Bringing students accounting opportunities

More than 150 accounting students helped Meet the Firms return face-to-face on Sept. 8, 2021

Meet the Firms, the annual event hosted by the College of Business’ Department of Accounting, returned to form on Sept. 8 2021, and brought more than 17 accounting firms to meet future interns and/or employees.

Looking to make a connection, more than 150 students, armed with resumes, walked from booth to booth and introduced themselves to representatives from national, state and local firms.

“What an exciting night to see so many students and firms back on campus,” said Dr. Cal Christian, chair, Department of Accounting, College of Business. “This event is one of the highlights of our year.”

Face to Face beats virtual

Accounting student Gabby Banks, center. (ECU Photo by Cliff Hollis)

Senior and Wake Forest-native Gabrielle “Gabby” Banks was one of those students. Though the accounting major has a job lined up after graduation, she says the event is still something one looks forward to attending.

“You can connect with employers, speak with faculty and share experiences with peers,” said Banks. “This was my first in-person Meet the Firms, and I can proudly say I was able to do all of those things. It was nice getting to network with other professionals and hear what they have to offer our students. From this experience, I learned that networking virtually is possible, but nothing beats face-to-face interaction.”

Accounting opportunities

Jason Wilkinson is Dixon Hughes Goodman’s office managing partner for eastern North Carolina. He says Dixon Hughes Goodman has had a long relationship with ECU faculty and even helps with the curriculum. Regarding attending the Meet the Firms event, Wilkinson says, “We always hire from the event. Our goal is to find the great talent to help us move our mission forward, and we always have a lot of success at ECU.”

Craig Ridenour is a state and local tax partner with RSM. His firm’s association with the ECU, faculty and students go way back.

Craig Ridenour of accounting firm RSM, right (ECU Photo by Cliff Hollis)

“We look forward every year to coming on campus and meeting with the students, conducting various activities with Beta Alpha Psi, BBQs and mock interviews,” said Ridenour. “We have a good relationship helping students get to the point where we are interviewing and helping them find jobs.”

When asked about the kind of students RMS recruits from ECU, Ridenour says traditionally, those students want to focus on audit or tax and stay in North Carolina, such as Raleigh, Charlotte and Wilmington. However, he is noticing a new trend that benefits RMS.

“We are seeing many, many more ECU students who have come from different parts of the country that want to get out to different offices throughout our country,” says Ridenour. “With 86 offices around the country, when we see students who are interested in other major metro markets, we can take and refer them into our recruiting process and create more opportunities for them.”

Ridenour added that RSM came to this year’s Meet the Firms event looking to fill winter and summer internships and full-time hires for next fall.

“For our students to be able to come out and see firms that cover all of North Carolina and Virginia and that are here to recruit them specifically is just an awesome experience for them,” said Christian. “Meet the Firms is usually a student’s first interaction with employers, and the firms that come do an excellent job of engaging with the students and explaining all of the opportunities that an accounting career offers.”

“Our students left Meet the Firms really excited about what the future holds.”

Jason Wilkinson of accounting firm Dixon Hughes Goodman, right

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