UK Accountancy Students Making Mark Nationally

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 20, 2011) - It certainly is good news when the redesign of an academic program pays off in improved performance by its students.

This is the case for the August 2009 graduating class of Masters of Science in Accountancy (MSACC) students in the University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics. The class has received national recognition for pass rates among advanced degree programs on the CPA exam. The MSACC program is housed within Gatton's Von Allmen School of Accountancy .

UK placed sixth nationally in statistics released by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). This in spite of the fact that statistics for 2009 do not reflect all UK MSACC candidates sitting for and passing all four parts of the CPA exam.

This achievement was accomplished by the first graduating class since the MSACC program was reconfigured in 2008.  The innovative MSACC program affords students the opportunity to prepare and sit for the CPA exam in lock-step with their rigorous graduate coursework.  

"This success can be attributed to three factors," said John Smigla, MSACC program director. "First, the quality of students recruited into the program; second, the UK faculty expertise and ability to challenge students; and third, the program design."  

UK MSACC graduates have secured positions with the following distinguished CPA firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young; KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Dean Dorton Allen & Ford; Mountjoy Chilton Medley; Blue & Co.; Crowe Horwath; Grant Thornton; BKD; Cherry, Bekaert, & Holland; and Joseph Decosimo & Co.

"We continue to be pleased with the record of achievement demonstrated by the students in our MSACC program," said Dave Ziebart, professor and director of the Von Allmen School of Accoutancy.

D. Sudharshan, dean of the Gatton College, added, "Just as the implementation of new concepts and enhancements to other programs in the college have had positive results, the success of students in our revamped MSACC program demonstrates that well-designed and well-executed innovations do pay off."

Details regarding the MSACC program along with other offerings in the Gatton College are available on the college website at www.gatton.uky.edu. For additional information, contact John Smigla at john.smigla@uky.edu.