3 minute read
Accounting
MTSU BAP GOOD AS GOLD
What previously was called Superior status is now called Gold status for the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) accounting honor society. MTSU’s chapter earned Superior status for 11 consecutive years and continued this great tradition of high achievement by successfully notching Gold status for the 2023–24 academic year.
Under Brandon Vagner’s leadership as faculty advisor, the chapter went above and beyond each area of requirement, including reaching-out, professional, and service activities. BAP hosted amazing professional speakers at weekly hybrid meetings, while chapter officers and Vagner attended the organization’s 2023 annual and 2024 midyear meetings.
MTSU members and candidates also engaged in a variety of service activities such as Feed America First, Greenhouse Ministries, Campus Clean-Up, and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), which included two on-campus sessions at MTSU during the spring 2024 tax season.
"I had the opportunity to represent MTSU in Project Run With It at the 2023 Beta Alpha Psi Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the meeting, BAP International and Moss Adams welcomed Opportunity Village as one of the nonprofits. My teammates and I worked together to build a solid proposal, while advancing our collaboration and presentation skills. This was an unforgettable opportunity that I will forever be grateful for. Special thank you to Brandon Vagner for managing our chapter’s travel and arrangements."
—Holly Chavarria (M.Acc., ’24)
Jack Clark and Rosalia Rausch were named 2024 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Scholars and received a $15,000 scholarship each for 2024–25.
TSCPA AWARDS
The Tennessee Society of CPAs awarded $275,000 in scholarships to 108 students across Tennessee. Numerous accounting students from MTSU received scholarships, including five students who received special awards:
Wyatt Connelly, King Foundation Scholarship
Rumi Inoue, Nashville Vision Award
Mariamawit Fekadu, Bernie Goldstein Scholarship
Ben Smith, Ward Harder Scholarship
Jared Vetetoe, Paula B. Thomas Award
CIVIC SUMMIT
MTSU hosted more than 100 college students from across Tennessee last February for the Tennessee Campus Civic Summit titled, “The Future of Democracy: Tennessee’s Students Prepare for 2024.” Lara Daniel moderated the panel of election officials.
PROUD SERVICE
Sandy Benson proudly served as the interim chair for the Department of Accounting for the 2024–25 academic year. Benson, professor of business law, earned a B.A. in Economics and Business Administration from Vanderbilt University and a J.D. from the University of Georgia. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in corporate governance and fraud, commercial and contracts law, and health law. Benson’s research focuses on emerging issues related to fraud, accountant liability, health care, and effective pedagogy in business law.
50+ ORGANIZATIONS
attended the 2023 Meet the Firms recruitment and networking event
EXPERT INFORMATION
Professor Andrea Kelton shared her thoughts on research paradigms, such as design science research, as the keynote speaker at the International Symposium on Accounting Information Systems (ISAIS) Conference in Paphos, Cyprus, in June 2024. The emphasis of ISAIS is on interaction, discussion, and debate in a friendly, supportive, and relaxed atmosphere. At the same time, the intent of ISAIS is to provide a global forum for bringing the leading AIS researchers and developing scholars together to discuss and critique leading-edge research in the field.
