a wide range of career paths. While the academic workload and CPA exam are demanding, panelists emphasized that this knowledge underpins the early-career “boot camp” experience at CPA firms and serves as a “great launch pad” into the profession.
Although the academics and early professional experience can be grueling, panelists shared how it ultimately “propels you forward.” For Lydia, this translated into “delayed gratification” that increasingly supports her long-term career goals. Panelists encouraged students to remain resilient, adjust expectations to reality, and build meaningful relationships as they apply classroom learning to real-world situations. As students continue their journey at SCU and beyond, they were urged to “seize opportunities, stay curious, be a strong team player, and be their own champion.”
The event concluded with a raffle drawing, offering students the chance to win prizes generously donated by the following Accounting Advisory Board firms:
- Baker Tilly - Two $100 Door Dash Gift Cards (Viola Sunderman’28, Management; Charles Lu ’29, A&IS)
- Deloitte - Nintendo Switch (Sabrina Amaro ’28, A&IS)
- EY - Apple AirPods Max Headphones (Emma Walsh ’28, Accounting)
- Forvis Mazars - Two Golden State Warrior Tickets, Golf Balls & Golf Towel (Erik Jung ’28, Accounting)
- Frank, Rimerman, + Co. - $100 VISA Giftcard (Charlie Lyons, ’28, Marketing)
- KPMG - Apple Airpods Pro 3 and a Labubu (Radhike Modi ’28, Finance)
- PwC - iPAD Mini (Caroline Loughran ’28)
- RSM - Two SF Giants Tickets for SCU Night on April 6, 2026 (Justin Liu ‘28, MIS)
Congratulations to the winners and gratitude to all the sponsors for their contributions to this successful event.