UB’s Beta Alpha Psi earns Platinum Chapter status two years in a row

By Alexandra Richter

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo School of Management’s Zeta Theta chapter continued its legacy of success at Beta Alpha Psi’s annual meeting, held Aug. 14-16 in San Antonio.

Founded in 1919, Beta Alpha Psi is an international honor organization for financial information students and professionals. The annual meeting hosts more than 300 U.S. and international chapters each year.

For the second consecutive year, UB’s chapter received the KPMG Platinum Challenge Award. Given to up to 10 chapters each year, a Platinum Chapter is a consistently superior chapter that is truly extraordinary; takes every opportunity available to go above and beyond; and represents members who are innovative and out-of-the-box thinkers. Brittany Bartula, clinical assistant professor of accounting and law, currently serves as faculty advisor for the UB chapter, which was chartered in 1981.

The chapter also earned several additional distinctions this year. For innovation in inclusiveness and diversity, the chapter received third place for the Beta Alpha Psi Leadership Award, sponsored by EY. The chapter also earned a superior designation for 100% member participation in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, led by Cassie Nguyen, clinical assistant professor accounting and law.

In the Best Practices competition sponsored by Deloitte, accounting senior Thomas Banas from Grand Island, finance senior Ben Finch from Red Hook, and MS Accounting students Shaniyah Scott from Brooklyn and Ai Wei Zheng from Buffalo, earned second place internationally for presenting on the topic “Impacting Your Community” for their service project “Prepping the Pipeline: Preschool to Professionals.”

Through this project, the team reached students from preschool through college to teach the basics of saving money and making informed financial decisions. They conducted classroom visits that introduced age-appropriate activities and discussions centered around budgeting, saving and spending decisions, and shared insights into careers in the financial field.