Accounting Student & Faculty Trip

Accounting Student & Faculty Trip

February 26, 2014
Accounting students and faculty visit the FBI and the SEC

Last month 20 senior accounting students and five accounting faculty members traveled to Washington, D.C. to visit the headquarters of both the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Dr. Marshall Geiger, professor of accounting, who served at the SEC last year as an Academic Fellow planned the trip in order to expose the students, most of whom will go on to pursue careers at the Big Four audit firms, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, to a wider array of career options after public accounting. 

"I wanted to broaden our students' perspectives of career opportunities. We have several alumni at the FBI and the SEC, so I was able to put this trip together with their help," Geiger shared. 

The group spent the first part of the day at the FBI being escorted on a private tour through the FBI’s museum of artifacts, followed by a question-and-answer session with several forensic accountants who investigate white-collar crime as well as other accounting-related crime.  

Annie Geckle, '14, who accepted a position with PwC for the fall, explained, "They were all amazingly smart individuals. It was really interesting to see how they transitioned from the Big Four as auditors to taking on more big-picture roles within the accounting world." 

The second part of the day took the group to the SEC for a panel discussion where they were able to meet several employees and officials from various divisions, including the Office of the Chief Accountant which is where Professor Geiger served last year, who shared experiences they gained prior to and during their time at the SEC. "I really learned a lot about the regulation process and all the opportunities that are available after a few years spent in public accounting," described Michael Woitach, '14, who will begin his career at Deloitte following graduation. "There are a slew of other options I'd never even considered."

Kaitlin Clifford, '14, added, "My biggest takeaway from the trip is that there are many paths an accounting career can take. The trip helped me realize that as an accountant I will not reach a limit in opportunities to grow and learn new things because the profession is needed in so many different capacities at almost every organization. Learning from the people we met on the trip and hearing about all they have accomplished once again made me excited that I am entering the accounting profession upon graduation." Clifford will also begin working with Deloitte in the fall.

Geiger shared, "It was a nice, capstone kind of trip. I'd like to take this trip again because it was such a great experience not only for the students but for the faculty as well."

Dr. Darrell Walden, department chair and associate professor of accounting, said, "It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for all of us. As a professor it gives me the benefit of being able to speak on the FBI and SEC firsthand. It was a tremendous learning experience."

Phil Rohrbach, visiting instructor of accounting and retired senior partner at EY, shared, "What I thought was so special was to be able to get inside the FBI today. After 9/11 it is virtually impossible for the public to go inside the building, and to be able to spend time with some of the forensic accountants there was such a wonderful opportunity. The trip showed the students that the FBI and SEC could be a career path for them several years down the road. It was an honor for the University that Marshall Geiger spent last year with the SEC. A universal thank you to him for this trip."