MPA Admissions Blog

Insider Information for Prospective Texas McCombs Students

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Dean Mills wins Outstanding Educator Award

Dean Lillian Mills Receives Prestigious Outstanding Accounting Educator Award

May 15, 2023 / / 0 Comments

We are thrilled to announce that Dean Lillian Mills, the esteemed leader of The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, has been honored with the highly coveted 2023 Outstanding Accounting Educator Award from the American Accounting Association. This prestigious recognition underscores her remarkable contributions to the field of accounting and her exceptional dedication to educating future accounting professionals.

The award committee selected Mills after reviewing over 30 nomination letters from her research co-authors, peers at top academic institutions nationwide, former students from around the world, and Texas McCombs colleagues.

Mills is recognized as the most prolific and impactful tax researcher in the accounting academy, according to Steve Kachelmeier, chair of the McCombs Department of Accounting. Mills is known for her enthusiasm and passion for accounting, dedication to her students, and her uncanny ability to make complicated tax-related topics understandable and applicable. Dean Mills is a true trailblazer in the realm of accounting education.

Mills has chaired the department for four years before being named permanent dean of McCombs in 2021, becoming the first woman to hold the position. She has won numerous teaching awards throughout her career and continues to mentor McCombs doctoral candidates. Dean Mills cherishes the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge knowledge creation and sharing alongside her esteemed colleagues, finding constant joy and inspiration in her work.

The accolade includes a monetary prize, a citation, and a unique glass art piece to be presented in August at the association’s annual meeting in Denver, sponsored by the PricewaterhouseCoopers Foundation. Mills’ work with students and faculty members inspires the McCombs community to new heights and has had a lasting impact on generations of tax scholars. Learn more about the award here.

Terri's class

Peek into an MPA Class: Financial Planning for Wealth Management

May 10, 2023 / / 0 Comments

In 2016, Terri Holbrook created a new course in financial wealth management for students interested in investments, tax planning, and all areas of personal wealth management. In class, students learn financial planning strategies, to develop research techniques and methods of analysis in the personal financial planning process.

The course has become incredibly popular, with many students eagerly signing up each year. What makes this course so special? According to Holbrook, it’s all about hands-on learning and real-world experience.

Rather than relying solely on lectures and textbook material, Holbrook’s course is project-driven and case-based. At the beginning of the semester, students are introduced to a simulated four-generation family, and throughout the course, they receive emails from this client requesting assistance with a variety of financial issues, including retirement planning, investment portfolios, tax liabilities, and estate planning. By working through these scenarios, students gain valuable experience in the real-world challenges that personal wealth advisors face every day.

One of the key benefits of this course is its relevance to today’s job market. According to Holbrook, there is a significant shortage of financial advisors and planners, with many current advisors nearing retirement age and looking for younger professionals to take over their client base. Additionally, the baby boomer generation is currently transferring significant amounts of wealth to younger generations who may lack financial knowledge. For students interested in a career in financial planning and advisory, this course can be an excellent opportunity to gain experience and develop skills in a field with significant job opportunities.

The course has lasting personal benefits even for students not interested in a career in financial advising. Learning how to manage personal finances, invest wisely, and plan for retirement are skills that will serve students well throughout their lives.

Terri Holbrook’s course in financial wealth management is an excellent opportunity for students to gain real-world experience and develop valuable skills that will serve them well both personally and professionally. With a focus on hands-on learning and a simulated client scenario, this course provides an excellent foundation for students interested in pursuing a career in financial planning and advisory, as well as those simply looking to improve their personal financial management skills.

Interested in learning more about the MPA Program? Dive deeper into the program here.

