Logan, UT (PRWEB) September 08, 2013 -- A publication widely read within the accounting profession, Public Accounting Report, has ranked the School of Accountancy at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University at 34th in the nation, with its graduate program at 37th.
This is the first year the graduate program has been nationally ranked by the Public Accounting Report. The undergraduate program made the list for the first time in 2012 when the publication ranked it 46th in the country. The rankings are based on a survey of accounting professors across the country.
The Public Accounting Report describes itself as the "leading provider of competitive intelligence for public accounting firms and the profession." It is targeted at accounting firm partners and professionals, opinion leaders and industry observers.
Larry Walther, who heads the School of Accountancy, said he believes a number of things have raised the profile of the School of Accountancy, including the news that:
• Jill Aoki and Anthony Lemon, who graduated with master’s in accounting degrees from USU in 2012, both earned the Elijah Watt Sells Award this year. Of the more than 92,000 graduates who took the CPA examination, only 39 scored high enough on the test to qualify for the award.
• This year Huntsman students and officers of the accounting club, Beta Alpha Psi, traveled to a Deloitte Best Practices contest and took first place in two areas at the regional competition that drew people from across the country. The contest assessed their ability to be innovative and imaginative.
• Three new highly-regarded faculty members joined the School of Accountancy in 2012: Richard Price, from Rice University; Chad Simon, from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Nicole Forsgren-Valasquez, from Pepperdine University.
• Jeffrey Doyle, George S. Eccles Chair in Capital Markets Research, recently returned from a one-year appointment as the faculty research fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). That is the organization that establishes the standards of financial accounting that govern the preparation of financial reports by nongovernmental entities.
• Brian Monsen, who graduated with a master’s in accounting degree in 2010, was named a post graduate technical assistant at FASB and has since returned to teach summer classes at the School of Accountancy.
• Huntsman Professor Nate Stephens and his coauthors were honored with two "Best Paper" awards at the 2012 American Accounting Association meeting.
Walther said that these accomplishments and others, coupled with professors serving in leadership positions in national accounting organizations, have raised the profile of the Huntsman School of Business, and may have helped the school earn this national recognition.
"Creating a positive national reputation is a key part of our strategic plan," Walther said. "It’s very pleasing to see some independent confirmation that we are succeeding in doing just that. When our students and faculty receive national recognition for their work, it opens doors for our graduates and, in the end, that’s a big part of what we are about: becoming career accelerators for our students and alumni."
The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University seeks to inspire and equip students to become innovative, ethical leaders with refined analytical skills that will help them understand and succeed in the global marketplace. The Huntsman School of Business is one of eight colleges at USU, located in northern Utah. More information on the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business may be found on the web at (http://www.huntsman.usu.edu).
Steve Eaton, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, 1-435-797-8640, [email protected]
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