BMCC Student Asmir Nikocevic Among 18 Nationwide Selected for Accounting Program

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) Accounting major Asmir Nikocevic was among 18 community college students nationwide selected to participate in the 2016 Accounting Scholars Development Program (ASDP) held July 24 through July 29 at Howard University in Washington D.C.

The ASDP is jointly funded by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), and the Howard University School of Business, Center for Accounting Education.

The participants, including Nikocevic, came from nine community colleges in four states. They were housed at the Howard University dorm and took their meals together in the school’s cafeteria. Activities included workshops in which they examined tax cases and took part in mock job interviews.

Participants also visited the accounting firm Deloitte, in Washington D.C. “They met with representatives of the company who talked about what it’s like to work there, and what aspiring accountants should be doing now to start their careers, such as making the transition to a four-year institution and attending recruitment events,” says Danielle Williams, Admissions and Recruitment Coordinator at Howard University.

Another visit was to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and historical landmarks such as the Lincoln Memorial.

“D.C. was amazing, I’d never been there before,” says Nikocevic, who was president of the BMCC Accounting Club for a year and has been accepted to the bachelor’s degree program in accounting at Lehman College, CUNY — but he didn’t start out as an accounting major.

“When I first came to BMCC my main focus was being part of the basketball team,” he says. “When that didn’t turn out as I had planned, I changed my focus to accounting. Actually, was more interested in math, then I discovered I was very interested in the compliance and regulation that is part of the accounting profession.”

Sidney Askew, Professor of Accounting at BMCC, also attended the ASDP and took part in panel presentations alongside professors from Howard University, the University of Maryland, Catholic University and American University.

The professors also judged a student competition in which Nikocevic, along with team members from Santa Monica Community College and one from Bronx Community College, took first place.

“The teams were asked to evaluate an accounting case scenario and answer the question, ‘When do you recognize revenue?’” says Professor Askew. “They presented their findings to the panel of judges, and tried to make a convincing argument backing up their point of view regarding at what point a transaction represents revenue.”

Nikocevic says his team might have won “because we broke down some of the definitions better than the other teams.” This is the sixth year BMCC students will attend the ASDP, but there is concern that the funding might not extend to another year, says Professor Askew. “We’re hoping to get additional funding for next year, so more students from BMCC can participate.”