Lunch with the Ladies

The WSOA committee welcomed the newest group of SOA women to our Lunch with the Ladies last week. We invited the Junior Core ladies to join us for a break from studying to eat good food, celebrate completion of the infamous Waren Case, and hear from Jonyce Bullock, a partner at Squire. 

We had a great turnout! The Junior Core women who attended met women in the next levels of the accounting program and asked questions about what to expect for the rest of their time in the SOA. 

Here are some shots of our lovely attendees! 

The event concluded with a few words from Jonyce Bullock. She shared her experiences of entering the work force after her husband was diagnosed with a serious illness. She has since made partner at Squire and is able to support her family while her husband remains home with their children. 

Jonyce expressed gratitude for degree from BYU's accounting program and that it has allowed her to face unexpected challenges that have come up in her life. She was a terrific speaker! We look forward to seeing her at future WSOA events. 

What is the WSOA?

The WSOA's main focus is to “encourage female students to come into the School of Accountancy (“SOA”) and to enhance the experience and address the needs of female students in the WSOA.”

Encourage female students to come into the School of Accountancy – The female population in the BYU SOA is far less than the female population in other accounting programs and in the workforce. In the 2011, 23% of students admitted to the junior core were female (21% in 2010, 23% in 2009, 26% in 2008). According to a 2009 AICPA study, 53% of accounting students were female and females accounted for 55% of graduates that were hired by CPA firms. In order to spread awareness of the accounting program, the WSOA holds a freshman information session, Accounting 200/310 information lunch session, and an awareness campaign throughout campus.

Enhance the experience and address the needs of the female students in the WSOA – The WSOA strives to facilitate the success of current students by providing information about career options tailored to their needs and by connecting current and past students. In both the fall and winter semesters the WSOA hosts a “Women in Accounting” panel for all WSOA students. The panels consist of SOA alumnae pursuing a variety of life paths, including full-time and part-time professional work, as well as homemaking. Panelists share their experience using their accounting degree to achieve both their professional and personal goals. A lunch panel was debuted in 2011 for officers in the Salt Lake Chapter of the American Women’s Society of CPAs (“AWSCPA”) to discuss professional and networking issues with WSOA students interested in working in Utah. In addition, the WSOA encourages mentoring relationships between current female students and SOA alumnae through the SOA alumnae database. SOA alumnae are invited to establish a profile in this database in order to encourage mentoring relationships with our female students. Currently the database contains 269 alumnae profiles.