A study released today by U.S. News and World Report ranked the UConn School of Business’ online Master of Science in Accounting Program (MSA) among the top three in the nation.Continue Reading
Accounting
UConn Students Selected for PwC Explore Program
PwC’s Explore program is an opportunity for students interested in considering a business or accounting-related major to learn about careers in business and accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Rachelle Joseph ’17 and William Moore ’18, have been selected to attend this one-day program comprised of interactive activities and training sessions aimed at developing teamwork, strategic thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and leadership skills. Students’ participation in the program will not only help cultivate these important characteristics, but also provide a great networking forum with other students and individuals from PwC.
The Explore program is an outstanding opportunity for talented freshmen and sophomores to learn more about the accounting profession and to discover their career goals and aspirations, all while having a lot of fun.
The program will be held on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at the PwC Boston offices. To learn more, please visit http://www.pwc.com/us/en/careers/campus/programs-events/explore.jhtml.
Vote for UConn by 11/21!
Time is running out! Your vote can send our team to another national championship!
The UConn Trailblazers—a team of five talented accounting students—is hoping to compete in the prestigious PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Challenge national case competition in New York in January.
To get there, the team must defeat Villanova, Texas, Arizona and Gonzaga by getting the most votes on Facebook. Only the top vote-getter may attend.
Trailblazer team members include Katie Pontoniec, Lauren Consoli, Jack Murphy, Giovanni Ninivaggi and Daniel Francoeur.
“There are five semifinalist teams, and the team that has the most votes when the polls close on Friday will go to New York in January to make their presentation to the national leadership of PwC,” said Professor David Papandria of the Accounting Department. “This is a big deal. Dozens of teams participated in the challenge, and our UConn team is so close.”
You can click on the link below to vote. Please vote once a day through Friday to help our team. Thank you!
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CPAs Present Grants to University of Connecticut Accounting Department, Accounting Society, Beta Alpha Psi Chapter
Representatives of the Educational Trust Fund of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants (CTCPA) recently presented grants to the University of Connecticut Accounting Department, Accounting Society, and Beta Alpha Psi chapter. These awards were given during an annual joint dinner meeting of the CTCPA Educational Trust Fund and the CTCPA Student Outreach and Career Awareness Committee held recently at Cascade in Hamden.
The Educational Trust Fund exists to help tomorrow’s CPAs today. It does so by providing financial support directly to students, accounting departments, and accounting clubs at Connecticut colleges and universities recognized by the Connecticut State Board of Accountancy.
The Connecticut Society of CPAs is celebrating more than 100 years of service to membership and community alike. CTCPA has a membership of almost 6,000 individuals in public practice, business and industry, government, and education. Its function is to advocate on behalf of the accounting profession, foster a professional community among CPAs, and provide continuing education opportunities as well as a comprehensive peer review program and a variety of membership services for CPAs in Connecticut.
A Textbook Model of Dividend Predictability
Seeking Alpha – It stands to reason that a value investor should examine any potential investment based upon ALL metrics, especially the methods that are the most meaningful for dividend investors. The simplest model for valuing equity is the dividend discount model – the value of a stock is the present value of expected dividends on it.
Entrepreneurial Alum Brews Back East
Back East Brewing Company is a small Craft brewery located in Bloomfield, Connecticut, founded by alums Tony Karlowicz ’01 MS and Edward Fabrycki, Jr. ’92 (ENG), two cousins with a passion for great-tasting, high-quality beer.
Tony developed his appreciation for Craft beer during his undergraduate years in Vermont and always imagined launching a brewery. Tony is an entrepreneur at heart and a CPA with extensive experience in accounting, auditing, and insurance. He gained a love of building a successful business from the ground up from his parents who owned a candy store in Bloomfield, and he also started a landscaping business while in high school. Edward, originally from Connecticut, began to home-brew while living in San Diego in the early 1990s. He eventually moved “Back East” to Connecticut in 2000, with the dream of someday operating a Craft brewery. As a Professional Engineer, Edward enjoys the technical aspects of brewing. Tony and Edward began homebrewing in early 2006 with a small pilot brewing system in a Southington garage.
