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Service Learning: Learning by Using Your Skills to Help a Local Organization
Purpose: To encourage chapters to commit to and engage in ongoing service learning
activities during the year. VITA programs are not to be considered for this project.
Required: The Chapter will: (1) identify a small business or non-profit entity in the
community that can use the skills provided by Chapter members; (2) identify the
accounting, finance and/or information systems needs of the organization; (3) develop a
project plan to help the organization meet the identified needs; (4) execute that plan
during the year; (6) measure the success of the plan and execution; and, (5) develop an
executive quality presentation packet and make at least two separate presentations in
addition to the Regional presentation.
A project may involve a multi-year plan of involvement. Where the Chapter’s subsequent
involvement is meaningful in making new contributions to the organization, the project
will be eligible for future Best Practices submissions. A Chapter may also build on a
program from last year’s Best Practices competition; however, the Chapter must indicate
in their abstract and in their presentation how they have grown or enhanced the program
since last year.
Use the Abstract information in the Best Practices Procedures Manual to prepare the
abstract. Follow the presentation guidelines in the Best Practices Procedures in preparing
your presentation plus include photos of your chapter engaged in the project.
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Ethics and Integrity in Business: Identify and/or Promote Ethical Business Practices
Purpose: To promote ethics and integrity in business practice by: (1) recognizing those
individual and organization exemplars that already adhere to high standards of ethics and
integrity in business practice; and, (2) by developing materials that will help other
individuals and organizations emulate the exemplar. At least two options suggest
themselves for this project. Chapters are to create one Best Practice Project, not one per
option.
Option 1-The Ethics Exemplar
Required: Identify an individual or organization in your community that is an exemplar
of ethics and integrity in business practice. Work with that individual or organization to
create a presentation that will: (1) tell a compelling story about how the person or
organization came to be an exemplar; (2) analyze the elements that led to the successful
exemplar behavior; (3) provide a roadmap for how other individuals or organization’s can
take advantage of the exemplar’s success and strengthen themselves or their
organization’s commitment to ethics and integrity in business; (4) develop an executive
quality presentation packet; and, (5) make at least two presentations in addition to the
Regional meeting presentation.
There are numerous local and national organizations giving awards for ethics and
integrity in business. The Chapter may consider partnering with one of these
organizations in identifying the candidate and developing its presentation.
Option 2-The Ethics Failure
Required: Identify an organization that has suffered a breakdown in their ethical
behavior where its management has not behaved with integrity in business practice. Work
with the publicly available information. If any of the principals (perpetrators, whistleblowers, forensic auditors, etc.) are willing to discuss the issues involved, consider
contacting them for interviews. Based on the information gathered: (1) choose a specific
perspective from which to tell the story, e.g. a special committee of the Board of
Director, the external independent accountant, a relevant regulator such as the SEC; (2)
identify the material weaknesses in governance and controls that allowed the breech in
ethical behavior to occur; (3) tell a compelling story about how the failure unfolded and
its consequences for various stakeholders; (4) prepare recommendations for governance
and control remediation of the material weaknesses discovered; (5) develop an executive
quality presentation packet; and, (6) make at two presentations in addition to the Regional
meeting presentation.
Use the Abstract information in the Best Practices Procedures Manual to prepare the
abstract. Follow the presentation guidelines in the Best Practices Procedures in preparing
your presentation plus include photos of your chapter engaged in the project.
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Chapter Sustainability: The Future Success of Your Chapter
Purpose: Development and execution of strategies that promote greater participation in
Chapter and Regional activities by one or more of the following groups: (1) candidate,
student, faculty, alumni and honorary members; and, (2) greater ongoing participation by
representatives from the business community.
Required: Chapters may follow the 2008 – 2009 Best Practices Chapter Sustainability
Best Practice guidance produced in the footnote below.1 Alternatively, the Chapter may
identify a specific area or areas for a targeted change effort where the Chapter judges are
particularly deficient, or where unique opportunities for improvement present themselves.
By example only, a Chapter may be experiencing difficulties in attracting local, regional
and national business participation in their programs. In this case, the Chapter may wish
to: (1) do a thorough self-assessment to determine what Chapter characteristics are or are
not currently attractive to business. Use of an independent facilitator will help assure a
rigorous and complete assessment; (2) develop and executive a program to change the
Chapter based on the assessment; (3) develop and execute a program to, in this example,
attract the business community to participate in the Chapter activities. The Chapter
should consider involving the business community in the self-assessment process itself;
(4) measure the success of the program. Measuring success is critical to this project. The
Chapter must decide for itself what it means to promote “greater participation.” Is it
simply the number of students, alumni or business representatives participating and/or a
combination if the quality of participation and numbers? It is up to the Chapter to create,
justify and collect data on the measures; (5) develop an executive quality presentation
packet and make at least one presentation in addition to the Regional meeting.
Use the Abstract information in the Best Practices Procedures Manual to prepare the
abstract. Follow the presentation guidelines in the Best Practices Procedures in preparing
your presentation plus include photos or a video of your chapter engaged in the project.
Submit an abstract for the Regional Meeting that includes answers to the following questions:
- What strategies has your Chapter developed to recruit and maintain active student members?
- Describe the succession plan your Chapter has created.
- What activities has your Chapter developed to gain and maintain institutional support (address
academic program(s), college, and outside business(s).
- Describe how you use alumni in activities throughout the year.
- Describe how your chapter determines your yearly budget goals and the strategies used to meet
those goals.
- Describe the different types of media used by your Chapter to gain exposure and any opportunities
received as a result of such media exposure.
Presentation: Your presentation should address at least three of the areas included in the abstract. The
abstract must address all six areas. The presentation musts include photos or a video of your chapter
engaged in various chapter activities. Consider including webpage shots, recruiting activities, media
exposure, alumni activities, etc. Focus the presentation on a few of the most successful or unique
aspects of your chapter sustainability plan.
