Annual Accounting Information Night
On February 1, approximately 130 sophomore business students attended a panel of distinguished alumni from the accounting program and met with over 70 business professionals and alumni who previously majored in accounting or accounting and information systems (A&IS). The annual event exposes those interested in learning more about career opportunities for accounting and A&IS majors to professionals who have taken those career paths. Unlike the fall 2017 panel that reaches first year students, Accounting Information Night is reserved for sophomores that are currently taking introductory accounting courses and includes an opportunity for students to talk directly with a variety of accounting professionals in an informal setting.
This year's panel was moderated by Lewis Chew, CFO at Dolby Laboratories. The panelists included five SCU accounting alumni who began their careers in public accounting:
- Bassem Banaga ’10, Forensic Consultant, Bassem Banafa, LLC
- Brendon Bula ’09, Senior Finance Manager, Tesla
- Jack Lazar ’87, Former CFO, GoPro, Atheros
- Veronica Sosa ’04, Senior Finance Director, LinkedIn
- Greg Vlahos ’88, Partner, PwC
The panelists discussed how they built their careers on an accounting foundation, how their careers evolved since graduation, and described insights developed from their professional experiences. For example, Bassem Banaga had just returned from Washington D.C., where he had testified at a January 30, 2018 U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services hearing on money laundering and sex trafficking.
After the panel, students won door prizes donated by professional firms that support our students: Abbott Stringham & Lynch, Andersen Tax, Armanino, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Moss Adams, and PwC, as well as retiring Professor James Sepe.
We plan to hold Accounting Information Night again on January 31, 2019. Lewis Chew has volunteered again to moderate the 2019 event. Former SCU accounting/A&IS majors who would be interested in participating in the January 31, 2019 event are encouraged to contact SCU’s Center for Accounting Research and Education (CARE) Director Mike Calegari (mcalegari@scu.edu).