Members of Middle Tennessee State University’s accounting honor society captured first place in a regional competition this semester and will test their knowledge further at a national competition in August.

The Beta Alpha Psi student competition team, made up of members Michael Royer and Sarah Basile of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Abby Bumbalough of Smyrna, Tennessee; and Robert Cope of La Vergne, Tennessee won first place in the Southeast Region from a field of 13 teams in the “Financial Literacy” category of Deloitte’s “Best Practices” competition in late February.

Dr. Paula Thomas

Dr. Sandra Benson

“The Southeast Region has the reputation as one of the most competitive regions, and the competition gets stronger each year,” said MTSU accounting professor Paula Thomas, who serves as faculty adviser for the student chapter.

“I’m so proud of our students — they did a great job of representing the Jones College and MTSU. How exciting that all of their hard work resulted in a first place win, as well as the right to compete at the national level.”

Founded in 1919, Beta Alpha Psi is a national honor society for financial information students and professionals. There are over 300 chapters on college and university campuses with over 300,000 members initiated since Beta Alpha Psi’s formation, according to the organization’s website, www.bap.org.

Deloitte LLP, the world’s largest accounting firm, sponsors regional competitions of this type, with the national competition held during the Beta Alpha Psi annual meeting, set for August in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“We are very proud of our BAP team. These students were prepared, positive and professional,” said Sandy Benson, interim chair of the Department of Accounting. “It is no surprise to me that our students excel under the capable leadership of our BAP adviser, Dr. Paula Thomas, and our high-caliber faculty who emphasize professional, as well as technical, skills in accounting.”

Beta Alpha Psi introduces students to accounting professionals from CPA firms, industry and government. Activities include:

• weekly meetings with professional speakers
• community service projects
• site visits to accounting firms and other businesses

The group hosts networking and other events open to professionals, faculty and members. Beta Alpha Psi is open to accounting majors with an overall GPA and accounting GPA of 3.0 or higher.

For information about the Department of Accounting, visit www.mtsu.edu/accounting. For more information about Beta Alpha Psi, visit www.mtsu.edu/~bap.

— Jimmy Hart (jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu)