Tag: accounting

The Weston Career Center sponsors several career treks across the globe that provide opportunities for students to meet with alumni and hiring managers in various industries. Yiling Han, MACC ’18, contributed this reflection on her experience from the Accounting Trek in Hong Kong in January. 

My greatest takeaways from the Hong Kong trek were the connections I made with local firms and the insight I gained from insiders’ perspectives. This trek provided me with intensive interactions with accounting professionals from diverse backgrounds, such as HR managers, senior auditors, tax managers, and consultants.

In two days, I received guidance on how to apply for accounting positions in the Hong Kong market, and I learned how to become more efficient in researching options for my career. I also gained a comprehensive understanding about different corporate cultures and key qualifications for positions in different fields of accounting. Overall, the experience provided insight into how best to proceed with job applications at Hong Kong accounting firms.

Details of the career trek

The trek exposed me to leading accounting firms in Hong Kong, including Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, BDO, and Mazars. During each company visit, the company staff introduced the firm, the service lines, resources for employees, and opened the floor to further discussion with students. The staff also provided company tours of the offices to assist in our understanding of their workplace environment.

Our tour began at Edinburgh Tower in Central Hong Kong, where we visited the HR manager of PwC. Our primary interest was to learn more about the company’s culture and job opportunities in the Hong Kong office.

From discussions with company recruiters and accounting professionals, I learned about the firm’s recruiting process, the first-year work experience at PwC, and both the professional and interpersonal qualities of a competitive applicant. To no one’s surprise, most of the firms expected full-time employees and interns to communicate using both Mandarin and English at work.

The Hong Kong trek was not just a series of company visits; it was also a great networking opportunity where we built relationships with people from the Hong Kong accounting firms.

For example, by the end of meeting with Mazars, the firm treated us with snacks, and we chatted for an hour with the auditing director partner, learning from his career experience and outlook on graduate employment.

I believe this is a valuable opportunity to build personal connections, which goes a long way toward making a lasting impression with these firms. It also gave the company officials a better sense of who we are and introduced them to the quality of WashU students and the Specialized Masters Program. I really appreciate the practical experience this trek offered in preparing the Hong Kong trekkers for employment opportunities in Hong Kong.

Pictured above: Members of the Hong Kong trek at KPMG. Greg Hutchings of the Weston Career Center; Yiling Han, Hee Cho, and Rachel Han, all MACC ’18.

Students in the CELect Entrepreneurship Course, held at the T-REx startup accelerator, are sharing their team projects with the Olin Blog. Student team Andrew Smith, Daniel Kalvaitis, Jeffrey Lantz,  and Trent Pavic describe the experience of consulting for their client, Segue Partners.

Every semester, a few undergraduate and graduate students are chosen to participate in the Center for Experiential Learning’s Entrepreneurial Consulting Team (CELect) program. Participants are paired with St. Louis-area startups and tasked with solving a critical business problem.

Our team was selected for this program, and though we’re only a few weeks in, the journey so far has been intense.

WashU’s esteemed entrepreneurship professors prepared us with an intensive, full-day class. After that, it was our responsibility to meet with our client, determine the scope, plan how to meet deadlines, and deliver the most value possible. Professors provided guidance on aligning the team’s work with the client’s vision. But as with a real startup, we are the ones that need to make everything happen.

The following week, our team met with our client’s founder and core team members to discuss their objectives. Our client, Segue Partners, specializes in tackling the unique accounting and financial consulting needs of private funds and venture capital portfolio companies.

After an intense two-hour meeting, our team was tasked with sizing the market and planning next steps for a concept aimed at providing an innovative solution to back-end accounting services for startups and small businesses in the St. Louis area.

An integral aspect of such a project is to understand the market that exists and the needs of potential customers. To get us started, our team was given some initial contacts to interview. This will come as no surprise to those of us familiar with the St. Louis area, but everyone was incredibly welcoming. One contact often led to another…and another…and another.

In fact, the St. Louis entrepreneurial community is so welcoming that even after several dozen interview requests, not a single person has declined to speak with us. Not one.

Several weeks in and nearly a hundred interviews later, we’re starting to get a clear picture of the needs of potential clients. In addition to interviews, our team is studying competitors, modeling assumptions, aggregating data into actionable insights, and formulating a strategy for the potential launch. Leveraging other lessons that we’ve learned in classes at WashU, we’re almost ready to determine final recommendations.

