Accounting Newsletter Spring 2023

2022-2023 Graduation Update

For the 2022-2023 academic year, 187 accounting majors graduated with bachelor of business administration (BBA) degrees. Most graduates have already accepted positions with employers or will continue their education in a graduate program.

In the residential Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program, 59 students received degrees during the 2022-2023 academic year. In the online MAcc program, 46 students graduated during the 2022-2023 academic year.

McLaughlin Prize for Research in Accounting and Ethics Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Glen McLaughlin Prize for Research in Accounting and Ethics, hosted by Price College, celebrated its 25^th anniversary in March. Glen McLaughlin believed that accounting research should consider, when appropriate, the ethical implications of accounting and accounting numbers. This belief, along with the guidance of Professor Fran Ayres, led him to endow the McLaughlin Prize.

To commemorate the 25^th anniversary of the award, two papers were selected as winners of the 2022-23 McLaughlin Prize that were honored at the annual McLaughlin Research Conference on campus. In the selected paper “Out of site, out of mind? The role of government-appointed corporate monitor” by Lindsey Gallo (Univ.of Michigan), Kendall Lynch (Univ. of Michigan) and Rimmy Tomy (Univ. of Chicago), the authors document factors that determine the appointment of an external Corporate Monitor as well as benefits that accompany this monitoring, such as fewer corporate violations. In the selected paper “Supervisor influence on employee misconduct” by Zachary Kowaleski (Univ.of Texas, Austin), Andrew Sutherland (MIT) and Felix Vetter (Univ. of Mannheim), the authors use individual supervisor fixed effects to demonstrate that corporate supervisors retain substantial influence over the misconduct of their subordinates. Each of the winning papers received $10,000 for their contribution to our understanding of ethical issues in accounting. In addition to paper presentations, the anniversary conference featured a discussion on ESG and ethics led by Shiva Rajgopal (Columbia Univ.).

Photo taken at McLaughlin Research Conference on March 24, 2023. Pictured from left to right is Rimmy Tomy of the University of Chicago, Dean Corey Phelps and Andrew Sutherland of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lori and Joe Davis Endow Scholarship

Lori Davis (BBA, accounting, 1985; MBA, 1988) and Joe Davis (BBA, geology, 1986) have endowed a new scholarship for BBA/MAcc students. Lori has over 30 years of experience in public accounting and is currently the managing partner at Grant Thornton’s Denver office. When establishing the endowment, Lori noted, “The education I received and connections made through the Price College of Business positioned me to have a very successful career in public accounting. Because of that, I’ve always had the desire and ability to give back in various ways in the past. Now I’m excited and honored to be in a position to endow a scholarship and make a meaningful impact on the future students in the Price College.” We celebrate the career successes of our alumni and appreciate their generous financial support of future generations of students.

Jan Nelson Wins Dean’s Excellence Award

At the annual Price College Faculty & Staff Awards Ceremony, Jan Nelson, managerial associate for the Steed School of Accounting, received the Dean’s Excellence Award for Support Staff. The award recognizes a staff member who consistently makes outstanding contributions to their respective department as well as the college as a whole. The recipient displays characteristics in the performance of their job that meet or exceed the dean’s determination of excellence. We express our sincere appreciation to Jan for her exemplary dedication to SOA and Price College.

Diverse Course Offerings Enrich Graduate Accounting Studies

The MAcc program continues to offer a wide variety of courses that allow students to specialize in tax, audit or data analytics. Pictured here is David Greenwell, SOA board member and retired partner from RSM US LLP, who teaches a course on special topics in tax. This specialized course is part of a portfolio of graduate tax courses that provides interested students with a clear path to a career in the tax profession.

OU Graduate Uses Alteryx Credential to Advance Professional Career

As technology continues to evolve, accountants are finding new ways to use software to increase efficiency. In recent years, Alteryx has emerged as a powerful software product that can streamline tasks such as data collection, processing and analysis. In the OU MAcc program, students in the Accounting Data Analytics course have a unique opportunity to demonstrate these skills by passing the Alteryx Designer Core Certification exam.

