������ý����

Connecting students to their future professions  is a key focus of the Norm Brodsky College of Business. For the second year in a row, the College and the Central Jersey Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors Central Jersey Chapter hosted a Fraud Boot Camp at ������ý���� on Nov. 12 and 13.

The event allows working professionals to earn up to 16 continuing professional education credits, which are required for certified public accountants and other professionals to maintain their licenses.

“We want involvement and engagement in the professional community," says Dr. Margaret O’Reilly-Allen, the chair of ������ý����’s accounting department. "It enhances the visibility of our programs and is a key part of our AACSB accreditation strategy.”

������ý����'s business and accounting programs, on the graduate and undergraduate level, hold dual accreditation by the AACSB International — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. This distinction is held by less than 2% of programs worldwide.

“The professionals who come are the same people who hire our students for internships and co-ops," says O’Reilly-Allen. "They’re on campus. They’re seeing what we’re all about, and they’re bringing information back to their firms.”

Fraud Boot Camp attendees participated in several sessions, lectures and workshops, which focused on fraud detection and deterrence, risk management, investigation, interviewing and remediation of fraud. This year’s speaker was Paul E. Zikmund, the director of Baker Tilly’s Global Fraud and Forensic Investigations. Zikmund is also an adjunct professor at ������ý����.

Erica Healy, a senior accounting major with a concentration in fraud and forensics, says the connections and networking opportunities she’s made at ������ý���� have helped her prepare for her graduation next spring.

“It was a really good opportunity to get to network and talk with people who are in the field and hear some of their experiences, see what challenges they’re facing and what the different firms are doing to work through those,” she says.