Annual Event Provides Opportunities for Accounting Students
Published: October 27, 2022 | Author: Hayley Radle | Read Time: 3 minutes
Live jazz music, professional business attire, and dozens of energetic accounting firms brought Southern Utah University’s Great Hall to life on Sept. 14 for this year’s annual Meet the Firms, an accounting-based event led by the Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business designed for students to acquaint themselves with various companies and discuss potential employment opportunities. Nearly 200 students conversed with and introduced themselves to numerous successful firms throughout the evening, resulting in over 40 interviews for internships and other future employment.
Eager to speak with corporations and make a jump into their upcoming careers, these professionally-presented SUU students spoke with over 30 accounting firms like the FBI, IRS, three of the Big Four including Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and PwC, and other enterprises like Tanner LLC, Eide Bailly, and RubinBrown. Conversations ranged anywhere from company culture to what a career within these companies could look like, exploring areas like finance, forensic accounting, auditing, analytics, and even others that aren’t accounting-specific.
SUU senior Cody Dirks majors in both economics and history and attended the event to speak with firms about possible consulting positions, an interest of his. The event was eye-opening for him as an economics major, and he found it quite easy to find opportunities aligning with his passions. Dirks also noted that there are several ways to work within the industry that aren’t always strictly accounting.
“I actually went to talk to their consulting branches,” said Dirks. “A lot of that work can be used with economics skill sets, so I wanted to hear more about their consulting branches.”
He mentions that careers such as forensic accounting utilize a lot of economic skill sets as well, providing other prospective career opportunities within many companies, including the IRS or FBI.
Though it was student-focused, Meet the Firms involved those who weren’t students, too. Jon Lee, assistant professor of accounting at SUU, networked and acquainted himself with the firms to adequately advise his students about the industry, better understand what the firms are looking for, and provide support for students during future employment searches.
“It was an amazing experience,” he said, mentioning that the highlight of the night was “seeing many current and former students excited about job offers or certain firms that they were interested in.”
For Josh Allred, this was an opportunity to work behind the scenes and help with execution rather than attend as a student. The SUU senior attended Meet the Firms last year to scope out firms and look into potential employment, but this year he served as part of SUU’s Professional Accountancy Club. Being in this position allowed him to welcome in students and excitedly assist and provide insight to some who were unsure what career path to take. He loved meeting students he hadn’t before along with different firms throughout the night.
For him, the highlight of the night was the atmosphere; there was a lot of good energy and a great environment during the night. He says, “Everybody was super excited to be there and excited to meet the firms,” noting how he enjoyed working with the team and advisors who put it all together.
Dirks, Lee, and Allred all mentioned that a great deal of hard work and effort went into bringing this event to life and appreciated how it was made possible. According to Lee, the firms easily recognized the dedication that the professors and staff put into the students to help them find jobs and success. Learn more about Southern Utah University’s Accounting program.
Tags: School of Business Accounting