A team of CSU students placed second in the "Out of the Box" category at the Beta Alpha Psi Regional Best Practices Competition for their work with United Way of Greater Cleveland.

United Way of Greater Cleveland provides funding to 140 non-profit organizations and 450,000 children and adults in Greater Cleveland each year. CSU’s Delta Psi chapter of Beta Alpha Psi has offered free reviews of the audited financial statements of organizations supported by the United Way for the past three years. This service helps United Way to understand the financial health of their beneficiary organizations and determine funding levels.

Delta Psi has saved the United Way approximately $100,000 in audit-related fees while providing students with the opportunity to build practical experience by applying what they have learned in the classroom.

Beta Alpha Psi is an honorary organization that encourages and recognizes scholastic and professional excellence in the fields of accounting, finance and information systems. Each year the Best Practices Competition is held to encourage students to develop and execute innovative programs that promote ethical, social and public responsibility. Beta Alpha Psi has 296 chapters in the U.S. and 50 in the Midwest region.

Besa Kafwimbi, Yelena Zinina and Richard Lipnick of CSU’s Delta Psi presented their experiences with United Way at the 2012 Beta Alpha Psi Midwest Regional Meeting in Chicago. It was the first time CSU participated in the competition.