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NAASA Membership Drive Generates Increased Numbers and Awareness

By Richmond Young

The National Asian American Society of Accountants (NAASA) held a membership drive on July 19 at the Show Nightclub in midtown Manhattan. Sponsored by Merrill Lynch, the event resulted in more than 100 new members, who come from public practice and industry as well as the state’s college accounting programs.

With the help of more than 30 member volunteers, NAASA drew more than 200 attendees to the event. NAASA President Jeff Chin, Vice President Liren Wei and Fitzgerald Miller, of Merrill Lynch, spoke about the organization’s primary purpose: to give voice to students and professionals of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage who study and work in the accounting profession. They also emphasized one of the organization’s key objectives: professional networking opportunities for the membership.

Following these discussions, Jenny Wei, NAASA vice president of student affairs, discussed the importance of communicating NAASA’s mission to college students. As a newly formed organization, NAASA is encouraging students to get involved in order to develop leadership and interpersonal skills that can give them an edge on their job search. NAASA is in the process of establishing student chapters at St. John’s University, Baruch College and Queens College, with the goal of expanding to other New York schools in the near future.

For more information about the organization, visit www.naasa.org.

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Richmond Young is with the transaction services financial services group at PricewaterhouseCoopers.