Department News

Articles about activities within the academic departments

KPMG Case Competition is Heading to Las Vegas!

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Brandon Madden '16, Karla Lazo '17, Megan Nayer '16 and Tania Lima '16
Brandon Madden ’16, Karla Lazo ’17, Megan Nayer ’16 and Tania Lima ’16

“The KPMG/NABA Case Study Competition provides participants with an opportunity to develop and showcase skills that they’ll use throughout their careers on a daily basis,” said Reggie Reed, a KPMG Audit partner who has served as one of the competition’s judges. “Companies operate in an increasingly complex and global environment, so the ability to think critically, assess risk, and have a global perspective are important traits that organizations like KPMG are looking for in recruits.”

Each team identifies and analyzes the issues associated with an MBA-level case study. The students then present recommendations that incorporate their knowledge of the current global marketplace, giving consideration to cultural, economic, political and other factors that would impact a successful implementation.

“KPMG is an organization that’s committed to diversity and inclusion and we’re pleased to continue to collaborate with them on this competition,” said Kenneth E. Cooke, CPA and chairman of the board of NABA, Inc. “The KPMG/NABA Case Study Competition gives our NABA chapter students a chance to take what they’ve learned on campus and apply it in a real-world, professional scenario–it’s gratifying to see how they rise to the challenge.”

The UConn NABA chapter will send a team to compete in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 10 – 13, 2015.

Students interested in joining the team should contact NABA Chapter President, Danielle Wellington ’15 at uconnnaba@gmail.com.  Must be a paid NABA member to participate.

Report Finds “Conflicts of Interest” Have No Effect on FDA Advisory Committee Votes

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Policy and Medicine – Stringent conflicts-of-interest policies keep many experts off of FDA advisory committees. A new study suggests that the fear of pro-industry bias underlying these policies may be misplaced, and also serves to keep highly qualified candidates off of these committees.

James C. Cooper, director of research and policy at the Law and Economics Center at George Mason Law School and Joseph Golec, professor of Finance of the University of Connecticut, who conducted the study, sought to compare conflicted members’ voting patterns with objective criteria. They found that decisions by advisory committees with conflicted members to recommend drugs were more likely to be consistent with both the ultimate FDA decision as well as stock market predictions than non-conflicted advisory committees and members.

Numbers Are In: High Hopes For 2014 Connecticut Home Sales Went Unfulfilled

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Hartford Courant – A new report from Connecticut Realtors shows that the promise early in 2014 for a third year of gains in home sales fizzled by the end of the year. “They are being cautious and more conservative before they make a big purchase like a home,” said Jeffrey P. Cohen, associate professor of real estate and finance at the University of Connecticut’s Center for Real Estate in Storrs.

Apply Now! KPMG’s Future Diversity Leaders (FDL) Program

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KPMG LLP (KPMG) is seeking high-performing freshman and sophomore students who have demonstrated, and continue to demonstrate, a commitment to diversity and are interested in future opportunities at KPMG through participation in their exciting Future Diversity Leaders (FDL) program.

What is the Future Diversity Leaders program?

  • The FDL program begins with a three-day leadership conference, held in Hollywood, CA, focused on preparing high-potential students with the skills and perspective to be the business leaders of tomorrow.
  • Based on your performance and participation at the leadership conference, if you are recommended to participate in an office visit for a summer internship in KPMG’s Trainee Program, you will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
  • Upon successful completion of your first internship, you will receive another internship offer to continue in the Trainee program. Should you accept this offer, you will continue in the Trainee program and receive additional scholarship dollars. You will continue in this program until the summer before your graduation.
  • In your last summer, you will enter KPMG’s Practice Internship where you will gain actual hands-on experience through interactions with various clients in the line of business that you have chosen.

The application deadline is February 11th (extended from Feb. 6th).

On Campus Interviews:  KPMG representatives will be on campus February 27th to conduct interviews for selected students.

Please email application and all requested materials to Caitlin Toohey, Manager Campus Recruiting, KPMG LLP at ctoohey@kpmg.com.

