 Technology wasn't my first priority just because I was actually quite afraid of technology. For someone that's going to tech role, I know I shouldn't admit to that, but I was actually really afraid of technology, which is why I went into accounting. But it's really important to kind of like face your fears in college. And I expose myself, I'm a self learner, so I expose myself to a lot of different applications like Oracle, ERP, SAP ERP. I take courses in my own time just to explore and understand them because I know I'm going to see it in the future for sure, and almost every company that I've applied to in terms of technology and auditing, and even just finance and accounting roles, they've talked about just the Oracle project, like the Oracle NetSuite. Hello, everyone. Today I'm going to be interviewing Malika Terigapula. She is an accounting student, actually a dual major, accounting and computer science, a very, very interesting combination at West Chester University. She is the lead sector analyst in the West Chester University Investment Club. She was the president of the Accounting Club, and she's the treasurer of the Computer Science Club. And obviously today I'm interviewing her because she was one of the scholarship recipient of the PI CPA Foundation. And I'm going to talk to her as a board member. How was the process of that scholarship? First, how did you learn about the scholarship opportunity? Yeah, so I was actually going through our Business School West Chester Business School Magazine, and I saw that one of my peers won the PI CPA scholarship. So that's when I first knew about the program and I saw, and I went on their website and I saw that a lot of students apply all over from Pennsylvania, even high school students, which I thought was really great that, you know, a foundation like this was turning encourage students from such an early on age. So that's how I went about applying. Also, my professor, Dr. Oehlers, accounting professor, told me about the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation. So I definitely had a lot of people telling me about it. And at this point, it made sense to apply. So that's how I went about it. Yes. Obviously, we both know Dr. Oehlers. It's a great guy. And the reason why they want to get accounting students as early as high school, because we don't have enough accounting students. So this is everyone who's listening. If you want a major that you are, you're going to get a job, you are in demand, accounting is your major. And I'm glad you found that about it in the magazine in the West Chester Business Office. Could you tell us how was the process? Was it we'd say difficult, easy? What would you say? Yeah, I mean, it was, I would say it was fairly easy. It wasn't just an essay, but they did want to know that they're really trying to get to know about you, your background, your financial background, what your plans are. They asked a lot of questions on how you see yourself 10 years from now. That's a lot of questions. It wasn't just one big essay. It was actually five to six short answer responses. And I also had to submit to your recommendation letters, which I was able to get from my accounting professors at West Chester. And I also had to submit my resume. Absolutely. And can you tell us a little bit more about your future plan? Because your background is pretty comprehensive, computer science, you're part of the investment club, you're an accounting student. So what do you want to do down the road? What's your plan? Yeah, so I actually just started off as just an accounting major when I first started college. I was really into investing and finance, as you can tell, I've been an investment club for a long time. Yes. So that's why I started off accounting. When I first started off accounting, I didn't really have the plan to do a CPA. The CPA opportunity kind of came up as I was in college as my professors were mentioning it. But computer science, the whole nother story was something that was encouraged by my family. But I'm so happy that I did it. I don't regret it at all. I do take tons of credits, but I don't regret it all. Technology plays a role in every company. And even to do basic accounting, you need to know how to use those ERP systems like Oracle and SAP. So I definitely don't regret my computer science major at all. And what started off as a minor turned into a double major for computer science. And I actually received an offer from one of the big four recently in their technology assurance audit, which is really a good mix between accounting and also technology. And they were really happy to see that computer science major as well. And I just got a lot of exposure to those applications beforehand. So it's really helpful to talk about them during the interview. Absolutely, Malika. I mean, you're a rare commodity. Accounting are rare commodities. Computer science are rare commodities. To find them in the same person, you're going to provide a lot of value for that future big four. I'm assuming one of the big fours if you go to West Chester University. Absolutely. And hopefully at some point, accounting will be a STEM major and you'll have a double STEM major. And you'll, I mean, obviously, you are part of the future because accounting is having more toward technology. You already have a strong background down the road. You have many options. You can get your CPA, your CISA to improve those credentials. And I'm going to say this, Malika, that I do teach on the West Chester University campus every