Take a peek inside an MPA class

Peek into the Classroom: Financial Statement Analysis

April 13, 2023 / / 0 Comments

As a student in the MPA program, you can take many interesting and challenging classes that will help prepare you for a successful future in accounting. One such class is Financial Statement Analysis taught by Dr. Patrick Badolato. This case-based course is unique in that it moves away from mechanical calculations and towards critical thinking by using an array of financial information to understand past performance and form predictions for the future. It involves interdisciplinary discussions that dig into the “why” behind the data. In class, students holistically use ratios, financial statements, footnotes, and other information to tackle perspectives such as: What business reasons and strategies drive performance?

This class provides a lifetime of value for students in the MPA program and highlights the many ways accounting is valuable in the business world. Learn more about Financial Statement Analysis from Professor Badolato and an MPA student in this video!

Want to learn more about Professor Badolato, the classes he teaches, and why he loves accounting? Watch the video below!

Does this class sound interesting to you? If you are exploring a future in accounting and want to know more about how the MPA program can help you reach your career goals, attend an info session or meet with admissions.

peek inside the classroom

Peek into the Classroom: Corporate Tax

April 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

As a student in the MPA program, you can take many interesting and challenging classes that will help prepare you for a successful future in accounting. One such class is Corporate Tax. A fundamental aspect of all financial transactions is the tax cost of the transaction. Understanding how businesses and individuals are taxed is crucial for accounting professionals. Corporate Tax, focusing on the taxation of C corporations and their shareholders, is taught by Professor Donna Johnston-Blair, an MPA student favorite.

In Corporate Tax, students learn about the life cycle of a corporation from a tax perspective. The class starts with the tax consequences of incorporation. The next step in a C corp’s tax life cycle is the calculation of a corporation’s taxable income (students even practice preparing a corporate tax return). Professor Johnston-Blair also explores various strategies that C corps and their shareholders can employ to minimize their tax burden, including deferring income, accelerating deductions, and taking advantage of tax credits.

In the second part of the course, the focus shifts to the tax consequences of corporate distributions and then, the corporation’s end (aka, liquidation). These transactions create unique tax consequences for a corporate shareholders. Understanding these consequences can set an accounting professional apart from their peers.

While learning the corporate tax rules, students also explore ethical and professional issues that arise for tax professionals related to tax evasion, tax avoidance and tax fraud.

“Donna brings everything I learned in tax together. She’s always available inside and outside the class and provides thorough explanations and constructive advice. She is the most charming and lively professor I can ever ask for! My MPA experience would not be the same without her!”
– Letitia Wu, MPA Student

Corporate Tax provides MPA student with a comprehensive understanding of taxation of C corps. Professor Johnston-Blair encourages class discussion and incorporates real-life examples to help students understand both the complexities and the nuances of C corp taxation.

Taxation of Entities 1 Class

Taxation of Entities 1 Professor Johnston-Blair in action!

Does this class sound interesting to you? If you are exploring a future in accounting and want to know more about how the MPA program can help you reach your career goals, attend an info session or meet with admissions.

Accounting++?

REGISTER: Accounting ++ “?” Webinar

March 16, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This spring, the Texas McCombs MPA Program has been hosting the “Accounting++” series, to introduce students to various careers in which accounting knowledge is valued. At each event, we highlight a career path that benefits from having a master’s degree in accounting (MPA). Our final event is titled Accounting ++ “?”. If you are thinking of choosing a major or applying to the MPA program, register now to hear from accountants with diverse backgrounds working in a variety of areas to get your questions answered.

Event Details:
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
5:30 – 6:30 pm CT

Register Now!

Meet the Panelists!

BillBill Fan
Tax Analyst, SpaceX

SpaceX designs and builds its reusable rockets and spacecraft. Their goal is to reduce space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars. Bill works in their tax function to ensure that SpaceX is both meeting its tax reporting and compliance obligations and operating in a tax-efficient manner.

 

VirginiaVirgina Hoskins
Director, Department of Physics, UT Austin

The Physics Department at UT is an internationally recognized research college and ranks highly in the National Research Council surveys of doctoral programs in the US. Virginia’s work ensures that the Department can meet its current and aspirational goals, by stewarding its financial processes.

