Accounting students secure top positions with standards boards

UGA’s Terry College of Business places five students with the FASB, GASB and IASB
Terry MAcc students

Five Master of Accountancy students from the University of Georgia secured highly competitive positions with three of the organizations that set accounting standards in the United States and abroad.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board determines the accounting rules that public companies must follow in the U.S., and the International Accounting Standards Board does the same for public companies in other parts of the world. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board sets the accounting rules for state and local governments.

“Together, the FASB and GASB only hire about 20 students a year from across the country, so the fact that four of our students were offered positions does set UGA apart from the pack,” said Jeff Lark, a lecturer in the Tull School of Accounting who worked for the IASB. “Most universities are happy to have one student hired, but several times we’ve placed four per year.

“To have a fifth student hired by the IASB is exceptional,” Lark added. “It’s quite rare for a student from an American university to apply, get noticed, and be hired. That is unique.”

The students chosen for the post-graduate positions come from diverse backgrounds but share a common desire to think critically about accounting and the future of the profession.

“We are very proud of these students. They are among the finest in the country, and they represent UGA well,” said Ted Christensen, director of the Tull School of Accounting and the C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry Distinguished Chair of Business. “We have been fortunate over the past 5 years to have placed many students in these types of positions, indicating that UGA has one of the elite accounting programs in the country.”

The five MAcc students will graduate this year and begin their post-graduate technical assistantships with the three standards boards in either July 2020 or January 2021.

Financial Accounting Standards Board (Norwalk, Connecticut):

Emma Mandarino, from Bedminster, New Jersey, will graduate with her MAcc degree in May and begin her year with the FASB in July. While at UGA, she served as captain of the equestrian team for two seasons and was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award in 2019. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2019. She previously served as a business tax services intern at KPMG and as a leadership development intern at Verizon.

Jack Wall, from Rome, Georgia, will graduate with his MAcc degree in December and begin his year with the FASB next January. Wall graduated magna cum laude in accounting and management information systems with an emphasis in data analytics. He previously served as an advisory intern at Frazier & Deeter. He’s also a student entrepreneur, founding his own business, DLCR Enterprises, while he was still in high school.

Governmental Accounting Standards Board (Norwalk, Connecticut):

Justin Boyd, from Cumming, Georgia, will graduate with his MAcc degree in May and begin his year with the GASB in July. He previously served as an assurance intern with EY and went on to participate in EY’s international student internship program. Boyd has served as treasurer for the fledgling nonprofit Breaking the Shackles, which works to raise awareness of and bring an end to human trafficking and modern slavery.

Ryan Summers of Atlanta will graduate with his MAcc degree in December and begin his year with the GASB in January. Summers was chosen for the Deer Run Fellowship Program and earned a Certificate in Personal and Organizational Leadership from the Terry College of Business. He is studying for the CPA exam and will intern with EY this summer.

International Accounting Standards Board (London):

Zach Gorge, from Indianapolis, Indiana, will graduate with his MAcc degree in May and begin a two-year position with the IASB this summer. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University and interned with EY before entering the master’s program at UGA.