Baker Newman Noyes Hosts 5th Annual Culture & Career Summit

By Baker Newman Noyes July 10, 2019

Undergraduate Students Experience Living, Working in Public Accounting at 5th Annual BNN Culture & Career Summit

PORTLAND, Maine – Baker Newman Noyes (BNN) held its fifth annual Culture & Career Summit in Portland, Maine on May 20-22, hosting seventeen undergraduate students from eight colleges and universities for three days of professional, social and cultural exposure to living and working for a regional New England public accounting and consulting firm.

The BNN Culture & Career Summit is considered a “pre-internship,” as it provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to demo a career in public accounting as well as business, IT, and healthcare advisory consulting. BNN created the program in 2015 to highlight the advantages of working for a regional accounting firm over larger national firms.

During the program, students engage with tax, audit and consulting professionals at different experience levels to ask questions and develop an understanding of firm structure and scope of services. Students also enjoy Portland’s famous cultural and culinary offerings through social outings with BNN staff and are introduced to the firm’s deep culture of community service by spending a day volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen in Portland.

Jennifer Harnish, Director of Human Resources at BNN, emphasized the effectiveness of experiential learning at helping students decide on a direction early in their undergraduate career.

“Students consistently come away from the Summit with greater confidence in what exactly they want to pursue, whether it’s accounting or a related field,” said Jennifer Harnish, Director of Human Resources at BNN. “For many, even three days of living in Maine and working for a firm like BNN is enough to convince them that there is no better place to build a career.”

“Before coming into this program, I was a little skeptical if I even wanted to be an accountant, and now I don’t want to go anywhere besides BNN after I graduate,” reflected one student in a post-program survey. For another, “this was the first event I have attended that truly got me excited about life after college and what I want to do once I graduate. Before attending the Summit, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be an accountant, and after those three days I do not want to work anywhere besides BNN.”

BNN is proud to be an employer partner with many New England area colleges and universities, including those represented by this year’s attendees: Bentley University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Roger Williams University, University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Southern New Hampshire University, Husson University, and Thomas College.

Applications for the 2020 BNN Culture & Career Summit will be available later this year and are due by December 15, 2019. More information can be found online.

BNN principal Mark Audi (center, blue shirt) chats with colleagues and students at the 5th Annual BNN Culture & Career Summit. (Credit: Matt Beach)

Students volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen in Portland as part of the 5th Annual BNN Culture & Career Summit. (Credit: Matt Beach)

BNN Managing Principal Dayton Benway (standing at left) and BNN Chief Operating Officer Anna Fincke (standing at right) welcome students to the 5th Annual BNN Culture & Career Summit. (Credit: Matt Beach)