University of North Carolina
Wilmington
Cameron School of Business
Accountancy and Business Law
The ABL Journal
Vol. 18, March 2015
Mark your
calendars
Chairman’s Corner
Business Week
Tuesday/Wednesday,
March 24 & 25, 2015
BAP Induction
Thursday, April 23, 2015
MSA Advisory Board Mtg.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Golf Event
Friday, April 24, 2015
David Mautz
Department Chair
Inside this issue:
MSA Program
Update
2
Spotlight on
Alumna
3
Special Appeal 3
ABL News
4
BAP News
5
Faculty
Update
5
Internship
Update
6
I hope this newsletter finds you
well and looking forward to some
Spring weather. The Department of
Accountancy and Business Law and
UNCW has seen many transitions
this year. In July 2014, Dan
Ivancevich returned to the faculty
after serving for two years as Chair,
and I assumed this role. My
appreciation for Dan’s leadership
(and Randy’s before him) grows
every day as I learn more about the
responsibilities of the job! Dr. Bill
Kerler took over as MSA Director
and is off to a great start. His report
in this newsletter makes clear that
we continue to enjoy great
placement results and attract top
talent to the MSA Program.
Following Dean Larry Clark’s
departure to become the Chancellor
at LSU Shreveport, the Cameron
School has benefited from the
steady leadership of Interim Dean
Rob Burrus. The end of Spring
Semester should bring news of both
a new Chancellor for UNCW and the
next Dean of the Cameron School.
Exciting times indeed!
The Department began 2014-2015
without the services of two faculty
members with a long history of contributions to the Cameron
School of Business. Dr. Howard Rockness, Professor of
Accountancy and former Dean of the Cameron School, retired in
July after 21 years of service to UNCW and a total of 41 years in
the UNC System. Dr. Joanne Rockness, Cameron Professor of
Accountancy since 1993 and founding Director of the Master of
Science in Accountancy Program, also retired in July. Howard and
Joanne played critical roles in establishing graduate programs,
developing international education, encouraging executive
involvement and building relationships in the professional
community. Faculty, friends and alumni gathered at a dinner on
September 11 to thank Howard and Joanne for their friendship
and service.
Howard Rockness has been heard to say that “we are only as
good as our students.” One of our key success stories this year is
MSA graduate Natasha Boswell’s promotion to partner at KPMG.
The KPMG New Partners book includes Natasha’s acknowledgement of Joanne Rockness as a source of career advice. You can
read more about Natasha in this edition of the ABL Journal.
We were fortunate to begin the year with a new faculty hire, Dr.
Gerald DeBusk, a Virginia Tech Ph.D. who comes to UNCW from
the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. Gerald’s primary
interest is managerial accounting, especially Lean Six Sigma and
Lean Accounting. In January, we were joined by Dr. Vicki Hansen
who will team with Dr. Allison Evans to lead our taxation offerings.
Vicki earned her Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina and
comes to Wilmington from the State University of New York at
New Paltz. Gerald and Vicki are also profiled in this edition.
The Department was also fortunate to receive authorization to
hire two new professors this year. Both searches were successful
and we will begin 2015-2016 by welcoming Dr. Tom Downen, will
join us from Southern Illinois University, and Zhan Furner, will join
us after completing her Ph.D. at Texas Tech University. Look for
more information about both in our next newsletter.
We look forward to seeing many of you this month at Business
Week and at our upcoming Beta Alpha Psi Initiation Banquet and
Golf Outing in April. As always, we love to hear alumni news.
Please email me with yours!
Finally, this edition of the newsletter includes a special request
for your support of the Accountancy and Business Law Fund.
Please consider making a gift to support our excellent students,
faculty and programs. You can mail a check or make a gift online
at our web page, http://csb.uncw.edu/acg/
David
Page 2
Bill Kerler — MSA Director
Bill Kerler
MSA Director
As you all know, the MSA Directors
before me, Joanne Rockness, Dan
Ivancevich, Becky Sawyer, and
David Mautz have created a successful MSA program and a powerful
learning experience for our students.
