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The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Business’ Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) chapter hosted its Meet the Firms event on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The annual recruiting and networking event attracts public accounting firms, corporations and government agencies, and has a proven history of success as numerous students have secured internships and full-time employment.

The event offers students an opportunity to establish face-to-face relationships with industry recruiters in a more casual environment than formal interviews. Securing employment with these firms grants students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they are learning in their accounting courses to real-world experiences. Internships allow students to build professional networks and skills that will help them transition from a student to full-time employee while exploring various career options in accounting, such as tax, audit and assurance.

This year’s event was held in a hybrid format with 22 firms being represented both in-person and virtually. Notable firms represented at the event were Anders, Armanino - Brown Smith Wallace, BKD, RubinBrown, Scheffel Boyle, UHY and Enterprise.

SIUE alumna Alexandra Flatt earned a bachelor’s in accounting in 2013 followed by an MBA in 2014. She is a prime example of an accounting professional whose career trajectory was elevated by the Meet the Firms event. Ten years ago, she attended the event to practice her networking skills and prepare for graduation.

“The first person I spoke to at the event was Joe Thompson with BKD,” Flatt shared via LinkedIn. “I left the event with three interviews from three different firms, and ended up with two internships, one being BKD. After my internship ended, I chose to take a different path but kept in touch with Joe. A few years later, I contacted him because I wanted a change. That change happened to be Peabody, where I am today. A decade later, I’m thankful that attending the career fair and keeping up with someone I met there has impacted the rest of my life in such a positive way!”

BAP is an international honor organization for accounting students and professionals. SIUE provides a student chapter for the top accounting majors and hosts monthly meetings and professional presentations by various companies. Involvement fosters relationships with fellow accounting majors as well as networking opportunities with faculty and future employers.

Photos: The SIUE School of Business’ Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Meet the Firms event.

A student prepares to conduct a virtual meeting a firm representative.

SIUE alumna Alexandra Flatt, manager mine accounting at Peabody.