2026 Accounting Information Night
On January 14, 2026, the SCU Accounting Department hosted its 26th Annual Accounting/A&IS Information Night at the Locatelli Center, welcoming more than 150 business students and about 60 business professionals. The evening opened with a lively panel discussion led by Ryan Chew ‘11, Strategic Financial Lead at Intuit, and featured a diverse group of SCU 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
Students then participated in interactive small-group sessions, where they engaged directly with professionals from public accounting firms, professional services firms, and Silicon Valley businesses. These conversations gave students valuable, firsthand insight into the many career paths made possible by a strong foundation in accounting.
Post-event student feedback indicated that participants overwhelmingly found the event both informative and engaging. Many students especially appreciated the panelists’ “brutal honesty” and candid responses. While acknowledging the rigor of accounting coursework and the CPA exam, panelists emphasized that this preparation functions as an early-career “boot camp” and serves as a “great launch pad” into the profession.
Although the academics and early professional experience can be grueling, the effort ultimately “propels you forward.” Panelists Lydia Ku described this process as “delayed gratification” that increasingly supports long-term career goals. The panelists encouraged students to remain resilient, adjust expectations to reality, and build meaningful relationships as they apply classroom learning to real-world settings. They were urged to “seize opportunities, stay curious, be strong team players, and advocate for themselves as they continue their paths at SCU and beyond.”
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 sincere thanks to all the sponsors for helping make the event a success.
We also extend our thanks to our advisory board members, alumni board members, and other professionals who travelled to campus after work to share their time, insights, and experiences with our students:
Accounting Advisory Board Members
- Joe Allanson (former CAO at Salesforce)
- Mike Brandstetter (Connor Group)
- Lewis Chew (former CFO at Dolby Laboratories and National Semiconductor)
- Michael Haenel (Frank, Rimerman + Co.)
- Jack Lazar (former CFO at GoPro and Atheros)
- Joe Maglione (retired Partner at Deloitte)
- Ken Miller (former CFO at Juniper Networks)
- David Murdock (Grant Thornton)
- Ray Nunez (Finance Search Partners)
- Daniel Olson (Baker Tilly)
- Kat Parineh (EY)
- Lindsey Piziali (PwC)
- Ben Shappell (RSM)
Accounting Alumni Board Members
- Makayla Bradford (BDO)
- Brendon Bula (Substrate)
- Ryan Chew (Intuit)
- Tori Hack (EY)
- Michael Harney (Broadcom)
- Lydia Ku (Alphawave Semi)
- Alan Nguyen (PwC)
- Bristin Parks (KPMG)
- Jonathan Tay (XOMA Royalty)
Business Professionals
- Baker Tilly – Alex Ellison, Tun Ko, Kristin Le, Daniel Olson
- BDO – Makayla Bradford
- BPM – Zara Hasan, Ken Perez Vasquez
- Broadcom – Michael Harney
- Connor Group – Mike Brandstetter
- Deloitte – Giordano Capovilla, Christine Bui, Iris Do, Ian Nasman, Adrian Santiago, Belle Yei
- Ernst & Young – Mike Avery, Rachel Breen, Max Carini, Claire Cocales, Tori Hack, Steve Maier, Monica Ng, Kat Parineh, Kim Sherburne, Grace Quintell
- Finance Search Partners, LLC – Ray Nunez
- Forvis Mazars – Greta Acarregui, Tommy Ellis, Connor Hughes
- Frank, Rimerman + Co. – Naomi Barnum, Michael Haenel, Alex Martin, Colleen Moran
- Grant Thornton – Bethany Hunsaker, Kyle Jelicich, David Murdock
- Intuit – Ryan Chew
- KPMG – Vanessa Bontrager, Lori Kozen, Anika Parkar, Alexa Valentine
- PwC – Megan Delay, Alan Nguyen, Lindsey Piziali, Ashish Presad, Eric Yang
- Qualcomm – Lydia Ku
- RSM – Jesh Chen, Ashley Chou, Shamen Dugger, Ben Shappell, Navaldeep Singh
- Substrate – Brendon Bula
- XOMA Royalty – Jonathan Tay