With investments from family and friends and an $80,000 small business grant from the state, the company hired an experienced head brewer who had worked at the Harpoon Brewery in Boston and moved into its current location on Blue Hills Avenue in Bloomfield in January 2012. In July 2012 their dream became a reality, in the form of a 4,500-square-foot state-of-the-art brewery capable of producing tens of thousands of gallons of beer a year.
Over time, they have developed several exciting recipes, including the company’s signature beer, Back East Ale, which won 2nd place in the American Amber Ale category at the 2013 Great International Beer Festival. Their Back East Porter also took home awards in both the 2012 and 2013 Great International Beer Festival.
Back East brews several different styles of beer, distributed in draft, six-packs of 12 ounce cans, and 750ml bottles at fine establishments. Their tasting room is open to the public Wednesday through Friday, 4-7:00 p.m., and Saturday noon-4:00 p.m. Tours are offered on Saturdays, beginning at noon, 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00.
Alum Lee Schlesinger ’82 Awarded the Mary H. Connolly Community Caring Award
The United Way of Naugatuck and Beacon Falls had more to celebrate at its 50th annual meeting than the organization’s golden anniversary.
The United Way exceeded its 2012 campaign goal by $15,000 and raised a total of $440,000, said Laurie Yelding, campaign chairwoman.
The evening’s highest honor — the Mary H. Connolly Community Caring Award — was given to Lee Schlesinger ’82. The Mary H. Connolly Community Caring Award is presented annually to recognize an individual or individuals who have demonstrated outstanding support to the United Way and the entire community and who have set the standard for service to the community.
Schlesinger, a Naugatuck native who now lives in Waterbury, is the associate director for Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury. Twenty years ago, he worked for Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan. At the time, he was approached by Mary Connolly, who was the executive director of the United Way, about volunteering.
“Mary has that kind of personality where you just do not say no to her,” Schlesinger said. Schlesinger didn’t say no. He served on the United Way’s Board of Directors for two terms. He was treasurer for nine years and a member of the Allocations Committee, which controls the distribution of funds to local service agencies.
Schlesinger’s volunteerism extends beyond the United Way. He served as president of the board of directors of the Morris Foundation, which provided mental health and addiction services and is now part of Wellmore. For the past 12 years, he has been co-chairman of the Finance Committee for the American Cancer Society – Greater Waterbury Relay for Life. Lee has also been an event volunteer for Special Olympics’ Penguin Plunge. He was the recipient of the United Way of Naugatuck & Beacon Falls Van Allen Medal in 2012 and Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence – First 100 Plus – honoring male leaders from across the state who have worked to raise awareness of the availability and access to domestic violence services in Connecticut. He also received the Volunteer Award from Morris Foundation.
“My first and sustained impression of Lee over the years is what an incredibly kind, compassionate and decent soul this is,” said Kevin DelGobbo, who introduced Schlesinger.
Schlesinger thanked Connolly for asking him to volunteer all those years ago and said he was honored to be recognized. “It is such an honor to even be considered for this award among the distinguished previous recipients,” he said.
Richard E. Hurley Receives National Educator Award
Richard E. Hurley, Ph.D., JD, CPA, CFE, CFF, received the prestigious National Educator Award from the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) on July 17th, 2013. Dr. Hurley’s award was presented at the Association’s Annual Professional Development Conference (PDC) training event in Dallas.
The AGA Educator Award was formally established to recognize an individual who has made significant contributions to educating and training government financial managers for more than two decades.
Dr. Hurley received this award in recognition of his vast contributions to the education and training of accountability professionals and students in advancing financial management. His presentations, courses and writings cover a wide range of accountability topics and his expertise as a practitioner and university professor is quite evident. He consistently receives excellent evaluations of his work and is well-respected in the field of government financial management. Dr. Hurley is a member of the AGA New York Capital Chapter.
Dr. Hurley has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York for 30 years and has also been a licensed Attorney in the State of New York for over 35 years and is licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Tax Court.
He has written the Fraud Edge column for Fraud Magazine, which is a column devoted to fraud education for the benefit of academics and practitioners, and he currently co-authors a column entitled Global Fraud Focus.
