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Accounting Magazine
JUNE 2022 / ISSUE 4
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR Dr. Oksana Kim
THE ABSTRACT Accounting Magazine
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MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
MESSAGE FROM MACC DIRECTOR
ACCOUNTING & BUSINESS LAW GOLF OUTING
FACULTY NEWS
STUDENT NETWORKING AND RECRUITMENT
STUDENT NEWS
STUDENT ORGANIZATION COB GRADUATION
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Dear Friends We have just completed the second full academic year operating in the realities of the pandemic. We have become very creative at navigating the pandemic challenges and I can now say, we succeeded. The Spring 2022 semester felt more like a “normal” semester whereby students, faculty and staff had significant presence on campus. I want to thank my accounting and business law colleagues, as well as supporting staff, for their outstanding efforts at helping our students with transitioning back on campus, our students for being patient and understanding when changes had to be made at short notice, and the donors and alumni for their unwavering support. We hope the COVID-19 situation to no longer be a major impediment to the education process in the fall, and we look forward to resuming our on-campus activities in full. We invite you to join us for the Meet the Firms event and other initiatives that allow accounting students to explore professional opportunities and become better prepared for real-world experiences. This spring our students have had a significant number of public and private accounting internships with regional and international firms. Several students have been invited to participate in learning experiences with accounting firms this summer including out of state, and others extended their professional contracts with employers into the fall semester. As always, students have noted a remarkable support in the form of on the job trainings and mentoring, for which we thank our partners. A significant number of scholarships were awarded to accounting students in the spring, helping them to navigate financial challenges that became more evident during the pandemic. We keep on supporting and mentoring several student organizations on campus - the Accounting Club, Beta Alpha Psi, and National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). These organizations had a very busy year with full schedules of activities, speakers, and professional presentations. The main challenge of lower than expected student engagement remains, however, and we hope the situation will improve in the fall. The Department has some news to share with you. We have added several accounting faculty members to our team through a nationwide search, and they will share their stories in the Fall edition of the magazine. On the other hand, our notable faculty member and a tax professor, Dr. Paul Brennan, has retired. Paul taught generations of our students and will remain with us as an adjunct faculty member. We are grateful to Paul for his contribution to students’ learning success and for serving as a Department chairperson in the past. For the first time, we started offering a concurrent enrollment of the Financial Accounting course at a high school,
namely, Eden Prairie High School, for which 24 high school students were enrolled in the last spring quarter. We are yet to analyze the challenges and opportunities presented by this partnership. In addition, we received interest from one of the local schools in Mankato to also partner on such a concurrent offering, which would significantly raise interest of high school graduates toward the accounting profession, regional firms, and the MSU accounting program. This is especially important given the nationwide decline in enrollment in accounting programs, which also affected us. My colleagues and I wish you a great summer and hope to see you in the fall. Kind regards, Oksana Kim, Ph.D., FCCA Chair, Department of Accounting & Business Law The Allen Lenzmeier Accounting Professor of Leadership & Diversity Leadership Team, Midwest section of the American Accounting Association
DATES TO REMEMBER FALL 2022 Fall Semester Begins August 22
FAll 2022 Meet the Firms September 15 For more information visit cob.mnsu.edu/MTF
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MESSAGE FROM FROM THE MACC DIRECTOR AND LENZMEIER PROFESSOR OF EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS Dr. Byron Pike Hello Accounting Alumni and Friends of the Program. It is amazing how quickly each academic year passes. As I reflect upon this year, it is hard not to reach the conclusion that the students and accounting program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, had a very successful year. This success is not without its challenges. Those who are involved in the recruitment and talent acquisition process know that there are simply not enough accounting professionals to fill all the open positions. Exacerbating this problem is the fact that, demographically, there are fewer and fewer high school graduates each year, ultimately leading to fewer individuals going into accounting. Our program has largely defied the national downward trend in accounting enrollment, and enrollment in our Master of Accounting (MAcc) remains at an all-time high. The success of the MAcc is mainly attributable to the program’s reputation, the success of our graduates, and our network of firms/companies that provide remarkable opportunities to our students. We recognize the