{"id":6283,"date":"2010-01-13T10:28:19","date_gmt":"2010-01-13T14:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/?p=6283"},"modified":"2010-01-13T10:28:19","modified_gmt":"2010-01-13T14:28:19","slug":"think-outside-the-spreadsheet-accounting-majors-investigate-career-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/2010\/01\/think-outside-the-spreadsheet-accounting-majors-investigate-career-options\/","title":{"rendered":"Think outside the spreadsheet: Accounting majors investigate career options."},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many accounting students have their sights set on positions with big accounting firms. That\u2019s certainly an optimal career path. But here\u2019s another: becoming an accountant with a badge, solving financial crimes as a federal agent.<\/p>\n

To learn what that would be like, 21 accounting students were \u201csworn in\u201d in November to participate in \u201cThe Special Agent Experience.\u201d For the second consecutive year, the College of Business Administration\u2019s School of Accounting collaborated with the Miami-based Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation (CI) unit to bring this unique simulation activity to campus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bertha Ross (BACC \u201909), who participated in the event last year when she was an FIU student and is now training as an IRS Special Agent, played the role of a criminal undergoing arrest as part of this year\u2019s activity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Tessie Brunken<\/strong>, the school\u2019s student services assistant director, the students participated in real-world scenarios to get a hands-on feel for forensic accounting.<\/p>\n

Have degree, will pursue tax fraud.<\/em><\/p>\n

Students divided into four groups, with each investigating a different financially based criminal case.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy team was in pursuit of someone who had allegedly falsified tax returns,\u201d said Gustavo Gross <\/strong>(BACC \u201909, BBA \u201904,). \u201cWe were given the lead and followed the case through to conclusion—from research and undercover work to securing a warrant and making an arrest. The IRS CI team provided us with detailed background information. They brought in sophisticated surveillance equipment, handcuffs and bulletproof vests—everything you would expect to be part of a \u2018real\u2019 investigation. It was a fantastic, eye-opening experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
One of the four groups participating in the \u201cSpecial Agent Experience\u201d from left to right Jorge Pena, Gustavo Gross, Jeslin Hernandez, Christopher Houseman, Mina Hosseini (BACC \u201909) and IRS Special Agent Geoff Burnham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why it pays to investigate alternative career paths.<\/em><\/p>\n

Brunken notes that in the current economy, the federal government is one of the few employers to increase hiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis experience gives the students a chance to not only learn about the job but also meet with agents and make valuable contacts,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of our recent graduates has now joined the CI unit full time and is currently in training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gross encourages fellow accounting students to explore new avenues in the accounting field. \u201cGive it a try. You might find something you love.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many accounting students have their sights set on positions with big accounting firms. That\u2019s certainly an optimal career path. But here\u2019s another: becoming an accountant with a badge, solving financial crimes as a federal agent. To learn what that would be like, 21 accounting students were \u201csworn in\u201d in November to participate in \u201cThe Special […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[206,207,237,429,993,1064,1174,1354,2388,2555],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biznews.fiu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}