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Paving New Paths: MPA Alums with Non-Business Backgrounds

October 6, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Some students enter the traditional MPA program with non-business backgrounds looking to make a career pivot. Let’s meet a few of our recent alums who did just that and find out where they are now.

 

Mara EtzMARA ETZ, tMPA ’16
Undergrad: Northeastern University, Criminal Justice
Current Position: Tax Senior Associate, PwC
Location:  Austin, TX

What do you enjoy most about being in tax for your career?
I like the client relationships we have as tax professionals. And specific to state and local tax, I enjoy the challenge of figuring out the differences between the tax laws in each jurisdiction. It keeps things interesting.

What was your favorite class at Texas McCombs?
It’s a tie between Intro to Tax with Professor Holbrook and Mergers & Acquistions with Professor Singer.

 

SSymone GreenYMONE GREEN, tMPA ’16
Undergrad: Columbia University, Italian Cultural Studies
Current Position: Analyst Accountant, Millennium
Location: New York City, NY

Why did you decide to earn your MPA degree?
Even though my undergrad major was Italian Cultural Studies, I was pre-med. I completed the requirements but decided that I no longer wished to attend medical school. At the same time, I was teaching myself some accounting in order to teach it to someone else. I ended up taking a liking to it so I decided to study accounting after I graduated.

What was your favorite class at Texas McCombs?
My favorite class at McCombs was Strategic Control Systems with Jim Albrecht. I enjoyed working on the case studies, and Professor Albrecht was very knowledgeable on the subject of management strategy.

 

Sam HendersonSAM HENDERSON, tMPA ’19
Undergrad: Texas A&M University, Maritime Business
Current Position: Internal Auditor, ExxonMobil
Location: Houston, TX

Tell us more about your job with Exxon.
I am currently an internal auditor within ExxonMobil’s Controller group. While it’s a challenging role, I am being exposed to the entirety of ExxonMobil’s business and interact regularly with senior management. It is a great position to learn about the company and potential future roles.

What was your favorite class at Texas McCombs?
It’s hard to choose a favorite but I would rank the ITAC class pretty high. It combined previously learned theories and applied it to real world business examples.

 

Connect with an MPA Student Ambassador to learn more about life in the MPA program and living in Austin!

A Peek into the Classroom: Tax Research

August 10, 2020 / / 0 Comments

From earning his MPA degree to becoming a Director in PwC’s Financial Markets practice, Chad Clark (MPA ’09) is utilizing his tax expertise both in his professional life and back on campus. Let’s learn about a case he developed for Professor Kristina Zvinakis’ Tax Research course.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE CASE YOU CREATED FOR PROFESSOR ZVINAKIS’ CLASS?
The case was about an investment in a financial product, a zero-coupon bond. It required students to use their research skills to determine the proper tax classification of the investment and the amount of taxable income the investment generated across time. The method for determining taxable income required more than basic arithmetic, so students also had to tap into their Finance 101 memory bank to compute those amounts.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT YOUR TAX RESEARCH COURSE?
We learned about issue spotting, research techniques, how to write a memo, the hierarchy of tax authorities, and so much more. Not only was Tax Research my favorite class in business school, I believe it has been more valuable to me as a professional than any of my other classes. I have been working for ten years and I still use the same techniques for research and writing that I learned from Professor Zvinakis.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STUDY TAX?
I liked the idea that tax planning could impact an organization’s bottom line. I appreciated and enjoyed the compliance aspect of tax, but it was the strategy and planning that drew me in.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LIFE SINCE GRADUATING FROM THE MPA PROGRAM.
I have been working with PwC’s Financial Markets group for the past ten years. I spent the first two in New York City and have been in Austin since then. When I am not working I am out enjoying Austin with my wife Kassie, daughter Quincy, 9, son Theo, 5, and identical twins Archie and Hawthorne, 18 months.

WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND STUDENTS LEARN MORE ABOUT BEFORE ENTERING THE WORKFORCE?
Technology and data analytics have become an integral part of business, so I believe students will benefit by developing skills and knowledge in these areas as a supplement to their area of focus within accounting. This was one of the key themes we discussed while debriefing the case study during class.

Maureen Sweet, MPA alumna

How Sweet It Is: MPA Alumna Spotlight

March 7, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Texas McCombs was fortunate enough to have two Elijah Watt Sells Award winners in 2017: Hyungmin Kim and Maureen Sweet, both MPA Class of 2016 graduates. Let’s learn more about one of our winners, Maureen Sweet.

Maureen Sweet exemplifies what it is to be a top student and accounting professional. She’s hard-working, smart, and an Elijah Watt Sells Award winner. The 2016 Texas McCombs Master in Professional Accounting alumna is one of only 58 Sells Award recipients in 2017.

Maureen grew up in northeast Ohio and completed her undergraduate studies at Fordham University in the Bronx. She received her BA in Spanish Language Literature and minored in Business, and she especially enjoyed her undergraduate accounting courses. After graduating from Fordham, she managed the finances for Stupid Cancer, a nonprofit in New York City that leads the way in advocacy, research, and support for young adults with cancer. Something clicked for her while she was filing Stupid Cancer’s annual statements. She loved how she could use financial statements to gain insights into how a business operates. “It gave me a holistic picture of the company, and I learned how to problem solve,” Maureen said.

Maureen knew she had found her calling. When she began considering graduate accounting programs, Texas McCombs made her short list. Three things came to mind to explain why she chose to attend UT-Austin: the program’s prestige, the city, and her future. “The reputation of the MPA program speaks for itself. And I knew I’d love Austin,” Maureen added. “Plus, the program would help me get all my credits for the CPA exam in a short amount of time.”

While in the MPA program, Maureen grew relationships with the faculty and MPA staff members, as well as other students. She attended four of her classmates’ weddings last year!

Maureen knew she only wanted to take the CPA exam once, so studying was a top priority. A few months after completing the exam, she was contacted by the AICPA and told that she was a recipient of the esteemed Elijah Watt Sells Award. Needless to say, Maureen was beyond ecstatic. “I was extremely excited and honored to receive the Sells Award,” she commented.

In the fall of 2016, Maureen started her new career at Deloitte Tax in San Jose, California. Before she hit her two-year anniversary, Maureen was promoted to Tax Senior. “This is exactly what I wanted. I love consulting with interesting clients.” Additionally, she is taking advantage of the beautiful outdoors in the Golden State.

As for the future, Maureen plans on staying in public accounting and enjoying the opportunity to see a broad range of experiences with her clients. “I’m looking forward to continuing to be in a career that challenges me every day,” Maureen said. And we here at Texas McCombs cannot wait to see how she changes the world.

Texas McCombs’ other Sells Awards winner in 2017, Hyungmin Kim, is a BBA graduate of Seoul National University and earned his MPA in 2016. He is currently employed with The Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan.

 

Read more updates from the Department of Accounting in the fall issue of The Accounting Times.

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