profession’s needs and are trying our best to bring more individuals into the accounting profession. One way we are achieving this is through our pre-MAcc pathway (cob.mnsu.edu/pre-macc). The pre-MAcc pathway is a program where individuals with degrees outside of accounting can quickly transition to the accounting profession. The pathway consists of the completion of five upper-level undergraduate accounting classes, followed by obtaining our MAcc degree. Because of our accreditation status, these individuals are then also CPA eligible. This academic year, eight students graduated from the MAcc program who entered through the pre-MAcc pathway. Through greater awareness and branding, we have increased enrollment in the pre-MAcc pathway, where more than 20 individuals are taking pre-MAcc courses in the summer of 2022. We anticipate that this pathway will remain an excellent opportunity to increase enrollment and the number of accounting professionals. Feel free to refer anyone who might be interested in this pathway to me; I always welcome the chance to discuss the incredible opportunities in the accounting discipline. I want to conclude by expressing our gratitude for the Minnesota State Mankato accounting alumni and firms/companies that support our program. Our students receive a world-class education because of our fantastic faculty. But, just as important, our students receive incredible support and internship/employment opportunities because of our strong network of partners and alumni. You truly make our program special, which we genuinely appreciate. Please feel free to reach out to me directly (byron.pike@mnsu.edu) if you are looking for help with recruitment, engagement, or wish to provide scholarships to our students. Go Mavs! Byron J. Pike, Ph.D., CPA The Allen Lenzmeier Accounting Professor of External Partnerships Master of Accounting (MAcc) Program Director
Accounting & Business Law Golf Outing Despite the superstitions related to Friday the 13th, our Annual Alumni and Friends Golf Event on Friday, May 13th was anything but unlucky. In fact, in the 11 years of holding the event, it was one of the best weather days to date. The Accounting and Business Law Department hosted approximately 100 alumni, friends, and students at Shoreland Country Club in St. Peter, MN. This is a premier event where students participate and network with employers, alumni, and faculty. The event is a fun, low pressure golf scramble that is always a nice way to conclude the end of the academic year. This event usually leads to new friendships, expanded professional networks, and many internship/employment opportunities for our students. Nearly every firm/company that recruits our accounting students was represented at the event. We are extremely grateful for Pictured from left to right: Caleb Sand, Alex Hoehn, all the firms’/companies’ continued support and participation. More Emma Wolff, and Brock Thaemlitz importantly, we appreciate all the students who stepped outside their comfort zone and participated in the event. The winning team consisted of Emma Wolff (student), Caleb Sand (Student), Brock Thaemlitz (Eide Bailly representative), and Alex Hoehn (Eide Bailly representative), shooting a score of 9 under par. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
A special thank you to the premier sponsors of our golf event:
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FACULTY & STAFF NEWS
Retiring Faculty Leader: Dr. Paul Brennan
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I think my years of interactions with students humanized me and made me less of a curmudgeon than I would have been without them.”
After an outstanding 20-year career at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Dr. Paul Brennan is retiring. As he approached retirement at the end of the spring 2022 semester, we sat down with Dr. Brennan to discuss his most memorable moments and the advice he has for students. What are you most looking forward to in retirement? Probably the relief of having fewer unfinished tasks with deadlines hanging over my head; that and the opportunity to do a little more pleasure reading. What is one piece of advice you would give to new students? It’s not easy being a student! You must balance a lot of things and survive within an environment of some economic deprivation. Don’t forget that the academics are your primary mission. You’re not just learning foundational concepts and information for your future career; you’re also developing your thinking and learning capabilities. You don’t have to achieve the highest grade point average, 6 / COLLEGE OF BUSINESS THE ABSTRACT
but you may have lasting regrets if you perform well below the level you could achieve. Having said that, don’t ignore the social aspects of college life. You will never again have the experience of being surrounded by so many peers of similar age and some of the friendships formed in these years may last a very long time. What are your most memorable interactions with students? Interacting with students is the best part of this job! Most of my student interactions have been positive, many have been fun, some have been funny, some have been poignant, and others have been compelling. Relatively few have been bad. Watching students develop knowledge, skills, and intellectual confidence has made me very happy. I would also say that I found satisfaction in taking complex topics and procedures and trying to streamline and simplify them (although the degree of simplification I achieved undoubtedly is in the eye of the beholder!).