Chris McCabe (BBA/MAcc, 2022), an Assurance Associate with RSM US LLP and holder of this Certification, has experienced the benefits of the credential firsthand. McCabe states that the Certification placed him “a step ahead in the workplace and provided an understanding of resources and tools that is typically reserved for IT professionals.” He also credits Alteryx and similar analytical tools for allowing him “to focus more on higher level audit matters and spend less time performing mundane tasks.” As one example, McCabe explains how he uses an Alteryx workflow to assist with journal entry testing—a task that is typically long and tedious but made highly efficient with Alteryx.

Student interest in the Alteryx certification continues to grow, with the number of credentialed students increasing from 4 in the inaugural fall 2021 offering of the course, to 9 in fall 2022 and 20 in spring 2023. In McCabe’s experience, the Accounting Data Analytics course has proven beneficial not only for day-to-day job tasks, but also for the BEC section of the CPA exam (an exam that he recently completed in full!). Congratulations to Chris and all students who are using analytics to advance their careers!

Accounting Students Recognized with Outstanding Honors

Congratulations to Hannah Bermudez, Jamie Dewbre and Cooper Slay, who were named Price College Outstanding Seniors and recognized at the Price College Honors Luncheon in May! Hannah Bermudez was also recognized as an Outstanding Senior at the university’s Campus Awards Program in April, where the following accounting students also received awards:

Becca George (accounting and marketing major) – President’s Award for Outstanding Sophomores

Manuvel Sibichan (accounting and finance major) – President’s Award for Outstanding Sophomores

Courtney Witte (BBA/MAcc student) – Campus Life Award, Letzeiser Honor List

Photo taken at Price College Honors Luncheon on May 5, 2023. Pictured is Cooper Slay, Jamie Dewbre and Hannah Bermudez.

Students Learn from Internal Audit Professionals

In the Internal Audit class, students learn from the real-world perspectives of several accounting professionals. Pictured here is Eric Wilson, Director of Internal Audit at Gulfport Energy Corporation and SOA Board of Advisors Member, speaking on his career in internal audit and his role on the standards setting committee for the Institute of Internal Auditors. Wilson also played a game with students to illustrate how processes can be inefficient and the importance of recommending improvements to management. Other guest speakers include representatives from EY, Continental Resources, MidFirst Bank and the OU Internal Audit Department. We are grateful to Professor Jean Hale for facilitating experiential learning opportunities for our students and wish her the best as she transitions to a new chapter in her career.

Andrew Truong Capitalizes on the Versatility of Accounting

Andrew Truong, BBA/MAcc student and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Legacy Scholar, has accomplished great things during his time at Price College. Truong, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, chose to study accounting for the versatility it offers. Case in point, Truong has benefited from diverse professional experiences, including internships with Gas Development Corporation and Deloitte. When asked what advice he would share with an incoming accounting student, Truong recommends to “ask questions immediately when you don’t understand” and “work to learn—not just to finish a task, and network with professionals continuously.” On campus, Truong is a familiar face in Beta Alpha Psi, Wall Street Sooners, Multicultural Business Program and University College’s Peer Teaching Assistant program. After graduation, he aspires to obtain his CPA and CFA credentials. Truong was awarded a prestigious Legacy Scholarship by the AICPA for 2022-2023.

Accounting Students Participate in International Case Competition

Taylor Smail, BBA/MAcc student and Gracie Silver, accounting and international business student, were part of a four-person student team that earned second place in the 2023 CUIBE International Strategy Case Competition, hosted at Northeastern University. The student team had 36 hours to analyze a case, plan a solution and deliver a professional presentation in front of a judging panel. This is the second consecutive year that Smail and Silver have participated in the competition.

Photo taken at CUIBE case competition on April 1, 2023. Pictured from left to right are student team members Alan Tran, Taylor Smail, Gracie Silver and Jules Fisher.

Christopher Firch Elected Student Body President

Christopher Firch, accounting and management student, was recently elected OU Student Body President. Firch was drawn to accounting as a major after taking the introductory financial accounting class his sophomore year.
 

Watch the video to learn more about Firch’s background and aspirations.

Steed SOA Students Graduate with Perfect GPAs

Congratulations to the following accounting students who graduated during the 2022-2023 academic year with a perfect GPA:                                                  

•Emma Base, from Norman, is pursuing a career in financial consulting in Oklahoma City.

•Hannah Bermudez, from North Las Vegas, Nevada, will return to OU to complete the BBA/MAcc program.

