UB’s Beta Alpha Psi chapter excels at mid-year meeting

By Alexandra Richter

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo School of Management’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi added to its long legacy of success at the 2024 Mid-Year Meeting in Indianapolis.

Founded in 1919, Beta Alpha Psi is an honor organization for financial information students and professionals, with more than 300 chapters nationwide. UB’s Zeta Theta chapter was chartered in 1981.

In the Best Practices competition sponsored by Deloitte, the School of Management’s “Empowering Community Service” team won first place for their project and presentation about empowering middle school students to understand the role technology plays in the accounting profession, and equipping them with spreadsheet and other essential skills.

Undergraduate accounting students Thomas Banas of Grand Island, a sophomore, Judy Chen of Utica, Sarah De Croce of Syracuse and Cynthia Weng of New York City, all juniors, made up the winning team. Senior accounting students Sunny Chen of Ithaca and Zengzeng Mu of Long Island served as team mentors.

Additionally, the School of Management’s “Empowering Professional Relationships” team won second place in the Best Practices competition for their presentation about their Tech Resolve workshop — an interactive discussion with three professional guests: Kevin Cleary, clinical assistant professor of management science and systems; Stephen Turner, BS ’08, partner at The Bonadio Group; and Adam Wyckoff, BS ’22, MS ’23, assurance associate at PwC.

The workshop helped Beta Alpha Psi students understand the role emerging technologies play in the profession, including tips on email etiquette, the opportunities and risks of generative AI, and the role everyone should play in cybersecurity.

Team members included undergraduate accounting juniors Alisdair Boyd of Buffalo, Jirong Ke of Brooklyn, Grace Wansor of Queens, and Ai Wei Zheng of Buffalo, under the mentorship of senior accounting students Rachel Iavicoli of Garrison and Kristina Jiang of Brooklyn.

“Our Beta Alpha Psi chapter continues to build partnerships and serve as positive role models in the community, while enhancing their own professional development in communication skills and working with emerging technologies,” says Rose Hu, clinical assistant professor of accounting and law, who accompanied the students to the conference. “It is wonderful to see these co-curricular service learning activities having a transformative impact on their education, and we look forward to how these student leaders will continue to inspire others to pursue rewarding careers in the financial information professions, like accounting.”

During the chapter operations portion of the annual meeting, senior accounting students Edward Holyat of Lake Ronkonkoma, and Kristina Jiang of Brooklyn represented the chapter as they presented on the chapter’s community service partnerships.

 “Our student leaders redefine the boundaries of education, blending classroom learning with real-world impact to empower both themselves and their communities with knowledge, compassion and innovation,” says faculty advisor Brittany Bartula, clinical assistant professor of accounting and law.

Both teams will continue on to compete at the Beta Alpha Psi Annual Meeting in Orlando this July.