CSUN Department of Accounting and Information Systems / College of Business & Economics

CSUN's Beta Alpha Psi Chapter Takes First Place in Western Region's Best Practices Competition

Cal State Northridge edged out UH Manoa to take first place in Chapter Sustainability at the 2010 Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Western Region Best Practices competition held in San Francisco, CA, February 27 and 28. CSUN's Epsilon Chi chapter was pitted against tough competition from Cal, USC, Cal State LA, Fresno State, University of Nevada, Reno, and the University of Hawaii. Jacob Sparks and his team, comprised of Jenny Huo, George Fronjian, Sagar Kirit, Romy Ron, Michael Iskaros, garnered the gold, including a $500 cash prize, with an attention-getting presentation on Epsilon Chi's future.

A panel of six accounting professionals from public accounting, industry, and non-for-profit judged the competition. "Northridge had a perfect balance of fun and professionalism," said Laura Toland, CalCPA Communications Director and Best Practices judge. "We could really feel the CSUN enthusiasm."

During the 10-minute presentation, which included a humorous retrospective examining the previous year's sustainability initiatives, the team identified key initiatives for improving Epsilon Chi's recruitment, communication, finances, and legacy. Recruitment, for example, has been shored up through a new "Meet ΒΑΨ" orientation, and the creation of social networking groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. The mentorship program was formalized and incentives added to increase retention.

Other initiatives are still in progress. Chapter officers are finalizing the details for improved fundraising through a three-level corporate sponsorship package. And efforts are underway to find a permanent locus for chapter activities.

The Northridge team will represent the Western region and compete nationally at the Beta Alpha Psi Annual Conference, August 5 - 7, in San Jose, California.

The Best Practices Competition was started in 2001 through sponsorship from Deloitte LLP. Since then Beta Alpha Psi teams from across the globe have participated in over 700 presentations, winning more than $210,000 in academic support.

(Left to Right)

Front row
Anitha Wijaya, Schatzi Herda, Michael Iskaros, Jie (Jenny) Huo, Romy Ron, George Fronjian

Back row
Jacob Sparks, Christopher Jones, Sagar Kirit

2010 AIS Awards Application Posted

Students who would like to be considered for one of the awards to be presented at the April 27 Annual AIS Awards Banquet must apply by 5 pm on Friday, March 5. The application is available by pressing the purple Both Accountancy & IS tab on this site and then selecting Scholarship Opportunities.

Results of ACCT 350 Applications for Spring 2010 (As of Jan 19, 2010)

Summer 2010 Accounting Class Schedule Announced

The Department of Accounting & Information Systems will be offering six classes during Summer 2010. To make the classes available to the largest number of students possible, all classes will be offered at night, beginning at 6:00 pm. The schedule is as follows:

Session 2 (First 6 weeks)
ACCT 220 MW
ACCT 230 TR
ACCT 450 TR

Session 3 (Second 6 weeks)
ACCT 220 MW
ACCT 230 TR
ACCT 441 TR

More information about summer school is provided in the attachment.

First Issue of the Tax Development Journal Published

Earlier this fall the CSUN Department of Accounting & Information Systems launched the first edition of the Tax Development Journal, a new and exciting online tax journal. The Tax Development Journal sets a new standard in practitioner based tax scholarship as an innovative forum for intellectual discourse on emerging issues for tax practitioners and policy makers. This graduate student run journal uniquely combines tax expertise with scholarly discourse to provide timely, insightful, and important contributions to scholarly discussion in a broad array of topical tax areas. For more information about the journal, please visit us at: tdjournal.csunacctis.com.

MS inTax Program Fellowships Available to BS in Accountancy Students

Through generous support from premier public accounting firms in our region, the Bookstein Institute for Higher Education in Taxation is offering a distinctive opportunity for select undergraduate accounting students who are interested in pursuing a career in taxation. This highly selective fellowship program may provide outstanding students with generous financial support, mentorship, training, and advanced education in the field beginning in their junior year in the program.

A flyer containing more details about the Program and an application are attached. Applications are due Nov 20.

Spring 2010 Accounting & IS Meet the Firms Event to be held on the evening of Thursday, Feb 11

Meet the Firms is a career fair for California State University Northridge students featuring public accounting and information systems firms, private industry companies, and governmental agencies that recruit accounting and information systems majors. Every semester, the Accounting Association (AA), Beta Alpha Psi (BAY), and Management Information Systems Association (MISA) sponsor Meet the Firms.

As soon as it becomes available, more detailed information will be posted at meetthefirms.org.

Fall 2009 BSA Application Form Posted

The Application for Admission to the BSA Program has now been posted on the BSA page of this site. The application is to be completed by students currently taking ACCT 351.

Note: Students who submitted applications in previous semesters but who were told that their applications were on hold pending the completion of various classes should not resubmit. Their original applications will automatically be reviewed and they will be notified of the results.

Accounting & IS Awards Banquet on Thurs, Apr 23

Hello, Accounting and Information Systems Students:

The annual AIS Awards Banquet will be held Thursday, April 23rd at 6:00pm at Deukmejian Hall in Mission Hills. All students are encouraged to attend. This event is a great opportunity to network with professionals from approximately 35 firms, to get better acquainted with fellow students and student club involvement, applaud awardees and have fun during the raffle drawing (great prizes!) The served dinner is sure to be delicious. This event is business formal. This is an event not to be missed.

If you applied for an award, you must attend the Awards Banquet to be eligible for an award unless you have extenuating circumstances (please contact Dr. Ron Stone at Ronald.stone@csun.edu as soon as possible). Applicants must purchase their ticket by April 22nd.

Ticket prices:

$35 Current Student Club members through April 15th
$40 Non-member students through April 15th
$45 All students through April 22nd
$50 At the Door on April 23rd

For more detailed information, go to the calendar on the Dept's Home Page. (You can click on the banner to get there!)

CPE Workshop on IFRS and XBRL offered at CSUN on Sat Jan 24

The Accounting & Information Systems Chapter of the CSUN Alumni Association will be offering a CPE Seminar on the morning of Sat Jan 24. The topics will be International Reporting Standards (IFRS) and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). The cost of the four hour seminar is $89 for Association members and $99 for nonmembers. The instruction will be provided by regular CSUN Accounting faculty. All proceeds will go to the Chapter's Scholarship Fund.

More information about the Seminar is provided in the attached .pdf file.