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from left to right: Claire Costello, Tracy Juske, Megan Opiekun, Scott Pepmeyer
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Beta Alpha Psi is Awarded Gold Challenge Winner at Annual Meeting

September 14, 2015

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MACOMB, IL –Western Illinois University's Zeta Beta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) placed third overall, and the chapter was announced as a KPMG Gold Challenge winner at the BAP Annual Meeting Aug. 7.

The Gold Challenge Winner award was given to 11 chapters internationally, and WIU's Zeta Beta chapter has won this award in 2009, 2014 and now 2015.

WIU's BAP chapter competed at the Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, WI, after a win last March in Indianapolis that qualified the team to advance at the BAP Midwest Region Best Practices Competition.

Members who competed at the Annual Meeting include Claire Costello (Camanche, IA), who earned a bachelor's degree in accountancy and supply chain management, senior accountancy major Tracy Juske (McHenry, IL) and senior accountancy major Megan Opiekun (Burlington, IA).

Prior to the Annual Meeting, Costello, Erin Hutchins (Avon, IL), a WIU graduate student who earned a bachelor's degree in accountancy in 2014, Malia Pryor (Macomb), a WIU graduate student who earned a bachelor's degree in accountancy in 2015, and Jennifer Symmonds (Keokuk, IA), who earned a bachelor's degree in accountancy in 2014 and a master's degree in accountancy in 2015, competed in the International Impact category of the Best Practice competition sponsored by Deloitte at the Midwest Region Competition.

Scott Pepmeyer (Galesburg, IL),a graduate student in accountancy, also attended the national meeting and competed in the Project Run With It competition, where BAP members are selected on a competitive basis to use their business skills to assist a not-for-profit agency. Pepmeyer's team assisted the Sojourner Family Peace Center.

To promote BAP members' competitive advantage in the business environment, the WIU chapter organized various activities throughout the year around four main areas: International Accounting and Business, Cultural Awareness, Cultural Interaction, and Cultural Practices.

Beta Alpha Psi is a financial information honorary organization for students and professionals with the primary objective of encouraging or giving recognition to scholastic or professional excellence.

For more information about the competition, visit bap.org/kpmg-gold-challenge-competition.

To view the winning videos, visit bap.org/2015-gold-challenge-winners.

For more information about the Zeta Beta chapter, contact Instructor of Accountancy and WIU Faculty Advisor for Beta Alpha Psi Cheryl Westen at CA-Westen@wiu.edu, or visit wiu.edu/bap.

Posted By: Caitlin Meyers (WIUNews@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing