Dear Friends,
In our last annual report and newsletters, I’ve asked you to reconnect with us and share your stories. Thanks to so many of you who have done just that! I’m happy to share some of those stories with you, along with news of what our amazing students and fantastic faculty have been up to over the last few months.
Please continue to reach out to me or other accountancy faculty and staff to reconnect, tell your stories, and get involved so we can all continue to evangelize about what a great profession accountancy is and how impactful Miami’s program has been in all our lives.
In the meantime, please follow and like our social media accounts—we’re gearing up to use them more, so it’s a great way to stay up to date. We’d also appreciate it if you could opt in to our online newsletters and annual reports, which would save us on mailing costs.
From everyone in the Department of Accountancy, have a wonderful summer!
Love and Honor,
Interim Chair and PwC Professor of Accountancy
Accountancy Alums Share Their Stories
To bring the real world into the classroom, alumni are regularly invited to speak at our introductory accounting courses, ACC 221 (financial accounting) and ACC 222 (managerial accounting). This spring, students had the opportunity to hear from Matt Blyth ‘92, Jack Martello ‘18, Morgan Staten ‘18, T.J. LaMendola ‘92, and Maureen Westrick ‘05, who presented their perspectives from a wide variety of accounting careers. Read more…
Ava Nagy Awarded the 2023 PCAOB Scholarship
Ava Nagy (Class of 2026, MAcc 3+1 combined degree program) has been selected as a PCAOB Scholar for 2023-2024 academic year. The $10,000 scholarship is awarded to students enrolled in selected nominating institutions who demonstrate aptitude and interest in accounting and auditing, as well as high ethical standards.
Read more…
Why Accountancy? Students Interview ACC Professors: What They Learned When Faculty Shared Their Stories
This Spring, students in Introduction to Financial Accounting got to know faculty members a little better and answered the question, “Why Accountancy?” by completing a two-part activity. The course is required for all Farmer School of Business students; 350 students out of 540 participated in this activity. Read more…
Jen Burgas Gives Keynote Address to Our 2023 Master of Accountancy Grads
The Department of Accountancy is pleased to share that 146 bachelor’s degrees and 57 Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degrees were awarded to students this academic year. The MAcc commencement ceremony was held May 14, 2023, at Wilks Theater in Armstrong Student Center. Jen Burgas (‘04), senior vice president and audit director of Fifth Third Bank, gave the keynote address, which emphasized the importance of being a lifelong learner. Read more…
Curriculum Updates
The department continues to develop programs to prepare students for future business challenges. We’re pleased to report that:
- A new Deals Certificate will be offered in the Fall to accountancy and finance majors who have an interest in pursuing careers in transaction advisory services, investment banking or mergers and acquisitions. Two of the faculty members in the program, Michele Frank and Mark Ross, each have over a decade of experience working in deals to bring to the classroom.
- The Climate Accounting and Engineering minor is also now open to enrollees in the Fall. Student interest in this program is very high thanks to Associate Dean Andrew Reffett’s efforts to develop and market the program. A survey has resulted in 84 students expressing interest, and 14 students stated their intent to pursue the minor.
- The Cybersecurity Management for Accountancy Certificate has been approved. This certificate addresses the growing need for cybersecurity knowledge in the accounting discipline.
- Since it was first offered in 2017, enrollment in the Accountancy Minor has grown from 45 to 103 students.
We celebrate with our faculty, staff, and students their recent accomplishments.
Faculty Publications
- How students view the accounting profession, Journal of Accountancy, by William Brink, Tim Eaton, and Dan Heitger, was published on June 1, 2023.
- Bill Moser and Matt Wieland’s paper, “Machine learning and the prediction of changes in profitability” (co-authored with Stewart Jones, The University of Sydney Business School), was accepted by Contemporary Accounting Research, an FT 50 journal.
- The AAA Auditing Section’s Auditing Standards Committee, with Vice-Chair Jon Pyzoha, has published a comment letter to the PCAOB in Current Issues in Auditing: “Comments of the Auditing Standards Committee of the Auditing Section on the PCAOB’s Proposed Auditing Standard – General Responsibilities of the Auditor in Conducting an Audit and Proposed Amendments to PCAOB Standards.”
Professional News
- Jon Grenier was named an Associate Editor at Accounting and the Public Interest, the scholarly journal of the AAA Public Interest Section.
- Amanda Pyzoha received the Miami University Office of the Provost Award for Excellence in Advising.
- Beth Killy was promoted to Senior Clinical Lecturer.
Student News
- Twenty accountancy students were inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma.
- Two accountancy students, Nate Stone and Brian Zapp, were named to the Academic All-MAC.
- Duncan Fox has passed both parts of the CMA exam, making use of the CMA scholarship.
Follow us for more updates!