This has been a tremendously rewarding experience for each member of the team. We’re grateful to the CELect program and WashU for giving us the opportunity to engage with the fascinating world of startups in the area, and for allowing us to give back to the St. Louis community.

Guest bloggers: Andrew Smith, BSBA ’18; Daniel Kalvaitis, BSBA ’18; Jeffrey Lantz, MBA ’18; and Trent Pavic, PMBA’18.

Earlier this month, Olin Business School representatives attended the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. The theme of this year’s event was in the spirit of encouraging scholastic and professional excellence, and providing opportunities for growth and leadership development.

Beta Alpha Psi is an honor organization that encourages and gives recognition to scholastic and professional excellence in accounting, finance, and information systems. With more than 300 chapters worldwide, Beta Alpha Psi is highly regarded in the professional world.

WashU’s BAP Chapter President, Casey Wagenaar (BSBA’17, MACC’17), and VP of Community Service, Gabby Steinbrecher (BSBA’16, MACC’17) represented Olin at the conference.

Professor Mark Soczek, Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Academic Director of the Master of Accounting program, and Megan Waite, Associate Director of Graduate Programs Admissions, also attended. They enjoyed talking about Olin’s graduate programs with conference attendees from around the world.

Washington University’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) was founded in March 2013, with the charter approved in October 2013.

Mikhail Pevzner, associate professor of accounting in the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business and program director of Merrick’s Master in Accounting and Business Advisory Services program, has been appointed an Academic Accounting Fellow for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant. He will serve in this role in the SEC’s Washington, D.C. offices beginning this August and continuing for one year. Pevzner earned his PhD at Olin.

The Office of the Chief Accountant acts as the primary adviser to the SEC on auditing and accounting matters. Academic Accounting Fellows serve as research resources for SEC staff by interpreting and communicating research materials as they relate to the agency.

The fellows have been assigned to ongoing projects in the Chief Accountant’s office including rulemaking, monitoring the developments of the accounting and auditing standards-setting bodies, and consulting with registrants on accounting, auditing, independence and reporting matters.

From August 4, 2016 News Release from The University of Baltimore

Undergraduate students at Westminster College  in Fulton, Missouri will have a new and accelerated pathway to earn a Master’s degree in Accounting from one of the top business schools in the country, thanks to an agreement between Westminster and Olin Business School.

The new accelerated “4+1” program allows  Westminster students to earn a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Accounting in just five years.

Students participating in the program will spend four years at Westminster College, where they will complete their coursework, a portion of which will count toward their graduate credit at Washington University. Likewise, once at the Olin Business School, credits will be transferred back to fulfill remaining undergraduate requirements.

The result is an integrated program that may allow students to save time and money in earning their Master’s degree in Accounting, and to potentially start their careers with an advanced degree sooner.

“Washington University is pleased to enter this new partnership with Westminster College, which has a long tradition of academic excellence,” said Joe Fox, Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Programs at Olin Business School. “We look forward to welcoming Westminster’s best and brightest students to Olin as they pursue their Master of Accounting degrees.”

Applicants are evaluated on the basis of grade point average, an interview, internship experience, statements of support by Westminster College and letters of recommendation.

Westminster College students accepted into the program enter Washington University Master’s program in the fall semester following their senior year, and need to complete 27 credit hours in the fall and spring semesters to graduate with both degrees in May of the fifth year.

The Olin Business School will accept up to six Westminster credit hours to apply to its Master of Accounting degree. Westminster College, in turn, will accept up to three credit hours from Washington University to apply toward its Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.

“This partnership opens doors for our students to move right into graduate school at one of the top business schools in the nation,” said Westminster College Associate Professor of Accounting Elise Bartley. “Combining Olin’s Master’s program with our undergraduate accounting program provides a big advantage and a great opportunity for our students.”

Students who complete this accelerated program will be well prepared to sit for the CPA exam, Bartley said.

Founded in 1851, Westminster College in Fulton, MO is one of the top liberal arts colleges in America, according to major educational ranking firms, including U.S. News & World Report, Forbes magazine, The Princeton Review and Washington Monthly.