Why is studying accounting/taxes important? Well, the most obvious reason is that this discipline leads to favorable and respected career opportunities, but the benefits don’t end there. Studying this field for an extended period of time improves precision in thinking and speaking. Of course, accounting often is called “the language of business” so the terms, classifications, and mechanics learned from studying the discipline provide an underlying foundation for understanding business results. What is your favorite class to teach and why? Probably Business Taxation. It’s drier than Individual Taxation but it’s more systematic, analytical, and less cluttered. I haven’t been teaching Partnership Taxation (a Master of Accounting course) for a long time, but I enjoy that subject because of its peculiar terms and procedures. Many years ago, I taught statistics frequently. I enjoyed teaching that subject because it allowed for more creativity and personalization (for both the teacher and the student) when it came to choosing data to analyze and to interpreting the results. What has it meant to be a part of the COB and Accounting Department? It’s been an honor and a privilege to be member of this department for the past twenty years.
What Faculty and Students Had to Say “Paul is a fantastic colleague. I always enjoyed “Dr. Brennan is very invested in his students’ running into him in the hallways. Regardless of learning. He teaches in a unique way that I haven’t how my day was going, it was always better after had in any other classes, but I would certainly running into Paul. He always had a story to spark argue that I learned more in his class than any my interest and put everything into perspective. other.” —Student We always knew when Paul was teaching, as he could be heard four hallways away, even when his “I will always remember the boisterous manner in classroom door was shut. His teaching voice just so which Dr. Brennan would loudly insist you could happens to be a typical yelling voice. I appreciate succeed. I also enjoyed the colorful anecdotes he Paul’s east coast direct style, which was always used to teach tax. Dr. Brennan always managed paired with giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. to turn his lectures about tax law into interesting Paul is more than a colleague; he is a friend. He conversations. He seems like he would be a fun will be missed.” —Accounting Faculty person to grab a beer with and listen to their stories.” —Student “Paul has an easy laugh and great stories. He was patient and helpful, practical, and supportive of my “I asked Dr. Brennan for a point back on everyone’s efforts.” —Accounting Faculty quiz because of a mistake in the textbook. Honestly, I was prepared for a rejection accompanied by “Paul is a brilliant colleague, friend, and mentor. a lame or unfair reason and perhaps a heated He is extremely knowledgeable and kind-hearted, rebuttal. Instead, Dr. Brennan gave me praise for bringing levity to any situation. I am grateful that the way I argued and granted us that singular point. Paul will continue to contribute to our Master Even though it was only one point, the action was of Accounting (MAcc) program as an adjunct worth more. I realized and believe, in heart, Dr. professor.” —Accounting Faculty Brennan intends the best for us.” —Student
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STUDENT NETWORKING AND RECRUITMENT
Virtual Recruiting The Accounting and Business Law Department is always looking for new and innovative ways to keep our students engaged, and more importantly, participating in networking events that lead to internship and employment opportunities. This academic year, we held two virtual accounting recruiting events via Zoom. These events allowed firms to provide students with an overview of their company and then allowed students to network and learn more in personalized breakout rooms. Both employers and students found these sessions to be extremely productive and valuable. As a result, we plan to continue to host virtual accounting recruiting events going forward, allowing for another touchpoint for employers and students. We would like to offer a special thank you to the firms/ companies that participated in the virtual events during the 2021/22 academic year:
Abdo Barton, Walter, & Krier, P.C. BDO US LLP Boulay Boyum & Barenscheer PLLP
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Clifton Larson Allen Deloitte Eide Bailly Grant Thornton KPMG
Redpath & Company RSM US LLP Smith Schafer & Associates Taylor Corporation
STUDENT NEWS
Introducing the new GA’s Every year the Accounting and Business Law Department hires three to four graduate assistants (GAs) from the Master of Accounting (MAcc) Program. The GAs help by providing tutoring to students enrolled in undergraduate accounting courses, teaching an accounting cycles course, promoting the undergraduate and MAcc programs, and assisting with many special projects. We are pleased to introduce the GAs for the next academic year. Madysen Pearson Madysen’s hometown is Mankato, MN and she graduated from Minnesota State Mankato with an undergraduate degree in accounting. Outside of school and work, she likes to be outside hiking, camping, and kayaking! Madysen chose accounting because she has always loved working with numbers and all the opportunities accounting has to offer.