 

NikkiNikki Ellis
Tax Manager, Deloitte

Deloitte provides tax compliance and consulting services to public and private companies. Digitization, ESG, and workforce mobility fundamentally affect the taxes companies pay and make this an interesting and challenging area of work. Tax professionals are their client’s strategic advisors. They work to assess their client’s tax obligations accurately and efficiently, ensuring that they are well served and that governments have the resources to meet their operating needs.

 

CedricCedric Kudowor
Senior, Accounting & Reporting Advisory, Deloitte

Deloitte provides audit and assurance services to help organizations ensure that their businesses operate efficiently and profitably, following applicable governing standards. Auditors, by verifying and testing the information in financial and other regulated reporting, enhance the trust placed in the financial markets and, in so doing, help a multi-trillion dollar capital market system function with greater confidence.

 

JohnJohn Strother
Senior Consultant, Modeling Advisory, Deloitte

Deloitte’s valuation and modeling services teams work with clients to better forecast and analyze various data points to better understand risks facing their businesses, to reduce costs, and to accurately price acquisitions and sales. Their clients include public and private companies in industries such as private equity, real estate, manufacturing, and technology.

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 7,000 private companies.

FACULTY PANEL

REGISTER: Meet Texas McCombs MPA Faculty

March 14, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Want to hear from faculty who teach in the Master in Professional Accounting (MPA) program at Texas McCombs? Join us on Wednesday, March 22 from 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. CT as distinguished faculty discuss the program’s curriculum, what you’ll learn in the classes they teach, and how earning an MPA degree from UT Austin will set you up for success in the workforce.

Register Now!

Meet the panelists:

braden

Braden Williams
Associate Professor of Accounting

Braden Williams is an Associate Professor of Accounting in the McCombs School of Business. His research examines the way that firms respond to tax incentives and tax enforcement—frequently in a multijurisdictional setting—and has been published in top accounting journals. He has taught introductory and corporate tax classes to students in the BBA & MPA programs.

 

Lisa Lisa Koonce
Professor of Accounting

Lisa Koonce, Deloitte and Touche Endowed Chair in Accounting, has earned a number of awards and has been consistently elected to the McCombs MBA Program Faculty Honor Roll since 2000. Her research and teaching interests include the judgment and decision making implications of financial reporting. Dr. Koonce’s teaching interests are financial accounting and judgment and decision making in accounting.

 

SaraSara Toynbee
Associate Professor of Accounting

Sara Toynbee’s research examines how recognition, measurement, and disclosure issues in financial accounting influence the usefulness of financial reports. She also has research that examines the determinants and consequences of the matching process in the executive labor market.

 

zachZach Kowaleski
Associate Professor of Accounting

Zach Kowaleski studies the effect of the institutional setting on behavior using the audit and broker-dealer settings. His work has been published in numerous accounting journals. Zach teaches Auditing and Assurance Services. Zach was formerly an Economic Research Fellow at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and worked 4years in PwC’s audit practice.

Meet the MPA ambassadors

Meet the MPA Student Ambassadors

March 13, 2023 / / 0 Comments
Are you interested in the Master in Professional Accounting program at The University of Texas at Austin? Learn about life at Texas McCombs, employment recruiting, and living in Austin first-hand from our MPA student ambassadors! Ambassadors are current students who are available to answer questions about their experiences in the MPA program.

Get to know our student ambassadors:

Joseph
Joseph Hsu
  • Favorite Netflix show: The Crown
  • Go-to Austin food: BBQ
  • Best study spot: Robert B. Rowling Hall
  • Home Country: Taiwan
  • Career Interests: Audit/Assurance Services

Armani

Armani Sampat
  • Favorite Netflix show: Seinfeld
  • Go-to Austin food: Street Tacos
  • Best study spot: Perry-Castañeda Library
  • Home country: India
  • Career Interest: Taxation