•Jamie Dewbre, from Oklahoma City, will return to OU to complete the BBA/MAcc program.

•Kaylee Jackson, from Rogers, Arkansas, will return to OU to complete the BBA/MAcc program.

•Taylor McKinney, from Noble, will join Union Pacific Railroad as a Financial Analyst.

•Catherine Meenan, from Irving, Texas, will return to OU to complete the BBA/MAcc program.

•Abigail Ring, from Fort Worth, Texas, will return to OU to complete the BBA/MAcc program.

•Cooper Slay, from Plano, Texas, will return to OU to complete the BBA/MAcc program.

PhD Program Update

Ph.D. students Xiaoyan "Sharon" Hu and Deonette Lambert  (both pictured) recently defended their dissertations as the final step in completing the requirements for their Ph.D. degrees. Hu’s dissertation explores the impact of information transparency on the effectiveness of R&D tax credits. She has accepted a faculty position at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. Lambert’s dissertation focuses on creditors’ rights and management forecast decisions. Lambert, who came to OU from Jamaica on a Fulbright scholarship, has accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of Illinois.

Ling Zhang received the Price College Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for the 2022-2023 academic year. The award recognizes one doctoral student in Price College each year for excellence in teaching. Zhang has taught Intermediate Accounting I and is completing her fourth year in the doctoral program.

Several students recently presented their research at conferences. Hongyu “Jack” Wang presented his summer research paper at the BYU Accounting Research Symposium. At the same conference, Yue “Mark” Ma presented research co-authored with SOA faculty member Agnes Cheng. Lucas Swider presented his summer research paper at George Mason University’s Behavioral Tax Symposium. We applaud all students for these accomplishments!  

Beta Alpha Psi Update

Student interest in Beta Alpha Psi continues to grow, with a record 27 successful pledges during the Fall 2022 semester. At the mid-year meeting, the OU Chapter was represented by members Thalia Berry, Brianna Castro and Nike Knight. At the annual “Meet the Firms” night, 13 firms met with students regarding career opportunities in our unique rotational format. Other activities have included professional meetings featuring representatives from Deloitte, EY, FORVIS, Love’s and Whitley Penn; community outreach at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma; and various social events.

Spring 2023 BAP officers include Madison Prince, president; Emily Black, vice-president; Brianna Castro, treasurer; Kayla Nguyen, reporter; Jake Conger, philanthropy chair; and Nike Knight, social chair.

Photo taken at BAP mid-year meeting in Houston, Texas. Pictured from left to right are Thalia Berry, Nike Knight, BAP faculty advisor Ashley Davis and Brianna Castro.

Price College Honors Chris Davis and James Wittenbach with Distinguished Alumni Awards

Two SOA alumni were honored with awards at the annual Price College awards ceremony. Chris Davis (BBA, accounting, 1982) received a Price College Distinguished Alumni Award. Davis spent most of his career at Sysco, where he launched a 34-year career of increasing responsibility and multiple relocations, including president of Sysco’s Oklahoma operations. Davis served on the boards of SOA and Price College and is a founding member of Adams Society. With his father, he established the Davis Family Scholarship for accounting students.

James Wittenbach (DBA, accounting, 1971) was also named a recipient of the Price College Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award. Wittenbach has been a Professor in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Accountancy since 1972. Wittenbach teaches taxation at the graduate and undergraduate levels and has been recognized with numerous teaching awards during his career.

Nick Conetta Receives Silver Medal on CPA Exam

Nick Conetta (BBA, accounting, 2021; MAcc, 2021) was awarded a Silver Medal by the Oklahoma Society of CPAs for achieving the highest score on all four parts of the Uniform CPA Examination in windows 1 and 2 in 2022. Conetta works with Deloitte in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Jack Franken Tops Leaderboard in Excel E-Sports

Fans of Microsoft Excel have long appreciated its usefulness in business and accounting. It was only in recent years that an international community of Excel professionals began competing to solve challenging Excel tasks and cases in virtual competitions known as Excel E-Sports. Enter Jack Franken (BBA/MAcc, 2019), who has quickly risen to the top of the leaderboard. Franken’s journey began in 2022 when he placed 11^th overall (3^rd in the U.S.A.) in the Financial Modeling World Cup. In 2023, Franken has turned his focus to the Microsoft Excel World Championship, in which he placed 15^th, 5^th, and 1^st, respectively, in the first three battles this year. Franken’s performance has qualified him to compete in the final tournament that will take place in October through December later this year. We wish him the best of luck! 

