Institute of Internal Auditors Annual Student Night
By Saboohi Ahmed

 

The Institute of Internal Auditors (Beach Cities Chapter) held their annual Student Night at the Reef Restaurant in Long Beach on April 30 th, 2016. The IIA is a professional organization comprised of Certified Internal Auditors, Certified Public Accountants and other professionals in the financial auditing field and the Beach Cities Chapter, headed by its President Sher Shah CPA, is a Platinum Member of the worldwide organization.

The annual dinner invites students majoring in Accounting and Finance at local universities to attend a very elegant event and connect with recruiters from a variety of different accounting, consulting and corporate fields.

The event was sponsored by twenty-six (26) major companies, including Moss Adams, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and KPMG, as well as the University of California Irvine and University of California Los Angeles Audit Department. Other corporate sponsors included Alliance Resources, MGO CPAs, and Northrup Grumman. The sponsors funded over 130 students from thirteen (13) universities including UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Los Angeles.

The keynote speaker was Don Mullinax, Western Region Director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency who gave an inspiring speech entitled “From Average to Awesome” which motivated students to excel in their careers. Don was introduced by Sher Shah, two-term President of the Chapter, who had the audience laughing with his quips on how to succeed in the workplace. His statement that “the best way to get a job is by being a pest” was appreciated by students and recruiters alike.

The event was also important in the number of gifts and scholarships that the IIA Beach Cities had made available to the student attendees. Wylie CPA Review donated two scholarships at a value of $1,800 each for preparation for the CPA or CMA examination. The Beach Cities Chapter offered two scholarships for the Certified Internal Auditor Review Class and the San Gabriel Chapter of the IIA offered a $500 scholarship for students participating in an essay contest.

The objective of the IIA Beach Cities Annual Student night is to help students connect with world-class organizations and educating them about the internal audit profession. For more information please go to the chapter website at: https://chapters.theiia.org/beach-cities/