SDSU Student Business Organization Spotlight: Student Accounting Society
Andrew Forsythe, President of the Student Accounting Society
The Fowler College of Business’ student organizations have continued to operate effectively, host professional events, and engage with the community through virtual platforms, despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic. During San Diego State University’s Fall 2020 semester, the Student Accounting Society (SAS) hosted biweekly meetings as well as its first-ever virtual “Meet the Firms” event, which provided an opportunity for members to network with various accounting firms looking to recruit potential employees. Andrew Forsythe (Senior, Accounting) President of the SAS, describes how the organization has adapted to the virtual environment, shares why students should join, and how SAS has impacted his leadership experience. Forsythe also describes his career plans while offering advice to current SDSU students.
About Student Accounting Society (SAS):
Goal/Objective of SAS:
Our objective is to assist accounting students in becoming better informed about the accounting profession, introduce them to the career opportunities within the accounting industry, coordinate events with professionals that will help guide them on their career path and help them take that first step into their chosen profession.
Q: What events, gatherings, and activities does your organization host?
We are a mix of a professional and social organization, where we provide opportunities for our members to both get to know professionals and each other. Twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays) we invite professionals from various organizations to give a presentation and network with our members afterward. This is the time when our students get to work on their networking and professional skills, as most of them are trying to get recruited for jobs in the accounting field at the same time. Outside of our weekly meetings, we also organize social events every other week so we can all get to know each other on a more personal level. Finally, every fall semester, SAS organizes the annual “Meet the Firms,” where 30+ national, regional, and local firms come to recruit our SDSU Accounting students into various types of internships and jobs. These jobs range from public accounting, industry accounting, and government jobs as well!
Q: What virtual events has your organization organized since the pandemic began?
We opened up our meetings twice a week in order to help our greater SDSU community have a place to feel a sense of belonging and for the firms to get more opportunities to network with our students. Along with this, we planned our first ever virtual Meet the Firms, which required many different angles to be considered in contrast to our normal Meet the Firms. With many accounting firms still hiring for internships and jobs this past fall, this event’s success was significant in our students’ success.
Forsythe with the 2019 officer board after their successful Meet the Firms event. This was Forsythe’s first time helping out with a major recruiting event.
Q: How does SAS connect with the community outside of SDSU?
SAS invites professionals from many firms outside of SDSU to come and give presentations to our members. These presentations range from tips on networking and recruiting, resume help, information on the firm, current trends that affect the world of accounting, and open panels where students are free to ask any questions they please. This is time for SDSU students to connect with these firms and get their names out there for potential job opportunities in the future.
Outside of meetings, in order to fulfill our active membership requirements, members are required to participate in community service and fundraising opportunities as a way to give back. We work closely with different charities and firms that provide community service opportunities so we can then relay them to our members to participate in. San Diego either was always or has become a home to all our members, and we want them to help give back to our home and feel a sense of belonging.
Q: Why should students join SAS?
Our organization provides exclusive opportunities to further their professional persona and network with many of these firms. When a firm wants to recruit at SDSU, they are first referred to us because it is easiest for us to organize a meeting for the firm to meet the students. The officers in the organization have experience networking and a plentiful of knowledge—much of which isn’t taught in class—to relay to newcomers, so this takes off some of the weight of the firms to explain certain things about recruiting. Our presence at SDSU is recognized by all the firms, which helps make SDSU the leader for accounting recruitment in the San Diego area.
Q: How can a student get involved with SAS?
Super easy! With our operations being virtual, all they need to do is visit our website at sas.sdsu.edu and follow the prompts on the message bar to pay for membership. Once they have done so, our home page includes links to both our Monday and Thursday meetings for the semester (they do not change). Also, our website includes all the requirements to become an active member. Should they do so, they can take up a leadership role in the organization and run for an Officer position, which takes place at the end of every semester. These positions are highly sought from firms and they love to see them on a resume. Should students ever have specific questions, all of the officers’ contact information is included on the website, and we are always open to answering questions.
