2019 OUTSTANDING ALUMNA
Amy Murphy Is Named Outstanding Alumna Prior to Her Retirement
Amy Murphy holds a plaque commemorating the Endowed Distinguished Professorship that alumni and friends funded in recognition of her accomplishments. Amy Murphy was at a crossroads. The likable Southern girl from North Alabama worked her way up from an entry-level file clerk position to mid-management at Central Bank (now BBVA Compass Bank), but she aspired for more. After applying for a commercial lending position, HR informed her that future promotions would not happen without a four-year degree. Murphy said, “I was 27 years old and didn’t know what to do. I did know for certain that I would not settle for a career without growth or advancement opportunities.” Fate intervened, and this roadblock ultimately steered her toward academic, professional, and personal prosperity. The career hurdle she faced led her to her destiny: a role where she would 8 The SOA Connection Winter 2020
shape graduate accounting programs at Auburn University and touch the lives of countless students. After receiving a BSBA in Accountancy (1988) and a Master of Accountancy (1992) from Auburn University, Murphy was eventually offered the position of director of graduate programs in the School of Accountancy in 1994. Murphy retired on July 1, 2019, after 25 years. To thank her for her innumerable contributions, the SOA recognized her as the 2019 Outstanding Alumna at the annual awards ceremony in April. Murphy is responsible for many of the SOA’s initiatives and programs that make it what it is today—highly awarded and nationally respected. She developed the SOA’s formal internship program in
2000 and later created the “Accounting Roadmap to Success,” the SOA’s undergraduate recruiting and program guidance brochure. Murphy served as Beta Alpha Psi and Financial Leadership Society faculty advisor for a decade and taught Principles of Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I, and Professional Development in Accountancy. In 2005 she pioneered a revision to the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) curriculum, allowing students to sit for the CPA Exam before graduation. This change yielded amazing pass rates and gained national recognition for the program. Murphy also created five online accounting programs over the past 18 years, leading the online MAcc Program to No. 6 by U.S. News & World Report in 2018, and developed