As a result, when I became MSA
Director my goal for the first year
was “not to screw it up.” After six
months on the job I have quickly
realized that our outstanding students
and faculty make my job easy and
make our MSA program one of the
best in the state and beyond! It has
been a hectic, productive, and rewarding fall semester for our MSA
students. Over a three week period in
August and September we had a twoday MSA orientation, a half day of
Careers in Accounting sessions, a
Donor Dinner, four nights of Meet
the Firms, and of course, classes! For
job-seeking MSA students, the semester then got even busier with
mock interviews, on-campus interviews, and office visits. All of the
students performed admirably!
We have a class of 66 students this
year. Entering the program, 22 of our
students (33%) had jobs lined up
through internships. As of today,
through the tremendous support of
our many employer friends and
alumni, 55 students (83%) have fulltime jobs lined up after graduation!
Job-seeking students continue to
have office visits scheduled, so we
continue to move closer to our goal
of full placement. I want to extend a
special thank you to all the employers
who have supported our MSA program
so far this year by hiring our students.
This list includes: BDO, Bryant Real
Estate, Carr Riggs and Ingram, Cherry
Bekaert, Deloitte, Dixon Hughes Goodman, EY, GreerWalker, Johnson Lambert, KPMG, and McGladrey. We all
will continue to work hard to have everyone placed by the MSA Recognition
Ceremony on June 27th 2015. If you
have any opportunities available for our
students, please contact me via email at
[email protected] or by phone at
(910)-962-7632.
Many students have already passed at
least one section of the CPA exam! For
others, our CPA preparations have begun
with our first Becker Fast Pass section
(auditing) in mid-December. Students
then sat for that section in January. We
have revised our Becker Fast Pass schedule so students will sit through classes
for all four sections and will take two
sections before our recognition ceremony in June. They will then take the remaining two sections in July. We are
pushing students to complete the CPA
exam before they start working in the
fall. We thank all of our recruiters and
alumni for stressing to our students the
importance of completing the CPA exam early.
Students have begun their track concentrations with about 25% choosing the
Tax Services track and 75% choosing
the Assurance and Systems Advisory
track. Looking forward to
next year, the admission
deadline for the MSA class
of 2016 is April 1, 2015.
We expect to have a class
size of 65. We are excited
about the students who
have already been accepted
and are looking forward to
having a very strong class
for 2016. The MSA program continues to attract
students from around the
state of North Carolina and
beyond.
We greatly appreciate the efforts
of our alumni, current students,
recruiters, faculty, staff, and
friends of the MSA program who
continue to recommend our program and thus have helped us
recruit outstanding MSA students year after year! Without
your support, it would be impossible to maintain the quality program that we have at UNCW.
For all MSA alumni, if you have
not done so yet, please join our
LinkedIn group (“UNCW
MSA”). We encourage you to
post discussions about current
events in accounting, exciting
projects you are working on (e.g.
community service), or news
about promotions! For all recruiters, if you have positions
(any experience level) you
would like to post on our group’s
page please email the announcement to myself
([email protected]) or Dr.
David Mautz
([email protected]).
Finally, on a personal note, my
wife and I welcomed our third
child, William, in September. He
has been loved enthusiastically
and monitored closely by his two
big sisters and dog (see included
picture)!
Page 3
SPOTLIGHT ON AN MSA ALUMNA
Class of 1999
Natasha Boswell, MSA’99 graduate, was promoted to partner with KPMG. She
specializes in audits of financial institutions in the New York metro area. Natasha’s representative clients include Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo Corp., and
Wachovia Corp.
Natasha began her accounting career with McGladrey and Pullen, LLP in Charlotte. She joined KPMG as a senior accountant in Charlotte in 2001, where she
would work on banking audit engagements for the next 8 years. In the height of
the financial crisis, Natasha was nominated by KPMG to join the U.S. Treasury
Department as a Professional Accounting Fellow working directly for the Chief
Accountant of the national bank regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency (OCC). Natasha and her family relocated to Washington, DC where she
worked on coordinating policy development amongst the accounting standard
boards including the FASB, the SEC, the IASB and other regulatory agencies, including the FDIC, the FRB and the
NCUA. In addition, Natasha coordinated official policy summaries for the G20 Economic Summits, as well as other
official forums where the Comptroller would address accounting policy. Natasha also participated in the development
of international supervisory guidance through the OCC’s representation on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and related working groups in Switzerland. As part of her fellowship, Natasha was responsible for completing a
study for the SEC regarding the impact of a potential incorporation of IFRS on the financial services industry regulatory activities. Upon her return to KPMG, Natasha joined the firm’s national office in New York City where she was responsible for advising KPMG financial services clients and engagement teams on accounting, auditing and regulatory
issues. Natasha is now back “in the field” auditing financial institutions in New York Metro area.
