Tull graduates have a longstanding history of appointments to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) as postgraduate technical assistant (PTAs).
Tull executive-in-residence Dennis Beresford served as chairman of the FASB from 1987-1997. During his tenure, he created the PTA program, which recruited outstanding accounting graduates each year to work closely with senior FASB staff members.
As Beresford notes, “The program has grown substantially from those efforts in the mid-1990s, including the GASB starting its own program several years later. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the competitive nature of the program. UGA’s success in placing candidates is a testament to the outstanding work previous Bulldogs have done, as well as the excellent credentials of new candidates.”
The FASB originally intended for the “interns” to help with routine or mundane tasks, such as summarizing comment letters from constituents on technical projects. “But this changed over time as we saw how capable these young people were,” says Beresford.
Fortunately for Tull, Beresford shared his experience and expertise with our students. “I began the efforts at UGA to identify and nominate qualified candidates. I’m very proud that others have continued these efforts and now UGA is recognized as probably the most important supplier of talent to the PTA programs.”
And this tradition continues. Two of our current PTAs share their stories below:
Vivian Sisson graduated from Tull’s MAcc program in May 2024. In January, she began her one-year stint as a FASB PTA at their offices in Norwalk, Connecticut. “A family friend of mine worked on the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as an auditor at KPMG,” she says. “Ever since I heard about his role in the implementation process, I wanted to find a way I could have an impact on the accounting field like he did.”
Sisson heard about the FASB PTA Program during MAcc orientation. “It sounded like an amazing opportunity,” she says. “I really enjoyed the accounting research class I took with Sarah Banghart as part of the MAcc program. Reading through the Codification and thinking through how to apply the Codification to complex accounting scenarios was really fun, so I was excited to have an opportunity to work on the development of the guidance that goes into the Codification.”
FASB PTAs have a variety of responsibilities, including researching projects, drafting various internal and external documents such as board memos, exposure drafts and Accounting Standard Updates (ASUs), and responding to technical inquiries.
“What I find really fascinating is seeing how each project goes through the different phases of the standard-setting process,” says Sisson. “For instance, I have a project that is at the beginning of the process. We have done research and are preparing to ask the board to add it to their technical agenda. Other projects I work on are further along in the standard-setting process; for one, our next step is to share outreach feedback with the board in preparation to get permission to draft a final ASU. Another project went through the standard-setting process and it was determined standard-setting was not the best solution for the issue, which is a testament to why the process is in place and the importance of it.”
One of Sisson’s favorite aspects of the assignment is the camaraderie shared among the PTAs. “There are about 16 FASB and 7 GASB PTAs,” says Sisson. “We are all in the same situation where we moved here for this year-long job, so we hang out outside of work and go on trips together, which I think is a really fun and unique dynamic!”
Zach Martin started his GASB PTA assignment in January, right after his December graduation from Tull’s MAcc program. “I first became interested in the PTA program in my senior year, when one of my mentors, Colin Greff, recommended I look into it,” he says. “The ability to participate in the standard-setting process, doing research on some of the issues we discussed in class and helping in outreach to stakeholders within the process stood out to me as a great opportunity.”
Martin researched the FASB and GASB, including talking with Tull graduates who had participated in both. He chose the GASB because of their core mission of establishing standards surrounding state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting. “Their emphasis on accountability given the users of financial statements, in particular citizens and elected officials, which differs from public companies (typically investors), more closely aligned with my experiences at UGA and future career aspirations.”
Martin flew to Norwalk, where he completed a series of interviews over a single day. “That was one of the most rigorous eight-plus hours of my life,” he says. “I learned so much about the program, met with current PTAs and very fortunately was selected for the position.”
Although the work varies, Martin says his typical duties include assisting in writing technical papers to offer alternatives working toward developing standards on particular topics, researching academic and practitioner journals and conversing with stakeholders regarding technical questions and challenges.
A highlight of the assistantship is the opportunity to present to the board, which happens about halfway through a PTA’s tenure. “This requires presentation skills, advance preparation and the ability to summarize information already provided in a formal memorandum in a way that engages the board while also reviewing the key points from a paper,” Martin says. “I am greatly looking forward to the chance to present in the future!”