The Student Accounting Association held a virtual meeting via Zoom on October 5, 2020, featuring guest speaker Christy Pipes, managing director at Deloitte in their Tampa, Florida, office.
Pipes graduated from IUP in 2001 with a bachelor of science degree in accounting. During her time at IUP, Pipes served as one of the SAA officers. Professor Kim Anderson has served as the SAA faculty advisor since 2001. Pipes recalled that Professor Anderson stressed the importance of networking and, one day, encouraged Pipes to speak with a campus recruiter from Deloitte who was visiting IUP. Pipes said she immediately made a strong connection with the recruiter.
During the summer before her sophomore year, Pipes completed an internship with Disney in Orlando, Florida. As part of her internship, Pipes said she had to dress up as Disney characters. One day, she was posing as Mickey Mouse when she thought she saw the Deloitte campus recruiter she met in Eberly. Pipes said she took pictures with this person and felt very confident it was the Deloitte recruiter. When it came time for her to seek an internship, she reached out to the Deloitte campus recruiter and was offered an interview. It turned out that the person she saw at Disney World was indeed the campus recruiter she had met from Deloitte! Pipes said you truthfully never know how a connection might help you in your career.
During Pipes’ internship, she grew both personally and professionally. At the end of the internship, Pipes was offered a full-time position at Deloitte in their Tampa, Florida, office. As an auditor at Deloitte, Pipes says she worked hard to pass the CPA exam during her early years with the firm. Pipes offered some advice about the CPA exam, saying that students “must take studying very seriously because the exam is very difficult.” Deloitte requires that their employees achieve their CPA certification within five years of working at the firm. Pipes says being a CPA is worth the studying and “is something you will always have.”
Deloitte is one of the Big Four international accounting firms with 111 offices in the United States. Deloitte offers many services for clients, including audit and assurance, risk and financial advisory, consulting, and tax. Deloitte is the only firm out of the Big Four accounting firms that offers consulting for clients. Deloitte’s consulting service “helps address complex challenges in strategy, HR, and technology.” Deloitte’s overall motto is, “You invest in us; we invest in you.”
In addition to providing services for clients, Deloitte also offers many benefits and programs for their employees. One of these benefits is Deloitte University. Deloitte University is located in Westlake, Texas, and is part of a ranch. The university offers seminars which increase team-building skills which help to create better leaders. Deloitte University offers many fun, themed-style rooms; a full food bar; biking; and other activities. It serves a benefit for employees because it broadens their network and helps them become better-rounded.
Pipes spoke about a few things that Deloitte looks for in potential interns and employees. Candidates should have a well-rounded résumé, including participation and leadership positions in student organizations. In addition, competitive candidates should hold a GPA of a 3.2 or higher. Candidates are also expected to have a positive attitude and genuine interest in working for Deloitte. Deloitte is currently accepting applications for both full-time positions, internships, and summer programs for 2021.
The next SAA meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 20, at 5:00 p.m. with guest speakers from KPMG. Each speaker is a recent IUP graduate who majored in accounting, including Alicia Fulmer ’15, Sarah Zbur ’16, and Anthony Maticic ’19.