Kaitlyn Schroeder Kaitlyn is from Appleton, Wisconsin and graduated in the spring of 2022 with her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato. In the summer, Kaitlyn enjoys going hiking and hammocking with her friends, but during the rest of the year she is participating as a member of the University’s Women’s Track and Field team. She chose accounting because she gets to understand all aspects of business, and she loves the career paths it has provided her. She is excited to continue her education in the Master of Accounting program and learn what else accounting can offer.
Gracie Peterson Gracie was born and raised in Delano, MN. She is completing her undergraduate degree in accounting at Minnesota State University, Mankato in the summer of 2022. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball & tennis, traveling, boating in the summertime, and shopping. She chose the field of accounting because of the countless job opportunities and flexibility that the field offers. She believes that the Master of Accounting program will help her successfully pass the CPA exam.
Kevin Perez Kevin was born in Brooklyn, NY. He moved to Shakopee MN, where he graduated from Shakopee High School. Kevin graduated in the spring of 2022 with his undergraduate degree in accounting from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He is excited to start the MAcc program this summer. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys working out, hiking, traveling, listening to music, playing sports (volleyball, basketball, etc.), and just being around friends.
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STUDENT NEWS
Accounting Student Interns Spotlight It is no secret that an internship is very beneficial for the future career options for students. It is also an opportunity for students to commit to professionalism, self-improvement, and excellence. We asked a few students who completed an internship in the spring of 2022 to share their experience and skills developed during their first busy season.
Amy Martin CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) What is the most valuable experience you gained during your internship? The hands-on experience acquired by being part of the day-to-day activities strengthened my understanding of the concepts learned in the classroom. It also opened the door for future employment opportunities. In your opinion, what is the key to success during the internship? Asking for feedback on your performance throughout the internship and being willing to accept constructive feedback in order to improve are key to a successful experience. What advice would you give an accounting student looking for an internship and before they start an internship? Apply and interview for several internships. When interviewing, ask questions about the organization, their culture, and what experiences they can offer you. This provides you with choices and helps you pick an internship that best fits you. Plus, it helps build your interviewing skills! Jadyn Anderson Eide Bailly LLP – Mankato Office What is the most valuable experience you gained during your internship? Working and learning from professional CPAs has increased my knowledge and understanding of accounting. Solving real world problems and collaborating with other accountants to
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solve them has been a very rewarding experience. On the job learning has been the most beneficial experience from my internship that I will continue to use throughout my professional career. In your opinion, what is the key to success during the internship? Always ask questions and try to learn something new with every project. You won’t be expected to know everything, just to be able to continue learning throughout your career. What advice would you give an accounting student looking for an internship and before they start an internship? Interview with more than one firm and find a culture you can thrive in. Always be ready to learn and don’t be nervous for your first day! Majority of accountants have had an internship and remember being in the same position as you. Just be yourself! Zander Boettcher Abdo – Mankato Office What is the most valuable experience you gained during your internship? The most valuable experience I have gained during my internship is getting to sit down and work through the financial statements from real businesses for real people. I’ve found that through my classroom studies it can occasionally be difficult to retain and apply information from a textbook, because it doesn’t feel as purposeful and can make it difficult to see the big picture. Conversely, working through real business returns has helped me to make the connections between topics and shown me the bigger picture.
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In your opinion, what is the key to success during the internship? I’ve found that the key to my success throughout my internship is the relationships I’ve formed with my coworkers, whether it be with the other interns, or the managers and partners. When you connect with those around you, you grow to understand everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, it’s easier to ask questions, and it helps everyone to work more fluidly together to overcome larger challenges. What advice would you give an accounting student looking for an internship and before they start an internship? The first step is to figure out where you want to be during your internship and then decide on the size of firm you want to be at. Once you decide this, then it comes down to the people at the firm and as everyone says the “culture.” You’ll be performing roughly the same work no matter where you go, so trying to connect with the interviewers is important, and going to firm meet and greet events, or accounting club can really help. After all that, just knowing what you want and being honest about it with the interviewers. Communication is the key to everything.
