12 accounting and finance students had the pleasure of attending the IMA Student Extravaganza at the University of Texas in Dallas on Friday, Oct. 5.

The Extravaganza was hosted by the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).

Associate Professor of Accounting Kimberly Webb Ph.D. was one of the faculty members accompanying the students and found the sessions valuable.

“This event provided accounting and finance students a valuable opportunity to participate in a wide range of sessions,” Webb said. “The information will help them jump-start their careers and grow professionally.”

Dr. Webb explained that the sessions changed throughout the day with the morning being more motivational and the afternoon focusing on networking with potential employers.

Professionals were also on sight to review resumes and offer advice for improvements.

Plenty of companies attended the event such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Johnson & Johnson, Raytheon, Siemens, and many more.

Employers encouraged students to increase their knowledge in areas like data analytics as it is impacting the accounting and finance professions. Although artificial intelligence is providing optimization, creativity, trust, and innovation are still irreplaceable.

Senior accounting and computer information systems double major, Shu Chen, gained some insight from the experience that will help her in the future. Chen is still deciding where she is heading in her field, but she knows how she can prepare.

“I didn’t know what information was most relevant to recruiters and how to make myself stand out.” Chen said, “The event helped me get some of those answers.”