Alumni Recognized by The Journal Record

Anna (Denner) Smith (BBA, accounting, 2016), real estate agent for Cherrywood, was named in The Journal Record’s Achievers Under 40 for 2023. Honorees include young professionals who are working to make Oklahoma a better place. Brittney Wycoff (BBA/MAcc, 2004), Partner at HoganTaylor and SOA Board of Advisors member, was included in The Journal Record’s Power List of Leaders in Workplace Diversity for 2023. This list recognizes those who make a difference in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion in the Oklahoma business community.

Alumni Updates

Below is a selection of recent alumni updates:
 

• Alex Cook (BBA, Accounting, 1993) joins H&R Block as vice president of small business tax and services.

• Mitchell Crow (BBA/MAcc, 2010) starts a new position as vice president and lead controller for Europe and U.K. at Hillwood.

• Rob Deaton (BBA/MAcc, 2012) joins Mach Energy Services as chief financial officer.

• Emily Dillard (BBA, Accounting, 2012) starts a new position as supervisor, financial reporting at Continental Resources.

• Scott Dolina (MAcc, 2005) joins BDO as managing director.

• Cory Dowers (BBA/MAcc, 2010) joins Nextep as chief financial officer.

• Caitlin Esparza (BBA/MAcc, 2011) joins Kemper as director, life and health accounting.

• Sarah Ming (BBA/MAcc, 2014) starts a new position as finance manager, Permian at bpx energy.

• Blake Postelwait (BBA, Accounting, 2008) starts a new position as managing director at CCK Strategies.

• Jacob Tate (BBA, Accounting, 1996) joins Moss Adams as director of transaction advisory services.

• J. Del Walker (BBA, Accounting, 1985; MAcc, 1986) starts a new position as chief growth officer at PKF Texas.
 

See the full list of alumni updates. 

Share your alumni news or updated contact info by emailing pricecollege@ou.edu

Karen Hennes to Participate in National Consortium for Inclusive Learning

Karen Hennes is a part of the OU project team that is joining a national consortium for inclusive learning. OU will receive a six-year $493,065 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for participating in the HHMI Inclusive Excellence 3 Learning Community alongside other universities across the country. Hennes is a 16% co-investigator on the OU portion of the project, which focuses on inclusive teaching and learning practices on campus.

Wayne Thomas Selected for Prestigious Awards

Wayne Thomas, David C. Steed Chair in Accounting and Price College senior associate dean for faculty and research innovation, was selected as a recipient of the American Accounting Association/J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize. The award recognizes an individual who consistently demonstrates the attributes of a superior teacher in accounting. Thomas was selected as one of just three winners and earned the prize in the undergraduate category. According to Thomas, “My love for teaching is the reason I chose to be an accounting professor, and it's this aspect of my profession that I feel makes the biggest difference in the lives of others.” He will receive a solid silver medal along with a significant monetary prize at this year’s AAA annual meeting in August in Denver, Colorado.

Additionally, Thomas is one of five distinguished alumni who were recently inducted into Oklahoma State University’s School of Accounting Wilton T. Anderson Hall of Fame. Thomas was recognized for a career of excellence in research, service and – perhaps most notably – sharing the importance of accounting with thousands of students. Thomas earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees from OSU.

Faculty Share Practical Insights

Kaimee Kellis, Steed School of Accounting lecturer, delivered a presentation to the Oklahoma Bar Association on “Tax Issues During Divorce.” Kellis also shared insights on “The Importance of Financial Accounting” to students in the JCPenney Leadership Program and Jerry Holmes Leadership Program. Jonathan Kern provided a presentation on “The Business of Medicine” to medical school students at the OU Health Sciences Center.

Price College Recognizes SOA Faculty and Ph.D. Student

This spring, SOA faculty and students received the following 2023 Price College awards:

•Professor Joe Dulin received the Purpose of Price Faculty Award

•Professor Devin Williams received the Tamara Pullin Partners in Learning Award

•Ph.D. student Ling Zhang received the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award

Also, Professors Meng Li and Wayne Thomas were recognized by Price College for outstanding research published in the past year.