SIUE’s School of Business Empowers Accounting Students Through Industry Connections

EDWARDSVILLE – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Business is setting their accounting students up for success through Meet the Firms, a networking event that 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.

“It is important to bring firms onto SIUE’s campus through events like this because it allows students to interact with recruiters without having to travel off-campus,” said Marc Ortegren, PhD, assistant professor of accounting. “By facilitating face-to-face interaction, Meet the Firms, provides students with a networking opportunity and exposure to the wide variety of individual firms, companies, and agencies that recruit accounting students.”

Over 30 firms, including each of the Big-4 firms, attended the career fair earlier this month sponsored and run by the School of Business’ Beta Alpha Psi (BAP). The event offers students an opportunity to establish face-to-face relationships with industry recruiters in a more casual environment than formal interviews.

The SIUE accounting students stand out thanks to the thoroughness and quality of SIUE’s accounting program.

“Our students demonstrate a very impressive work ethic,” Ortegren added. “Many of our students work 20-40 hours per week while juggling a full course load, social and extracurricular activities, and pursuing their professional careers after graduation. This all results in our students’ ability to hit the ground running in their career after graduation."

BAP is an international honors organization for accounting students and professionals. SIUE provides a student chapter for the top accounting majors and hosts semi-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.

The School of Business is among an elite 5% of business schools worldwide that have earned the prestigious accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). This accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Less than 25% of AACSB accredited schools also hold the accounting accreditation. For the 16th consecutive year, the School of Business is named an outstanding business school by The Princeton Review: “The Best Business Schools: 2022 Edition.” The Princeton Review recommends the School as one of the best institutions in the U.S. from which students can earn an MBA. Nearly 29,000 alumni have earned degrees from the SIUE School of Business.

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