LSU Business Students Earn Top Spot in International Competition

BATON ROUGE - Thanks to its innovative approach to empowering professional relationships, LSU’s Beta Alpha Psi – Phi Chapter earned first place in the Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Best Practices Competition, sponsored by Deloitte.

The competition is open to more than 300 chapters of the international honor organization for financial information students and professionals. More than 30 chapters were selected to move on from regionals to compete in the final round during BAP’s annual meeting, held July 25-27 in Orlando. This is LSU’s first appearance in the annual contest.

The BAP Phi Chapter was represented in Orlando by Katherine Whatley (BS Accounting ’24 and incoming Master of Accountancy candidate from Shreveport, Louisiana), Hailie Meyer (a senior accounting major from Macomb, Illinois), and Mary Caroline Wilcox (a senior accounting major from Seattle). Preston Gravley (BS Accounting ’24 and an incoming Master of Accountancy candidate from Houston) was part of the group’s regional competition team.   

Chapters are encouraged to design and execute programs promoting awareness and involvement in projects exemplifying values shared by BAP and Deloitte. In the process, students sharpen professional skills, develop resilience and grow confidence.

“We faced numerous obstacles and long nights of preparation, but our determination pushed us to excel,” said Hailie Meyer, who serves as the LSU chapter’s service coordinator. “It was a valuable learning experience that taught us the power of perseverance and showed us we could not just finish the race but soar. This is easy to do with such an incredible chapter to showcase."

In its solution, the LSU team focused on a technology-driven networking blueprint. The robust plan has three central components:

·         A dedicated LinkedIn group to catalyze connections and add value for members.

·         A digital directory that facilitates interactions between members and the group’s top-tier sponsors.

·         A curated, shared calendar informing members of events and engagement opportunities.

The plan has resulted in exponential growth for the chapter and higher satisfaction for sponsoring organizations.

“Winning first place was a proud moment for us; we are honored to elevate the LSU name on an international stage,” said chapter president Katherine Whatley. “I hope other chapters will be inspired to revolutionize their operations by implementing some of these tactics that have worked so well for us.”

The BAP Phi Chapter won $2,250 for wins during the regional and final rounds.

“As faculty advisors, we are proud of the team’s dedication and hard work. It is incredible to see our students shine and excel in such a distinguished competition,” said advisors and Department of Accounting faculty Tracy Morgan and Zhenhua Chen.

The BAP Phi Chapter serves students majoring in accounting, finance, information systems & decision sciences and information systems & analytics. To learn more about the group, visit bapphi.org.