Q & A with the Student Accounting Society President, Andrew Forsythe
Name: Andrew Forsythe
Major (and minor): Accounting major in the BMACC program, which enables students to graduate with a Bachelor's and Master's degree.
Q: As a student leader involved with an organization at SDSU, can you share why you got involved and what your experience has been like so far?
I got involved because I wanted a place to belong. Back in my freshman year of college, I felt out of touch with SDSU and that I could never find a group of people to vibe with. After my second semester of freshman year, I got introduced to SAS from my old Accounting 201 Graduate Assistant and I decided to give it a shot. After hearing all of the opportunities that the club had to offer at the beginning of my sophomore year as an active member, I ran for a position to have a nice leadership position to put on my resume. What started as a way to advance myself professionally turned into a goal of mine to give back to and help SDSU students. I ended up being a director for the Executive Vice President my first semester in Fall 2018, then went on to become the VP of Membership in Spring 2019. Since then, I have held positions as VP of Professional Development, Executive Vice President, and President during my Fall 2019, Spring 2020, and Fall 2020 semesters, respectively. I have loved every second of my time with the organization and have made so many more friends than I ever expected to make. My time with SAS will remain my favorite from SDSU and I will never forget the connections that I made.
Q: What experience with your organization has been the most impactful?
Forsythe and the rest of the 2019 board went rock climbing for their Officer Retreat.
My time as President has been most impactful. Our organization has never conducted operations virtually, and nor have we ever planned a big virtual event like Meet the Firms. On top of this, we had a couple of internal changes to make to SAS, one of which was finding a new faculty advisor to help us continue operations and apply for our RSO. However, we managed to make this semester one of the most successful semesters to date and I am proud of what our board members were able to accomplish. We kept operations going and managed to make positive changes to the organization that will continue to stay implemented even after the pandemic is gone.
Q: What has been your favorite SDSU memory so far?
At this point, with classes and operations being virtual, my favorite SDSU memories were just simply being on campus and seeing everyone. I felt acquainted with enough people to the point where I would see them all the time on campus and the simple gestures of just waving hello I look back on and miss. Next semester will be my last semester before the real world, and the memories of my day-to-day routines on campus will be some of my most favorite.
Q: If you could go back to your freshman year, what advice would you give yourself?
I would advise freshman me to be more open-minded. Back then, I was closed off to the thought of ever making any memorable connections with people after seeing what went on in the dorms. This made my first semester at SDSU one of the worst, and I struggled with a lot of negative feelings at the time. If I had the knowledge that I do now, I would have felt much more comfortable with my situation, and probably would’ve made a bunch more memorable memories, as well.
Q: What is the best advice you have received during your time at SDSU?
The best piece of advice I have ever received here is that there is a place for everyone here, and all it takes is one small event to open up your world. For me, all it took was for my Accounting 201 GA to meet with me one-on-one and outline the jobs related to accounting and SAS. After that day, my whole college life turned upside down, and it pulled me from the bad place that I was in. Make the most of every experience you come across because you never know how it can come around to help you in the end.
Q: What career aspirations do you have following your time at SDSU?
After SDSU in September 2021, I will be working full-time at Ernst & Young (EY) in their Assurance practice. In Spring 2019, my first semester as an Officer on the SAS board, I went through the bulk of recruiting and managed to score an internship with them for the Summer of 2020. Upon completing that, I was offered a full-time offer to come back and work in their San Diego office. After that, I plan to follow the advice I was given and will make the most of my time at EY.
Q: Cats or Dogs? Dogs 100%
Q: Instagram or TikTok? Instagram
Q: Morning or Night? Night
Q: Shopping - In store or online? In store
Q: Panchos or Trujillos? Trujillo’s
Q: Favorite show to binge watch? Cyberpunk 2077 (when it comes out)
Q: Hidden Talent? I can wiggle my ears.
*Group photos were taken before March 2020
