Goodbye Junior Core, Hello MAcc

Posted by Tracy

Well, for those of you who haven't heard, I finished the BYU Accounting Junior Core on April, 23 when I took my last final. Words cannot express my relief that on that Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, I couldn't completely relax because I was enrolled for the Spring term (which started up shortly after that) and I was still nervous about my application to the MAcc.

The MAcc is the Masters of Accounting Program which has two different stems: Tax and Professional (audit). I applied at the end of March for the program and haven't slept well since. It is a great opportunity to continue my education, especially considering BYU's high ranking reputation in the accounting field. Well finally, on Thursday, I heard back from the School of Accountancy with good news: I will be starting the Master's Program in Fall, 2008. Things are going pretty fantastic in my little world.

So right now this is the plan: I'm going to finish my Bachelors in Mandarin Chinese, and I'll of course finish my Bachelors and Masters in Accountancy. I'm also planning on getting a Minor in Information Systems, which is a definite along with the others already mentioned. The big variable is the Middle Eastern Studies (Arabic) Minor I was hoping to get. Any extra time that I have beyond my very full plate will be spent shooting for that, but given the current tasks at hand, it is going to be a miracle if I can finish it. Graduation is still set for Summer 2010, with us heading back East at the end of Summer that year. I should be able to finish (or at least mostly finish) my CPA certification by our move back home as well.

As for the short term, things at Novell have been going great! I am learning so much and I am beginning to see how wonderful of an opportunity this job will be for me. It'll definitely jump-start my career in public accounting, which I am excited about. This Summer will be busy as well, packed with work, Spring classes, and Big Four recruiting events. Spring classes end in about a month though, so things should cool down after that.

I have some fun recruiting events coming up as well. In the beginning of June, I am heading back to Pittsburgh for a couple of days for a Leadership event with KPMG. Later that month, I am visiting Pittsburgh again for a different Leadership program with Ernst & Young. Then in late July, I will be heading to Hollywood, CA for a few days to attend KPMG's National Fast Forward Leadership Program. I have been extremely lucky to have so many opportunities with these firms, and I am very excited for this packed Summer.

So things are still busy, but I'm getting plenty of experience and having a blast! Hope everyone is enjoying the Summer and having fun.

A New Year of Change

This year seems it will bring us a handful of changes and excitement with surprises around every corner. With nieces and nephews arriving, Caleb and Sylvia have already joined the ranks, it seems like the changes are even causing a growth spurt in the family tree. Shayla’s surprise should be here any day now and the two of us are anxious for our own special delivery.

Our bundle of Joy is due March 29, 2008, and we couldn’t be more excited. Our pre-natal classes have already started and Tracy is being introduced to a world much more intimate and ‘gooey’ than his accounting interests could ever offer. But Tracy couldn’t be happier knowing that his daughter is nearing the last leg of her trip. Hanna is nothing but grins to say the least.

Yes, this year is going to be a busy one. With the baby’s room all set up and looking pretty in pink (which by the way, Tracy loves his study room in pink regardless of what he admits), Tracy is busy finishing up the Junior Core Accounting Program. This semester (and some of this summer as well) brings Tracy to some big decisions about where he wants his future career to take us. Audit or Tax? Public Accounting or Industry? Which Firm? What city and office? So while Tracy stews over the endless possibilities, Hanna smiles and acts interested. We do have a couple of events which should help the process along however. Summer programs are coming up with some of the firms and of course, there’s an endless supply of recruiting activities being sponsored by the firms as well. Internship interviews and office visits should also be coming up in the fall or the end of this year.

Hanna is also facing some employment and career choices now that the baby is on her way. The Salon has been great to her and she hopes she can continue making people look beautiful again after a long and well-earned maternity leave.

Another Narnia movie and Indiana Jones 4 also come out this year, which let’s face it, could shake the very foundations of the world as we know it. So while there are many big changes and decisions to be made, there of course is one little person overshadowing the entire scope of it all…and she gets here in March. And if she’s anything like most little girls, it’ll please her to know that she's the center of attention already and a princess in the eyes of her parents.