Natasha and her husband Chris (also an MSA ’99 alum ) currently reside in Westchester County, NY with their three
daughters Daria (14), Anna (13) and Katrina (11). The entire Boswell family are huge fans of winter sports and enjoy
skiing somewhere different every year, but their summers are spent in the most wonderful beach town in the country - Wilmington, NC.
A Special Appeal to Accountancy and Business Law Alumni
The MSA Program is one of the premier accounting programs in our region and is often described as the “crown jewel” of
the Cameron School of Business. We attract great students, place them with top firms, and have a dedicated, top-notch faculty. However, the reality is that many of the events and activities that enhance our graduates’ preparation must be funded
by contributions rather than state appropriations. Meet the Firms, Accounting Career Day, alumni receptions in Raleigh and
Charlotte, and scholarship support all depend on financial support from alumni and firms. This is especially true as UNCW
and the Cameron School face continuing budget cuts. On behalf of the students and faculty in the Department, I want to
Grey
Liston
thank everyone who provides financial support to make these and other initiatives
possible.
Class
of 2008
An important next step for UNCW is to broaden our base and encourage moreMSA
alumni
to provide
recurring financial support. A recent report from our Advancement Office identifies nearly 900 MSA graduates! As a part of this distinguished
group, you have the power to help increase scholarships, undertake curriculum initiatives and fund professional development for students and faculty. The ABL faculty believes this issue is so important that all of us have pledged to make a gift to
the fund. Please think about how UNCW has contributed to your professional success and consider reaching back to help
the next generation by making a recurring gift to the Accountancy and Business Law Fund.
You can return the form at the bottom of this newsletter with a check, or go online to make a donation using your credit
card. Simply follow the link at the Department’s web page: http://csb.uncw.edu/acg/
Page 4
ABL News
Donations!
If the UNCW
Phonathon
contacts you to
make a
contribution to
the university,
please request
that your
payment go to
support the
Accountancy
and Business
Law Fund.
Thank You!
Your classmates want to know what you are up to.
Send your information for the next publication to
[email protected] Please do it today.
2015 Free Tax Assistance
For the 2015 tax filing season, our
MSA students will once again be
participating in the FSA (facilitated
self-assistance) program sponsored
by the Internal Revenue Service. In
the FSA program eligible taxpayers
are assisted in the preparation of
their federal and NC income tax
returns. The FSA program is in lieu
of the VITA program in which volunteers prepared the returns. Free tax
preparation software was provided
through myfreetaxes.com and was advertised throughout the university community including a link on the Cameron School webpage, http://csb.uncw.edu/act/
vita.htm . Our MSA volunteers will be available to instruct taxpayers on how to use
the software and also answer tax questions during one of the four open labs to be
held in CH 122. The open labs will be held February 13, March 6, March 20 and
April 10, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.
Business Week 2015
by Randy Hanson
Business Week 2015 will be on March 24 and 25, 2015
(Tuesday and Wednesday). We are busy planning for this
important event. This is a great opportunity for our students
to interact with professionals to learn about career opportunities in Accounting. The schedule can be viewed at
http://csbapp.uncw.edu/csbsi/bwSchedule/schedule.aspx
If you have any questions please contact
Randy Hanson at [email protected]
Page 5
Faculty Update
Dr. GERALD K. DEBUSK, CPA, CMA, CGMA, is an
Associate Professor of Accounting at University
of North Carolina Wilmington. His 30 years of
experience include his recent years in academia
as an Assistant Professor at Appalachian State
University and the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga and as a UC Foundation Associate
Professor at the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga. Gerald spent 15 years in accounting departments of manufacturing firms
(serving in such positions as a Corporate Controller/Secretary-Treasurer,
Plant Controller, and Cost Accounting Manager), plus two years in public
accounting with a Big Eight firm. His industry experience included assignments in organizations pursuing Lean and JIT philosophies. Gerald’s academic research has focused on performance measurement, Lean Six Sigma, and Lean Accounting and has been published in numerous scholarly
and practitioner journals. In 2008, Gerald’s and his co-author’s Balanced
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Ph.D. in accounting from Virginia Tech and a MBA from Liberty University. He can be reached at [email protected].