Doctoral Student Margaret Luciano Wins Scholarships for Work on Employee Dynamics in Hospital Patient “Handoffs”

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno
Margaret Luciano
Margaret Luciano

Margaret (“Maggie’’) Luciano, a doctoral candidate at the UConn School of Business, has been awarded two scholarships in recent months recognizing her achievements in the field of organizational behavior.

The Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology’s (SIOP) Lee Hakel Graduate Student Scholarship recognizes achievement in a graduate career and is intended to assist doctoral students in the field of industrial and organizational psychology with the costs of carrying out their dissertation work. She received the award in January.

It is the second recognition for Luciano, who, late last year also received an award from the Society for Human Resources Management for her dissertation proposal. She was selected as one of four promising researchers.

Her dissertation research focuses on understanding and improving cross-unit coordination between hospital units, and the dynamics between such groups.

She has investigated patient “handoffs’’ as they move from surgery to a recovery room. During baseline assessments, upwards of 20 percent of these handoffs were found to be lacking in one or more important ways, jeopardizing patient care.

“Margaret’s dissertation is a stellar example of cutting-edge applied research,’’ said John Mathieu, professor of management and Luciano’s adviser. “Conceptually, Margaret tests theoretical questions concerning the integration of employees’ individual differences and how they combine to perform interdependent actions. Practically, she devised and implemented a work process improvement which essentially orchestrated how different parties should function during these handoffs.’’

“Her dissertation represented a serious organizational change for the hospital, involving everyone from top management to the nurses and doctors performing the handoffs. Her field experiment revealed that her intervention reduced the percentage of problematic handoffs to approximately 4 to 5 percent—a 75 percent decrease from baseline,’’ Mathieu said.

Both the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP) awarded her competitive research grants on the basis of her proposed work. The criteria for both awards are that the work should advance both the science of human behavior in organizations, while also advancing practice and human welfare, Mathieu said.

Her research on these and related topics has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology and other peer-reviewed journals.

Luciano will join the management faculty at Arizona State University after completing her doctoral program at UConn. She earned her bachelors degree in psychology in 2009 and her MBA in 2010, both from Clark University in Worcester, Mass.

Greater Hartford Accounting Firms Facing Workforce Shortage

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Hartford Business Journal – Hartford area accounting firms say they are on a hiring spree to address a region-wide personnel shortage driven by heavy workloads, increased competition for talent, and professional burnout.

While accounting has historically been an in-demand profession, a few changes in recent years have amplified competition among firms and corporations recruiting talent, said Mohamed Hussein, a professor and head of UConn’s accounting department, which graduates over 100 accounting majors per year.

Builders See Promise in Homes for the Aging Set

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

ctpost.com – “The over-55 group needs to sell their current homes before they can think about buying into an over-55 community, so I see the market for existing homes as an indicator as to the future of over-55 home construction,” said Katherine Pancak, professor-in-residence of finance and real estate at the University of Connecticut School of Business.

UConn Women’s Basketball Game CREW Event

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

2015-01-20_re-wbb-eventThe Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) of Connecticut and the Center for Real Estate will host the first annual CREW CT UConn Women’s Basketball Event on Tuesday, February 3, 2015. Students and professionals from CREW will have an opportunity to network at a reception to be held from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at McCarter English LLP, 36th Floor, CityPlace, 185 Asylum St., Hartford, Conn.

Following the reception, the UConn Women will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats at the XL Center at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $26.00 and available through the registration link.

To register for this event and purchase tickets click here.

UConn Men’s Basketball Game

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

2015-01-20_re-bb-eventThe 2015 UConn Real Estate Center Alumni & Friends Basketball Event will be held on Sunday, March 1. The Real Estate Center Council will host a pre-game brunch and reception at 12:00 p.m. at the Hilton Hotel’s Connecticut Ballroom, 315 Trumbull Street, Hartford, Conn.

Following the reception, the UConn Men will play the Southern Methodist University Mustangs at 2:00 p.m. at the XL Center. Tickets are $36.00 and are available through the registration link below.

To register for this event and purchase tickets click here.