2022 Chair's Message
Greetings from the SCU Accounting Department!
Despite a brief period of online instruction in Winter 2022 due to the spread of Omicron, the Broncos fully returned to campus and took classes in person during AY 2021-2022. It has been so exhilarating to welcome everyone back and resume our on-campus events and activities.
This July we welcomed our 30th president of Santa Clara University, Dr. Julie H. Sullivan, who is the first layperson and first woman to serve as President of our 171-year Jesuit Catholic institution. Prior to joining SCU, Dr. Sullivan served as President of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota for close to nine years. As this appointment marks a new era for SCU, the whole campus community is excited about having a compassionate champion for the tenets of Catholic social teaching driving our institution forward.
In 2022 the Accounting Department earned the No. 15 spot for the best accounting program out of over 500 universities in the US News & World Report of Best Colleges Rankings. Many of our students were recognized for their outstanding achievements. For example, Isabelle He, an Accounting and Information Systems (A&IS) major, received the prestigious scholarship from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Scholars Program. Kathy Tran, another A&IS major, won the Jerry Kasner Outstanding Accounting Award from the Silicon Valley Chapter of the California Society of CPAs (CalCPA). These achievements attest to the quality and success of our program in developing well-rounded and well-prepared students.
The Center for Accounting Research and Education (CARE), under the leadership of the interim director, Professor Yongtae Kim, organized many successful in-person events after a two year pause during the pandemic. A highlight of these events is the 2022 Accounting Awards Banquet, held outside in the Lucas Hall Courtyard. More than 80 guests, including the scholarship winners and their families, firm representatives and sponsors, advisory board members, and faculty attended the event to celebrate the accomplishments of students in our program. At the Banquet, DeDe Ebner, mother of Justin Ebner, gave a heart-touching speech and presented the newly established Justin Ebner Endowed Accounting Scholarship.
In June 2022 we graduated 74 students with 42 Accounting majors and 32 A&IS majors. An additional 22 students graduated from our Certificate of Advanced Accounting Proficiency (CAAP) program. We are so proud of our students for their resilience and perseverance when facing the challenges and disruptions caused by the pandemic.
A continued focus of the department this year is on curriculum review in preparation of the upcoming changes to the CPA exam in mid-2024 and the increasing importance of data analytics in the accounting profession. Our curriculum committee, in consultation with the advisory board, has worked on strengthening the data analytics component of our curriculum and identifying areas that need possible revisions to prepare students for the CPA exam.
The accounting faculty continue to produce high quality and impactful scholarly work. For example, Dr. Kevin Li’s research on proprietary information cost of contracting with the government won the 2021 American Accounting Association (AAA) government and non-for-profit section annual meeting Best Paper Award. Research of our faculty has appeared in prestigious journals, including The Accounting Review, Review of Accounting Studies, and Management Science.
In summer 2022, we celebrated Professor Chris Lee’s service at SCU. He retired after teaching for seven years. Prior to joining SCU, Chris was a client service executive. He is a retired partner of Deloitte and an experienced business leader.
In December 2021 we welcomed Susie Huang as our new department administrative assistant. Susie brings a wealth of experience in administrative support roles from the private section. Most recently she was an executive assistant supporting HP’s Deputy General Counsel and Senior VP of Litigation. We are grateful to have Susie join the department to support our faculty and students.
The success of our program is not possible without the support of our Advisory Board, alumni, and donors. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you who generously contribute time and financial support to our program. I look forward to working with you for another successful year!