He is also a member of the New York Society of CPAs and is a member of the Forensic Litigation Services Committee of the State Society and a member of the Anti-Money Laundering & Counter Terrorist Financing Committee.
Dr. Hurley has written and presented in the field of accounting and security fraud and auditing issues related to fraud detection and prevention. Dr. Hurley teaches MBA courses in Financial Accounting and Reporting, Financial Statement Analysis, Forensic Accounting & Fraud Examination for the University of Connecticut in Stamford, Connecticut where he has been a professor for 14 years.
Accounting Department Welcomes New Faculty Members
The University of Connecticut has embarked on an ambitious hiring initiative to expand its faculty and senior academic leadership across disciplines, investing in 500 tenure-track faculty positions over the next four years.
As a result of this initiative, the Accounting Department is delighted to welcome two new faculty members in the 2013-2014 academic year. These new faculty bring a diverse array of expertise and research interests to the school and our students.
Paul Glotzer joins the faculty after serving as an adjunct lecturer in the Accounting Department of the UConn School of Business since 2012. Prior to UConn, Paul served as project manager at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Prior to FASB, he served as director of accounting and auditing at Shein, Cohen, Palmer & Company, LLC, for twenty years. Paul also worked as a manager at Kostin Ruffkess & Company for ten years subsequent to working as a staff accountant for three years at Troub, Glotzer, & Company.
Paul’s areas of expertise include: U.S. GAAP and its application to financial statement preparation, audits, reviews, and compilations; income tax planning and compliance for corporations, partnerships, and individuals; and payroll and sales taxes. He has also published in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Journal of Accountancy. In addition to his affiliation with the AICPA, Paul is a very active member in the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants where he currently serves or has served on several committees, including Technical Reviewer and Chair of the Accounting and Reporting Standards Committee; the Board of Governors; Compilation and Review Committee; Professional Ethics Committee; Peer Reviewer; Management of an Accounting Practice Committee and Relations with Secondary School Committee. He was also voted Committee Member of the Year for 2000-2001. Paul is a CPA and graduated with High Honors from the University of Connecticut in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science degree Accounting. He is also the new faculty advisor to the Accounting Society at UConn.
Arthur Schmeiser joins the UConn faculty after serving 38 years at Deloitte & Touche LLP where he retired as a senior partner. Art served clients in a variety of industries but had a focus on clients in consumer businesses such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Procter & Gamble, Saks 5th Avenue, Sears, Talbots, The May Department Stores Company and Timberland. In addition to his client work, he has held various leadership positions within D&T, both domestically and internationally. He has broad experience in Securities and Exchange Commission [including serving as an SEC fellow from 1979 to 1981] and other accounting and reporting requirements having been involved with numerous initial public offerings, secondary offerings, public merger filings and public and private company audits. He has extensive experience dealing with Boards of Directors, Audit Committees and Senior Executives of U.S public companies in accounting and reporting areas, along with strategic acquisition and other business matters.
Art is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as the Society of Certified Public Accountants in the states of Connecticut and New York. Art earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from St. John’s University in 1971.
Accounting Department and Students Honored by CTCPA Educational Trust Fund Program
In early November the CTCPA Educational Trust Fund (ETF) honored our Accounting Department, the Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, the UConn Accounting Society, and the UConn Student Chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants at the ETF’s annual awards banquet. The grants provided by the ETF help the Department and these three outstanding student organizations continue the many activities that make our program so successful and give those organizations the ability to expand those activities.
In addition to the above, Hasudin Pehratovic, a Junior accounting major won the Frank Frago Community Service award, given in remembrance of the late Frank Frago, a past President of the CTCPA Society. This is a competitive, state-wide award which requires applicants to submit an essay describing their community services activities.
Lastly, this summer Chris Brown ‘13 (MSA expected in May 2014) was selected to receive the ETF’s Merit Award for Academic Excellence. Chris is one of the many outstanding graduates of our 2013 accounting class and will be starting with Deloitte & Touche in the fall of 2014 after he completes our MSA program.
Congratulations to all of these students and their organizations-you make us very proud.