once in a while. And I know we cross paths every once in a while. I know you work in the IT department, so it's not only virtual. This is more personal where we also, we met in person before at some point. Anything else you'd like to advise accounting students major, for example, in technology, make the case. Why would you encourage them? And what's the difficulty in computer science? Is it the math? What have a background you need to have to succeed, even if you get a minor in IT and cybersecurity or any technology related field? Because that's what students want to hear. Someone like you who's already doing it. So could you tell us a little bit more about that? Sure. So technology wasn't my first priority just because I was actually quite afraid of technology. For someone that's going to tech role, I know I shouldn't admit to that, but I was actually really afraid of technology, which is why I went into accounting. But it's really important to kind of like face your fears in college. And I exposed myself, I'm a self learner, so I expose myself to a lot of different applications like Oracle, ERP, SAP ERP. I take courses in my own time just to explore and understand them because I know I'm going to see it in the future for sure. And almost every company that I've applied to in terms of technology and auditing, and even just finance and accounting roles, they've talked about just the Oracle project, like the Oracle NetSuite. So I think it's really important to familiarize yourself. And having that accounting major really was, had like created a strong foundation for me. And it made learning those technologies on my own a lot easier. So technology is a must ever evolving, ever evolving just it's always changing. Even in my internship last summer, I was a business intelligence intern, and they were implementing new technologies and new softwares always. And I was part of that process where I was testing gateways of certain applications like Power BI and just working with all the tricks, which is a relatively newer software for the company. And it's really important just to get yourself comfortable. It's not about learning how to code or knowing Python. It's about getting familiar and understanding how the backbone of how that software that technology works, which just makes it so much easier in the workplace. Even if you're just an accounting major, you're not doing it on a piece of paper with a pen or pencil. You are doing it on a software and you're going to run into issues. And nowadays companies are spending thousands of millions of dollars. Like a lot of their budget goes to IT, IT support teams. But if they have competent enough accounting majors, they don't have to spend as much money. So you definitely want to have a little bit of that business and IT. And that's definitely a valuable skill from what I see. Absolutely. What you said, Malika, is a great advice. You got to face your fears wherever those fears are. Face that snake and start to deal with it so you can overcome those fears. But also you gave an excellent advice is you can start to learn on your own. Oracle, if you'd like to, or ERP, just to kind of get familiarize yourself with it. Then you might want to get a certification. Take a course here, a course here. It's a self-learner. So it's not like you need, as you said, you need to know programming or C++ or Python to be, to be considered an IT individual. And obviously that's the future. If you want to succeed in accounting, you can go through tax audit, but technology is the front line nowadays. And I'm sure you heard, Malika, that accounting firms are hiring more and more non-accounting majors, especially IT tech majors like data analytics or computer science related IT support functions in your and the right industry. Anything else you would like to share as an advice? I mean, again, if I was hiring, I will definitely, you'll be my first hire Malika based on your background and any firm, I'm pretty sure they would love to have you. You got the great personality, accounting, computer science, you're active on various clubs on campus, leadership skills. So any, any last thing you would like to say to the students who are listening? Anything? Yeah, I think my biggest advice would be one of the reasons I applied to PICPA is because it's not just a foundation where they're giving out scholarships. They connect you to so many resources. There's so many networking opportunities. And in computer science, I didn't really have a lot of those networking opportunities. So I know the value and importance of networking. And I'm so thankful I applied to the PICPM. And yes, the scholarship money was great, which I really needed. But also I constantly am getting those emails from Leslie Brown and Megan Swig on career fairs that the PICPA is holding. And those are extremely helpful. I cannot tell you how important networking is because I being in college during COVID and also not having that strong networking backbone opportunities in computer science. My other major made me realize how important it is because I was able to receive that in accounting. So yeah, it's not just about the money. It's also about the networking opportunities and the support system. Absolutely. The link, it's going to be in the description and you'll start to receive those emails from Leslie and Megan from the PICPA. Malika, you guys heard it from Malika. Thank you so much for your time. And I'm pretty sure I will see you on campus at some point. Stay safe and see you in person hopefully soon.