Beta Alpha Psi

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Beta Alpha Psi
ΒΑΨ
Beta Alpha Psi Seal
Founded February 12, 1919 (1919-02-12) (94 years ago)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Type Professional
Scope International
Colors Crimson and Black
Chapters 279 chartered
Members Unknown collegiate
300,000+ lifetime
Nicknames BAP
Headquarters 220 Leigh Farm Road.
Durham, North Carolina, USA
Homepage http://www.bap.org/

ΒΑΨ (Beta Alpha Psi) is an international honors business fraternity for accounting, finance and information systems students and professionals. It was founded on February 12, 1919 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is currently headquartered in Durham, North Carolina in the United States. The organization has 287 active chapters and over 300,000 members worldwide.[1]

Contents

Mission statement [edit]

"Beta Alpha Psi is a nonprofit international honorary and service organization for accounting, finance, and information systems students at AACSB- or EQUIS-accredited universities. Beta Alpha Psi provides opportunities for development of technical and professional skills to complement university education; participation in community service; and interaction among students, faculty, and professionals."[2]

Objectives [edit]

Beta Alpha Psi's primary objective is to encourage and recognize academic and professional excellence in the financial information field. Beta Alpha Psi promotes the study and practice of accounting, finance and information systems. It also provides opportunities for personal growth, service, and association between members and professionals who practice careers in these fields. The organization strives to encourage a sense of ethical, social, and public responsibility.[1]

History [edit]

On April 17, 1896, the New York legislature established the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation. This designation in business encouraged a greater focus on accounting and commerce knowledge, and Beta Alpha Psi was formed in 1919 to promote the CPA rank on college campuses. Two years after the formation of the organization, all of the existing states adopted CPA regulations.

Beta Alpha Psi's beginnings relate to Hiram Scovill, class of 1908, an accounting professor, during his return to the University of Illinois in 1908. Several new honor societies and professional fraternities that had formed a few years before Scovill's return introduced students to the benefits of professional organizations.

Scovill set out to organize these benefits by first forming an accounting club on the campus. In 1917, Scovill, along with his junior colleague A.C. Littleton, accomplished this. Beta Alpha Psi emerged two years later. The first members were six students from Professor Scovill's CPA Problems course. The organization was founded on the three basic principles of scholarship, practicality, and sociability, and its initial objective was to stimulate cooperation and interest in accounting. One of its main purposes was to encourage and foster service as the basis of the accounting profession and to secure the highest ethical ideals in the practice of accountancy. On this multifaceted base, eleven students were initiated as active members of the organization on February 12, 1919. Professor Scovill was initiated as an honorary member.

In the original constitution for the University of Illinois chapter, the initiation fee was $10 and dues were an additional $2 per semester. Any member who was absent from a function without first being excused was charged 25 cents. Section I, Article IV, of the original constitution stated that any male person who was registered in third-year accounting, who contemplated a continuance in accounting work, and who had a junior class standing as shown by his college records was eligible for membership in the organization.

Nine of the eleven members became CPAs. By 1939, only one of the original eleven members, the first president Russell Morrision, was a practicing CPA. Morrision was actively involved in the American Accounting Association. In 1964, he, along with eight other leading accounting professors, was selected to serve on the "Committee to Prepare a Statement of Basic Accounting Theory," which provided major contributions to American accounting thought. In February 1921, Beta Alpha Psi officially became a national organization after it adopted a national constitution. Less than nine years later, the organization boasted 900 members, and on November 8, 1950, Jeannie Skelton, the first female member of Beta Alpha Psi, was inducted into Miami University (Ohio) chapter.[3]

International Presence [edit]

Beta Alpha Psi continues to grow as new chapters are installed internationally. Outside the United States, local chapters operate at the University of Sydney in Australia and at the Massey University Albany campus and University of Auckland Business School, both in New Zealand.[4]

Organizational structure [edit]

Beta Alpha Psi is governed by a constitution and bylaws. It is managed by the Board of Directors, which consists of thirteen financial information professionals or professors of accounting, finance or information systems, the chair of the International Advisory Forum, and two alumni representatives. The alumni representatives are recent graduates who were active in their Beta Alpha Psi chapters.

The International Advisory Forum consists of prominent professional accountants who are active in public accounting, industry, and government. Members serve three-year terms. The Forum provides the Board of Directors independent, external advice on and assistance in both the routine operations and the special projects of the organization.

The International Chapter is composed of all faculty advisors, student presidents, and past and present members of Beta Alpha Psi. This body holds a meeting every year and provides advice and assistance to the Board of Directors.[1] Local chapters are composed of the students and the faculty members at each university. Students guide each chapter's activities while faculty advisors mentor the chapters and provide a liaison between the members and other faculty.[1] But different local chapters operate in diverse ways. While some chapters are organized as accounting honor societies,[5] others operate as financial information fraternities[6] or general business fraternities.[7]

Admission Requirements [edit]

In order to become a part of Beta Alpha Psi, students must be invited to join by the local chapter at the university they attend, and they are required to meet various requirements. Beta Alpha Psi establishes these requirements as the minimum for eligibility to election as a pledge, though a chapter can set stricter requirements:

  • Declaration of an academic major in accounting, finance, or information systems
  • Annual payment of a membership fee
  • Completion of at least one year of courses at the collegiate level (30 semester hours or equivalent)
  • Maintenance of a GPA of 3.0 (where an A is equal to 4.0)

A separate set of requirements is set for election to membership, including:

  • Declaration of an academic major in accounting, finance, or information systems (or have stated an intention to declare a concentration in accounting, finance, or information systems)
  • Completion of two years of collegiate courses and at least one upper level course beyond the business core (for transfer students, the most recent qualifying course must be at an AACSB- or EQUIS-accredited institution)
  • Maintenance of a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 in upper level courses of their declared major, beyond the business core; and
    • attainment of at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, or
    • achievement of a rank within the top 35% of their university class, or
    • attainment of at least a 3.25 cumulative grade average on the most recently completed 30 semester hours[8]

Notable alumni [edit]

The following alumni have distinguished themselves in business or in service to Beta Alpha Psi.


Notes [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "ΒΑΨ About page". 
  2. ^ "ΒΑΨ Constitution and Bylaws".  Last updated February 25, 2009
  3. ^ a b "New Accountant USA". 
  4. ^ "ΒΑΨ Chapters page". 
  5. ^ "USI ΒΑΨ Information page". 
  6. ^ "Iota Chapter Homepage". 
  7. ^ "Lambda Chapter Homepage". 
  8. ^ "ΒΑΨ Constitution and Bylaws". 
  9. ^ "Arthur E. Andersen's Accounting Hall of Fame Bio". 
  10. ^ "T. Coleman Andrews' Accounting Hall of Fame Bio". 
  11. ^ "Yuji Ijiri's Accounting Hall of Fame Bio". 
  12. ^ "William Andrew Paton's Accounting Hall of Fame Bio". 

External links [edit]

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