Senior of the Year Spotlight
MALEIA RYBERG
The Accounting Senior of the Year is awarded to the student that best exhibits the qualities of Academic Performance, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship. It is the highest student award presented by the Accounting and Business Law Department. The Accounting Senior of the Year award is made possible through a gift from Allen and Kathy Lenzmeier. This year, the recipient of the senior of the year award is Maleia Ryberg. Maleia not only excelled in the classroom but also took advantage of many opportunities that are available to students at Minnesota State Mankato. During her time on campus, Maleia was able to help her fellow students as an Accounting and Economics tutor at the Center for Academic Success. Maleia enjoys assisting students, which also
helped her develop her leadership skills. Additionally, she was involved in Accounting Club and enjoys volunteering in her community. She is currently a piano accompanist at two churches, one in her hometown and one in Mankato. Maleia will intern with the Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative this summer and is excited about the opportunities this role will provide her. Maleia is also looking forward to a January of 2023 taxation internship with CLA where she will gain further experience in accounting. She plans to start the Master of Accounting (MAcc) program next spring semester, which will help her broaden her knowledge in accounting and be further prepared to pass the CPA exam. Maleia is exceptionally grateful to Minnesota State University, Mankato, for the opportunities and support she has received throughout her college education.
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CONGRATULATIONS 2022 GRADUATES BACHELOR OF ACCOUNTING Emily Alger Noah J. Arneson Nicole A. Ault Justin R. Cardinal Andrew R. Carroll Logan P. Cluff Makenzie M. Cygan Jacob J. DeWall Jaydon J. Dickey
Rebecca J. Drummer Nathan R. Dupre Seyba Fofana Philip J. Gramer Jacob A. Grisim Tungteeya Y. Hassan Chris J. Infanzon Trey Jacobson Thomas D. Jameson
Cameron M. Johnson Caleb M. Johnson Nicholas G. Johnson Tyler M. Kroll Maggie K. Manning Muhammad Munib Hunter A. Nelson Madison N. Neperman Brittney M. Olson
Brady R. Orsten Peter D. Pendergast Kevin Perez Gracie A. Peterson Hannah A. Rasmussen Zachary S. Rome Abigail L. Schleis Kaitlyn Schroeder Parker R. Spehn
Zarni Ye Tun Naly Vang David J. Watts Brooke K. Wittwer Noah M. Wuellner Connor J. Wurm Yeeshai Yang
Taylor D. Krienke Osee Mulumba Dylan Nelson Audrey A. Nawrocki
Tyler P. Norgord Jacob M. Perry Vickie S. Peterson Anastasia Schultz
Sarah M. Shogren Christian D. Vetter Samantha J. Wilsey
MASTER OF ACCOUNTING Nicholas T. Brown Alissa M. Carlson Forrest Carlson Karisah M. Dzuris
Lacee Fedeler Janelle A. Forrest Anna Hansen Aaron Hocum
Full-time Accounting & Business Law Faculty Wade Davis, J.D. wade.davis@mnsu.edu 507-389-2207
Dr. Oksana Kim oksana.kim@mnsu.edu 507-389-5411
Dr. Kirsten Rosacker kirsten.rosacker@mnsu.edu 507-389-5413
Dr. Abo-El-Yazeed Habib abo-el-yazeed.habib@mnsu.edu 507-389-5408
Vicki Luoma, J.D. vicki.luoma@mnsu.edu 507-389-1916
Dr. Ferdinand Siagian ferdinand.siagian@mnsu.edu 507-389-5407
Dr. Steven Johnson steven.johnson@mnsu.edu 507-389-2760
Dr. Byron Pike byron.pike@mnsu.edu 507-389-6909
Sean Fingland sean.fingland@mnsu.edu 507-389-5388
To learn more about the Accounting & Business Law Faculty or to get in touch go to cob.mnsu.edu/accounting-faculty
An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity University. This document is available in alternative format to individuals with disabilities by calling the College of Business at 507-389-5420 (V), or 711 12800-627-3529 / COLLEGE OF(MRS/TTY). BUSINESS THE ABSTRACT
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