Jack

Jack Rollings:
  • Favorite Netflix show: Ozark
  • Go-to Austin food: Granny’s Tacos
  • Best study spot: Merit Coffee
  • Hometown: Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
  • Career Interests: Audit/Assurance Services

Landon

Landon Christensen:
  • Favorite Netflix show: The Office
  • Go-to Austin food: Chuy’s
  • Best study spot: Campus
  • Hometown: Gilbert, Arizona
  • Career Interest: Taxation

Lynn

Lynn Ashby
  • Favorite Netflix show: Last Chance U
  • Go-to Austin food: Cabo Bob’s
  • Best study spot: Study Rooms in Robert B. Rowling Hall
  • Hometown: Houston, Texas
  • Career Interests: Advisory, Forensics

Melissa

Melissa Liang
  • Favorite Netflix show: Sandman
  • Go-to Austin food: Tex-Mex
  • Best study spot: MPA Student Lounge
  • Homecountry: Taiwan
  • Career Interests: Audit or Taxation
What is something that surprised you about the Master in Professional Accounting (MPA) program?

MPA ambassadors share what surprised them about the MPA program!

Keep in mind that our ambassadors are not directly involved in the admissions process and therefore cannot answer admissions-related questions. Visit our admissions web page for details about the admissions process and reach out to the MPA admissions team MPA@mccombs.utexas.edu if you have any questions.

Our ambassadors look forward to hearing from you!

Career outcomes with an MPA from Texas McCombs

A Master in Professional Accounting Degree = More Opportunities

March 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

It can be a challenge to design the best plan for your future. If you’re into numbers and the stories they tell, you may find that the Texas McCombs Master in Professional Accounting (MPA) degree program is a smart choice. Here’s why we think you should take a closer look:

An MPA degree makes you attractive to top organizations.

Accounting is the lifeblood of virtually every company in every industry. Organizations need accountants to track finances, predict future transactions, and evaluate performance. Without highly qualified accountants, businesses have a hard time growing or even surviving. A graduate from the top-ranked Texas McCombs MPA program will be in demand for years to come.

The MPA degree gives you the luxury of choice.

With an MPA degree from Texas McCombs, you’ll have a variety of roles to choose from in areas such as public accounting, industry, consulting, finance and government. Here are some examples of positions your MPA degree could help you secure:

  • Internal Auditor—the employee that’s indispensable to senior leadership and the board of directors. As an internal auditor, you investigate and report, giving leadership key information for important decision-making.
  • Staff Accountant—this role holds more credentials and trains for higher-level tasks than a general accountant. As a staff accountant, you’ll soon advance to more senior positions and management roles.
  • Controller—this powerful management role oversees all accounting employees and processes.
  • Restructuring Consultant—this role points the way when making major business decisions. Restructuring consultants make financial projections and cash forecasts. They also analyze financial data, perform financial reporting, and conduct data mining and research.
  • Tax Consultant—this role helps keep businesses safely legal with tax-related issues, including compliance and regulations, and determining taxes owed.
  • Risk and Financial Advisor—this is another role that informs big decisions. As a risk and financial advisor, you would help organizations reduce or wisely manage their financial risk.

Wondering how well the MPA Class of 2022 is doing?

98% of the MPA Class of 2022 received job offers within three months of graduation!

What’s the next step in planning your future?

This may just be the beginning of your research. If you want to know more about how the MPA program can help you reach your career goals, attend an info session or meet with admissions.

Austin: Ranked Best Labor Market

Austin: Ranked Best U.S. Job Market

March 1, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Austin landed among the top large cities in the Wall Street Journal’s annual job-market rankings for three years running!

The best place for Gen Z to find a job? Austin, Texas! Home of the McCombs School of Business, Austin was ranked as the best labor market in 2021! Considered one of the top cities for entry-level growth, Austin is home to a number of big companies such as Dell, Oracle, Amazon, Google and Tesla. Austin is also considered one of the most vibrant cities. From our live music, to endless outdoor activities and delicious food, Austin is a great place to call home.