KPMG National Audit Case

Posted by Tracy

So back on January 16, 2007, I got an email from one of the masters students in the accounting program regarding a competition that KPMG was doing. Just so you know, KPMG is another of the Big Four accounting firms. The competition was going to be an advanced audit case, in which students would play the role of a preliminary audit team. This was the first year that the Firm was doing a college level competition, similar to the xTax competition that I did with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Since it was the first year that KPMG was doing the competition, 22 schools were invited to participate but could only sponsor one team of students. Since there would not be competition within each individual college, students were nominated by faculty to be a part of the team. Fortunately, I was recommended and was made part of the four-person team.

The competition involved 3 modules, each lasting 2 weeks, wherein the team was asked to make preliminary assessments regarding business, accounting, and audit risks of a fictional company and present reports to management. At the end of the six weeks 5 finalist teams would be announced. The great news? Our team was chosen as one of the finalists to go to compete on the national level in New York City!

Our New York trip was from April 14 – 17, 2007, and was a real blast. KPMG put us up in the Waldorf=Astoria and covered everything. I actually had my own room up in the Waldorf Towers which provided quite a nice view. Beyond competing we had some extra time to check out New York. Our team went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway, and hit some of New York’s fun restaurants. I learned a ton about KPMG as well as discovering attractive career paths in the accounting field.

Even though our team did not place first at Nationals, I had an experience that I will never forget and it only fed my ever-growing desire to enter the accounting field. I have been so very impressed with all of the Big Four accounting firms, and am excited to continue learning more about possible careers and internships with these amazing people.

Lunch with the Deans

Posted by Tracy

About three weeks ago I was invited by one of the tax professors to attend a lunch with him and the dean of the Marriott School of Business. Three other students were going to attend the lunch, so it was going to be a great chance to get to know the dean on a more personal level. The invitation was in large part due to the success of our xTax team.

I of course accepted the invitation to attend the lunch. Not only would it be a fun experience, but it would be a great chance to get my name “out-there” and earn a ticket into the accounting program.

The lunch turned out to be so much more than I thought in fact. Not only was the dean of the entire Marriott School there (Dean Hill), but also the Director of the Accounting School (Dr. Stocks). So in essence, the two most important people I could meet as far as my BYU education goes, I got to meet at this lunch. The lunch was held on the top floor of the Business Building in a small conference room with an entire wall of windows overlooking the BYU campus. The food was excellent (delicious steak salads and plenty of deserts).

The lunch turned out to be quite a success in getting to know the deans and getting them to know me. We all told our individual stories of how we got to where we are, and it was truly fascinating the things I learned from the lives of the deans. I had a marvelous time at the lunch and it was a truly great experience. As we were leaving from the lunch, Dr. Stocks turned to me and asked, “So we’ll see you in the fall, right?” I responded, “I sure hope so.” He smiled and said, “We’ll see you in the fall.”

PricewaterhouseCooper’s xTax Competition

Posted by Tracy

I thought it was about time that I start catching everyone up on what has been going on. I figured I could start by explaining some of the stops I have made on this Journey to an Accounting Future. (Sounds breathtaking, huh?) Laugh all you want, you’re gonna read about it anyway…

Back in October, 2006, a professor made an announcement in my Accounting 210 class about a competition that was going to be hosted by one of the Big Four accounting firms. He said it would grant the participants great exposure, experience, and generally a great time. It would also be a great way to get your name out there for admission and recruiting purposes. So I signed up and got teamed up with some wonderful people.

xTax (short for Extreme Tax) is a competition, hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, where students are given a large tax issue and must give a presentation before judges regarding their solution. The presentations must be 12 minutes long and there is a 15 minute question-answer session. The presentations are judged on critical thinking, presentation quality, and teamwork. Teams of five students first compete within their own college. The first place teams from all colleges submit videos of their presentations to the PwC main office and these presentations are reviewed again. PwC then selects five schools to attend the national finals in Washington, D.C. Our team did very well and placed first at BYU, and in December of 2006, we found out we were going to nationals.

At D.C. we were treated great! They had a private room for each student at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in downtown D.C. We were able to spend an evening with former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (Chairman Archer) in the Capitol Building. He took us on a special tour and even allowed us to go onto the house floor for a portion of the evening. It was awesome! We had a meal at the Capitol Club (a political hotspot) which was a special experience as well. Although we didn’t win the first place prize at Washington D.C., the National Finalist experience truly changed my outlook on the tax services field. I met some amazing people and had a wonderful, life-changing experience that I will never forget.

Watch a video discribing last year's xTax competition or check out PwC's xTax site decribing the competition's details.