As the recruiting cycle for accounting begins in early October, the Rady Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) program aims to set students up for success before classes even begin. This means efforts to engage with our students early to provide them resources and networking opportunities needed to hit the ground running when it comes to taking that next step in their career.
Rady School does this in a few ways. First, engagement with our students begins immediately with assigned summer readings. We provide our students with a number of contemporary issues found in the profession. These reading materials are not just for pool-side entertainment, but are assignments that will help our students develop their global, innovative and a data mindsets.
Second, our Career Advisors begin engagement through resume support before entering into our program. Rady School believes that it’s necessary to ensure that all MPAc students coming into the program have a strong summation of their professional skills and work experience. “We really wanted to get to know the student before arrival. We can actually increase our support of the student by leveraging what they have already learned with our program,” says James Deiotte, Executive Director of the MPAc program at Rady.
Finally, we look for ways that Rady’s MPAc students can engage with industry professionals over the summer. Events sponsored by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) opened doors for our students to meet area professionals at conferences or business networking events.
In August, Deiotte and Michelle Tillman, Employer Relations Manager at Rady, hosted a trip with MPAc students to visit with San Francisco and San Jose accounting firms Ernst & Young, RSM International, Moss Adams and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Rady’s Bay Area Trek allowed students to meet and learn from leaders of some of the biggest accounting firms in the world. “Hearing stories from these executives on where they’ve come from made our students feel more comfortable with their own personal journey,” says Deiotte. “It was great to hear many of these business leaders speak about growth, both from a personal perspective as well as growth of the accounting profession and how it’s evolving.”
Incoming MPAc student Nizam Khan, who attended the Bay Area Trek in August, says that it was a privilege to be able to visit so many esteemed accounting firms in the industry.
Following the trip Khan said, “We had an incredibly fulfilling and insightful day. During each individual firm visit, executives shared overview presentations regarding service lines they provide, industries they serve, and work environments they establish. We were even given the opportunity to personally network with all levels of employees to answer our questions and give advice regarding the accounting industry. Overall, our visit to the Bay Area gave us a great perspective on how to best utilize our MPAc program to get into the accounting industry and be successful.”
For more information about Rady’s MPAc program, please visit https://rady.ucsd.edu/