Accountancy senior Juliana Finley was selected by the accountancy department’s scholarship committee, led by Professor Jan Eighme, to be the recipient of the Craig Schmidtgesling Excellence in Tax Scholarship from the Tax Executive Institute (TEI). This scholarship honors a long-time member of the tax community and the TEI and is awarded to students who have demonstrated an interest in pursuing a career in tax. The scholarship was presented to Finley at a ceremony held November 18 at Xavier University. She was accompanied by Accountancy Professor Brian Ballou.
Finley first joined the Farmer School of Business as a human capital management and leadership major, having been undecided about her field of study. Her first accounting class (ACC 221, Financial Accounting) convinced her that a career in accountancy was the right path. “Everything just clicked for me. I loved how everything balanced out and the concepts made logical sense. A speaker came into the class and emphasized how there was currently a shortage of accountants. I reasoned that if this is something I enjoyed and was needed, it made for a great career path. I switched my major to accounting the next semester,” she shared.
Accountancy professors Beth Killy (now at Thomas College), who taught her first accounting class, and Bill Moser have been impactful in furthering Finley’s interest in tax accounting. She found Moser’s federal income tax accounting class very interesting and engaging. “It was the first tax material that I was exposed to. It was in his class where I realized how many aspects I liked about tax, including the nuances and specific rules. Professor Moser’s class covered different areas of tax, so I got a lot of insight that helped me conceptually during my internship [at EY].”
Finley is active in several campus organizations, including Women in Business and the accounting fraternity Beta Alpha Psi. She is serving as the vice president of finance for her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. She shared some of her strategies for managing her busy schedule: “I often plan far in advance when or if I will have time for something in the future. I keep track of everything on my notes app as well as my physical planner. I set my priorities early in the week and ensure that those goals are met first. These are principles that I plan to apply to my future career.”
Speaking of the future, Finley has planned an exciting course: studying abroad in London over Miami’s J-term to complete her undergraduate classes, and then graduating with her bachelor’s degree in January. During the spring semester, she will be enrolled in Miami’s Masters of Accountancy program and expects to graduate in May 2025. After taking time off to study and complete the CPA exam, she will be returning to EY’s Chicago office as a full-time staff member.