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Accounting students visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Greg Johnson — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 13:25:04 +0000

Accounting students visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Greg Johnson Thu, 04/11/2024 - 09:25

Prior to his teaching career, Bret Johnson, an associate professor of accounting at the Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ, was a staff accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Accounting students and faculty

“I went back as an academic fellow, so I was there from 2020 to 2021, and part of my responsibility was arranging these student visits for other universities to come,” he says. Johnson knows the current SEC academic fellow Ally Zimmerman, an assistant professor of accounting at Florida State University’s College of Business. She coordinated the visit for Costello College of Business students to visit the SEC headquarters on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 28. An independent agency of the United States federal government, the SEC was established following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 to protect investors and enforce the law against market manipulation.

Johnson worked with Ethan Kinory, an instructional assistant professor of accounting at the Costello College of Business, to assemble a group of students they could bring on the visit. Kinory is the faculty advisor to Mason’s chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor organization for financial information students and professionals. The chapter has 41 total students, 29 of whom are accounting majors, and it runs approximately 12 events per semester. In addition to Beta Alpha Psi students, other attendees in the group included students from the accounting honors program and the master of science in accounting program. “It’s a huge benefit of us being here in the backyard of Washington, D.C., to have these types of opportunities,” says Johnson. “We have a great relationship with the people there, and that’s really helpful to foster these types of opportunities in the future.”

The Costello College of Business group arrived at SEC headquarters by 1:30 p.m. and was greeted by Ally Zimmerman in the lobby. From there, the afternoon was broken into segments running approximately half an hour each until the agenda concluded at 5:00 p.m. Interactive presentations were given by representatives from the office of the chief accountant, division of investment management, division of enforcement, division of corporation finance, and division of examinations.

The students’ trip to the headquarters showed them how they could apply what they have learned in the classrooms as future professionals, whether it be at the SEC or elsewhere. “This excursion provided an invaluable opportunity for students to gain insight into the SEC's role and organizational structure,” says Maya Didier, a master’s in accounting student and vice president of Beta Alpha Psi. "Visiting the SEC provided me with a valuable opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge I gained from textbooks into a real-life experience from talking to individuals who work for the SEC to visiting the building where all the work happens,” says Nathaly Pablo, a master’s in accounting student. “It was a great experience to broaden my understanding and perspective of the accounting profession."

For the 20 students who attended, it was a worthwhile and potentially career-altering event. “A lot of my students who attended told me that they hadn’t previously considered a career in the SEC or any regulatory agency,” says Kinory. “Now that they’re aware, they are considering those types of opportunities and potential employment down the road.” The proximity of ��ɫ��Ƶ and the proactive partnership building done by the faculty members open the doors for countless other top-notch experiential learning opportunities for Costello College of Business students.

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In This Story

Bret Johnson

Ethan Kinory

Accounting students make the most of internship opportunities

Marianne Klinker — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 15:43:33 +0000

Accounting students make the most of internship opportunities Marianne Klinker Tue, 11/07/2023 - 10:43

With a wide array of options, accounting students at the Donald G. Costello College of Business at ��ɫ��Ƶ are able to choose the types of experiential learning that will best prepare them for their future careers.

Mina Al Hashimi, BS Accounting ’23, and Makayla Sorto, a senior studying accounting, took full advantage of internship opportunities that were offered through student organizations and courses. Kaleb Lewis is the director of career services at the Costello College of Business and the faculty instructor of the internship for academic credit course. “Internships provide the foundation for a successful career by allowing students to try out various tasks and get a feel for a company's workplace environment,” he says.

Mina Al Hashimi

After graduating this past May with her undergraduate in accounting, Mina Al Hashimi is looking forward to continuing on the track at Mason with the master of science in accounting (MSA). But rather than taking the time to rest between her degree programs, she made the most of her summer by joining Ernst & Young (EY) as a technology risk consulting intern. She was serving as the president of the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) on campus, which is how she got connected with the EY recruiter. As an intern, she learned about the different accounting service lines and did walkthroughs with a client to make sure that the process was working correctly. “I realized I can do a lot more with accounting than just audit and tax,” she says. “I can go into consulting or corporate accounting or any pathway really.” She now has a better idea of the kind of accounting career path she wants to pursue but still has her eyes on the big four accounting firms.

Another big takeaway Al Hashimi took from the experience was how vital networking is to connecting with people and learning from them, something that she looks forward to continuing both in the classroom and in the office. “Mina's internship flourished thanks to her leadership abilities, outstanding academics, and enthusiastic can-do attitude,” says Peggy Tsirigotis, assistant area chair and instructor of accounting. “Her student journey emphasizes the importance of organizational skills and efficient time management for students, while also emphasizing the value of hands-on learning and active campus involvement.”

Makayla Sorto

Makayla Sorto is now in her senior year of studying accounting at the Costello College of Business. She had learned about the Embark Scholars program at KPMG and decided to apply. The Embark Internship is designed for accounting students from ethnic minority groups and consists of eight weeks rotating among the audit, tax, and advisory practices. Eligible interns are then able to select their area of interest for another internship the following summer at KPMG. Sorto and her team of six other interns completed projects ranging from researching clients to updating reports. “Going into this, I was so sure I was going to like tax, but throughout the whole rotation, I came out knowing that I want to do either advisory or audit,” she says. “It completely changed the whole trajectory of what I thought I was going to do because I had such a great time in audit.”

During the internship, Sorto was enrolled in ACCT 492, the Internship for Academic Credit course, offered through the Costello College of Business Office of Career Services. “ACCT 492 enhances a student's internship experience by providing assignments that allow the student to self-reflect on a number of career-related topics such as mentorship, receiving and giving feedback, and utilizing one's strengths in the workplace,” says Lewis. “In addition, one fundamental aspect of the course allows students to directly learn about their strengths and areas to improve through supervisor evaluations.” Through the internship, Sorto learned not only what really interested her but she also made many connections, especially with other Embark interns. One of her favorites experiences was presenting in front of executives at the firm’s headquarters in Orlando, Florida.

“Internships stand as highly effective experiential learning opportunities for accounting students,” says Long Chen, area chair and associate professor of accounting. “They bridge the gap between classroom and workplace, cultivating vital transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Furthermore, internships facilitate networking with accounting professionals and provide insights into industry best practices. We strongly encourage both undergraduate and graduate accounting students to pursue internships and enroll in dedicated courses—ACCT 492 and ACCT 695—laying the groundwork for their future success in the field.” By extending their education to outside of the classroom, Al Hashimi and Sorto both gained a better understanding of what they want to do in their respective careers. The internship experiences allowed them to practice what they have been taught while focusing their continued learning on the areas that truly pique their interests.

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Mason grad took advantage of her opportunities

ckearney — Wed, 11 May 2022 15:45:29 +0000

Mason grad took advantage of her opportunities ckearney Wed, 05/11/2022 - 11:45

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Costello College of Business Graduate Student Spotlight