Accountancy News 

Almost half of American adults don’t meet recommended weekly physical activity levels, but new BYU research suggests a surprisingly simple way to help increase exercise time: just strap on an activity monitor.

Most 57-year-olds aren’t thinking about heading back to school and taking classes. However, Lyn Ellis, a 1985 accounting graduate of the BYU Marriott School of Business, found herself doing exactly that.

After initially attending Utah Valley University and Southern Utah University as an undergraduate in the early 2000s, Sara Hubbs felt prompted to transfer to BYU. That decision led to a fulfilling career that ultimately included returning to Provo as an assistant dean of finance and HR at BYU Marriott.

The call of free doughnuts can be powerful, and for BYU Marriott School of Business student Emily Holden, this call led to her major at BYU and her eventual career. A Yakima, Washington, native and a lover of the outdoors, languages, service, and yes, doughnuts, Holden is excited to use the accounting abilities she has gained from the School of Accountancy (SOA) to serve not only the business world but also the environment she loves and the underprivileged communities she aspires to empower.

When people think of accounting, an affinity for parties might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, Brooke Bradford, the events and programs coordinator for the School of Accountancy (SOA) at BYU Marriott School of Business, says accountants are all for having a good time. As an employee for the SOA, Bradford organizes events that are not only for enjoyment but also allow connections to be forged between students, faculty, and alumni.

Mornings are when Joseph Appiah shines. As a young boy, he remembers waking up early, pulling on his worn slippers, and making his way to a busy highway between Kisi and Komenda, Ghana, to sell donuts before school. Although Appiah’s current routine is different from the donut-selling days of his childhood, he is grateful for the early mornings of his youth that helped him develop lifelong habits that lead to success.

Nine students at the BYU Marriott School of Business were recently honored as 2022 Bateman Award recipients for their excellence both inside and outside the classroom. The annual award, named for Merrill J. Bateman, allows each undergraduate program at BYU Marriott to select a 2021–22 academic year senior for recognition.

Although Mike Drake was raised in Nevada, he calls BYU home. He spent three years at the BYU Marriott School of Business as a student, where he made lifelong memories, including meeting his wife McKenzie, then returned to the school as a professor out of a desire to feel at home again.

When Carmela Bristain was 15 years old, she graduated from high school, which was normal in her home country of the Philippines. At such a young age, she wasn't sure what to study in college, but her mother, who noticed Bristain's knack for logic-based subjects such as math, suggested she pursue accounting. Bristain followed her mother's advice, which eventually led her to the Cardon International Sponsorship from the Whitmore Global Business Center at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

In a recent study, BYU Marriott professor Tim Seidel and colleagues at other universities found that those who worked at Arthur Andersen during the Enron scandal may be better off for the experience.

Troy K. Lewis, an associate teaching professor in the School of Accountancy at the BYU Marriott School of Business, recently received the 2021 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award in honor of his outstanding work as a certified public accountant (CPA) in the area of taxation.

During the fall 2021 semester, the global supply chain management program at the BYU Marriott School of Business recognized accounting alum Brian Hancock with the Global Supply Chain Excellence Award. Members of the BYU Marriott Global Supply Chain Advisory Board, students, and Hancock’s family gathered at BYU’s Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center to recognize Hancock’s achievements as a successful C-suite executive, leader in supply chain management, and corporate mentor.

Brian Spilker landed his dream job when he accepted an assistant professor position in the School of Accountancy at the BYU Marriott School of Business in 1993. A basketball enthusiast, he likes to joke that "other than playing point guard for the Utah Jazz, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing for a career."

When Patricia Wilson thinks about her hometown in Cali, Colombia, she remembers the fruit: fresh mangoes, ripe bananas pulled directly off the trees, and her favorite—maracujá—also known as passion fruit. While Wilson loved many aspects of Cali, she left in 1993 and moved to Provo to pursue her college education. Two decades later, she returned to BYU as an employee, where she now works as the business manager for the School of Accountancy (SOA) at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

During summer 2021, an estimated 75,000 accounting graduates across the United States took a 16-hour exam to become a licensed certified public accountant (CPA). The CPA exam is a rigorous test, with passing rates ranging from 46 to 60 percent. Two accounting alumni from the BYU Marriott School of Business, Kathrine Jensen and Jared Nielsen, not only passed the CPA exam but aced all four sections and received one of the most prestigious recognitions in accounting: the Elijah Watt Sells Award. 

Gamma Alpha, the BYU Marriott School of Business chapter of Beta Alpha Psi was recently recognized internationally by the Beta Alpha Psi Board of Directors as a Superior Chapter.

The Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business welcomes nine new professors this fall.

As a professor at the School of Accountancy at BYU Marriott, Worsham hopes to instill the same passion he feels for accounting within his own students.

Although Emily Gertsch's career path eventually led her to the medical field, the BYU Marriott alum still applies her accounting skills from the School of Accountancy (SOA) to her current position as a medical director for F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG.

Whether he’s teaching students in a classroom or coaching his players from the sidelines of a volleyball court, BYU Marriott School of Business accounting alum RJ Mattei loves learning and teaching in many forms.