Dr. VICTORIA HANSEN, CPA completed her Ph.D. at
the University of South Carolina, her M.S. at the
State University of New York at Albany, and her undergraduate studies at Marist College. Her research
interests lie in the area of taxation. She has been
published in the Journal of the American Taxation
Association and has several ongoing research projects focusing on tax preparer judgment and decision making.
Victoria is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant with experience working as a sole proprietor and as a Tax Manager
for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. She has served as the Site Coordinator
for the Voluntary Income Tax Assistance program of the Internal Revenue Service and as a member of the American Taxation Association national and regional conference committees. In her spare time, Victoria
enjoys playing golf (poorly), spy novels, and appreciating good food,
beer, and live sporting events.
Beta Alpha Psi
News
by Jeremy Jacobs
Chapter President
UNCW’s Iota Alpha Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi
is off to a great start this year. We have hosted numerous technical meetings with speakers from the public and private sectors, a
service event, a social, a “reaching out” event,
and free tutoring every week for introductory
accounting students. We would like to thank
the following firms and professionals who
devoted their valuable time Fall semester:
EY
NCACPA
Liberty Health Care
Greer Walker
McGladrey
This year we welcomed Dr. Susan Hermanson
and Dr. Gerald DeBusk as our faculty advisors.
We thank Dr. Randall Hanson and Dr. James
Whitworth for all of their hard work and dedication to the chapter last year. Our officers
this year are:
Fall 2014: Jeremy Jacobs (President), Kelly
Larouche (VP of Reporting / Treasurer), Caley
Boggs (VP of Communications), Rachael
Wilson (VP of Service / Socials), Alan Pearce
(VP of Meetings), Lori Curtsinger (VP of Websites). Spring 2015: Jeremy Jacobs
(President), Caley Boggs (VP of Reporting /
Treasurer), Chelsie Tefft (VP of Communications), Cierra Ray (VP of Service / Socials),
Edward Desaussure (VP of Meetings), Lori
Curtsinger (VP of Websites).
Some highlights from the fall 2014 semester:
“Beach Sweep”
of Wrightsville
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class graduation,
tenBeach
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themed Social
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Annual Accountancy and Business Law Golf
Outing
Page 6
Internship Update by Lorraine Lee
Department of Accountancy
and Business Law
Cameron School of Business
601 S. College Road
Wilmington, NC 28403-5901
Phone: 910-962-3509
Fax: 910-962-3663
Visit us at:
www.csb.uncw.edu/acg/
We are very excited about the high quality class of interns that make up
the roster for the 2014-2015 internship class. The 2014-2015 class consists of 26 students with an average GPA of 3.63 and an average GMAT of
560. Intern candidates started out the year with attendance at a mandatory orientation session that covered such topics as interviewing skills,
dressing for success, networking, and how to utilize the Career
Center. In addition, they prepared for their interviews by participating in
mock interview sessions.
The interns made their debut at Meet the Firms in late August and were actively involved in campus interviews throughout the fall semester. As of today, all but one of the interns is placed.
We appreciate all of the firms that hired interns last year and those participating in this year’s
program. We are sincerely grateful to all of our partners and organizations that are going the
extra mile to provide our students with a valuable internship experience. We hope to continue
our 100% placement this year, so please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you or your
organization. If your organization has any needs for accounting interns this year or in future
years, please do not hesitate to contact me by email at [email protected] or by phone at (910) 9624259 (office).
Yes, I would like to support the Accountancy and Business Law Fund.
 My donation is enclosed
 I would like to pledge $_______
 To be paid in installments of $_______
 To be billed Annually Semi-Annually
TOTAL GIFT AMOUNT: $_________
 My firm/company will match my contribution by $_____
Make checks payable to: UNCW Department of Accounting and Business Law
Or, please charge my:
*Card #: ____________________________*Exp. Date: _______
*Name (as it appears on card): ____________________________
*Signature: ___________________________________________
Please print your name as you want it to appear in the
UNCW donor listing:
Name:
___________________________________________
Phone:
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City, State, Zip: ___________________________________
Please return to: UNCW, Attention: David Mautz
Department of Accountancy & Business Law, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403-5901