Also ranked at #1 in the nation is our accounting program! Accounting is the backbone of a company and is needed in every industry. Accounting is in high demand for most businesses and provides a stable rate of employment. Earn your master’s degree in one of the top-ranked cities in the nation.

If you’re interested and want to learn more, register for one of our info sessions. You will learn more about the program, admissions process, curriculum, and career outcomes, as well as what life is like at McCombs.

Accounting++ Real Estate

Highlights: Accounting++ Real Estate

March 1, 2023 / / 0 Comments

An accounting degree can open doors to exciting and lucrative careers in many industries, including real estate. While accounting may not typically be associated with the real-estate industry, there are several ways in which an accounting degree can be used in this field (as well as many other non-traditional fields).

This spring, the Texas McCombs MPA Program is hosting the “Accounting++” series, to introduce students to various careers in which accounting knowledge is valued. At each event, we highlight a career path that benefits from having a master’s degree in accounting (MPA). Our most recent panel, comprised of McCombs alums and industry experts, focused on accounting careers in real estate. Learn more about them at the end of this blog!

The panelists shared how accounting knowledge has helped them understand the language of business and contributed to their careers. Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • Real estate is not limited to buying and selling single-family homes. It’s a dynamic and ever-growing industry that is based on making decisions with financial implications. An accounting background is exceedingly helpful in this context. In real estate, a main priority is to generate a return for investors, whether from the purchase, sale, or management of large multi-unit properties, commercial property, or land. As a result, a thorough understanding of financial analysis and accounting principles can be invaluable in this industry.
  • Real estate investments require careful and thorough financial analysis and projections to determine the potential return on investment (ROI). An MPA provides the skills and knowledge necessary to perform such analysis and to disseminate this information to interested parties.
  • Real estate investors need to be able to analyze and determine the value of properties/investments. Such valuations are based on location, condition, size, and market trends. An MPA equips you with the skills to analyze and interpret financial data to make informed decisions about real estate investments.
  • Accounting principles are essential in managing the finances of a property, including rent collection, property maintenance, and tax reporting. An MPA provides a strong foundation for good property management.
  • Real estate transactions can be complicated, and tax is a critical aspect of such deals. An MPA will ensure you are well-versed in such regulation. You can use your tax knowledge to assist clients in achieving tax efficiency and maximizing their returns on real estate investments.
Panelists speaking at the Accounting ++ Real Estate

The Accounting ++ Real Estate panel

Having an MPA is an asset in many careers, including the real estate industry. The Texas McCombs MPA program can prepare you for an exciting career in many different industries. The McCombs School of Business is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the United States!

To learn more about how you can apply your accounting knowledge in different fields, register for our next Accounting++ series event Accounting++ ?

To learn more about how the MPA program can help you reach your career goals, attend an info session or meet with admissions.

Our panelists:

LaurenLauren Hiller
Senior Manager, KPMG

KPMG is a professional services firm that operates in 143 countries and territories, and in FY22, collectively employed more than 265,000 partners and people, serving the needs of business, governments, public-sector agencies, not-for-profits and through KPMG firms’ audit and assurance practices, the capital markets.

 

mattMatt Stevenson
Senior Director, Development, Greystar

Greystar is a leading, fully integrated real estate company offering expertise in investment management, development, and management of rental housing properties globally. The company’s business model is unique in its ability to own, operate, and develop multifamily, student, and senior housing across the globe.

 

KristenKristen Maris
VP, Asset Management, Fairfield Residential

Fairfield Residential is a leader in high-end living experiences. They manage 42,700 units nationwide across luxury new construction and renovated apartment homes in urban and suburban infill neighborhoods and tax credit affordable housing properties.

 

PaulPaul Kudirka
Director, Affordable Housing, Fairfield Residential

Fairfield Residential is a leader in high-end living experiences. They manage 42,700 units nationwide across luxury new construction and renovated apartment homes in urban and suburban infill neighborhoods and tax credit affordable housing properties.

 

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