UT Students Win National Accounting Competition

A team of University of Tampa students took first place in a national Beta Alpha Psi best practices competition, which was held at the 2014 Beta Alpha Psi annual meeting in Atlanta on Aug. 7-9.

Beta Alpha Psi is an honorary organization for financial information students and professionals.

The four students competed in a session focusing on strategic planning. Because the UT team won the regional Beta Alpha Psi competition February, the students were invited to compete against the winners of the seven other regions from around the country at the annual meeting. UT earned first, finishing ahead of the other regional first place teams from Old Dominion University, Pacific Lutheran University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Northern Colorado, University of San Diego and Western Illinois University.

The UT team, which met periodically over the last few months to prepare, included James Hanna, Scott Bates, Nicholas Brunner and Joanna Edes. The students were accompanied to the conference by Mary Keener, associate professor of accounting and the team’s advisor. Keener has served as team advisor for six years.

Scott Bates, the chapter president, said “bringing home first place to our chapter is a great cap to what has been an exciting year for Beta Alpha Psi, and I am looking forward to what this upcoming year has in store."

James Hanna, former chapter president, said "there is nothing better than working with individuals who have the same mindset and determination to win. We all put our strengths together, and it was well worth it in the end.”

The competition was sponsored by Deloitte LLP.