Accountancy News 

When the stock market crashed in 2008, accounting graduate Jameela Wilcox Howell jumped in to help her husband start Cordovan Art School in Texas. Although challenging, the BYU Marriott School of Business had prepared Howell for life as a mother and business owner.

Having been a first-generation college student, Melissa Larson admits being frustrated by feelings of inadequacy at different times in her life. However, she’s come to understand that there’s not one right path for everyone and that trusting the Lord can help make life enjoyed and not just endured. As a teaching professor of accountancy in the BYU Marriott School of Business, Larson works to inspire confidence in students no matter their goals.

After spending the majority of his career in corporate accounting, Jonathan Liljegren realized helping students in the classroom elevated his job satisfaction and serves the upcoming generation. As a newly appointed associate teaching professor of accounting, Liljegren shares his passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ and accounting by teaching at the BYU Marriott School of Business.

For Alayna Grossnickle, Utah’s arid desert climate contrasts the lush landscape of her hometown in Maryland. But over time she has found a family of support in an unexpected place: the Brigham Young University Army ROTC.

Accounting professor Sheri Thomas often glances at the quote on the wall of her office in the BYU Marriott School of Business: “Today I choose to be brave. I choose courage over comfort.” While pursuing her dream to be a stay-at-home mother, she faced life-altering trials that refined her and helped her refocus her dream to teach accounting.

While most high school seniors were writing yearbook messages, School of Accountancy alumnus Curt Haralson was writing a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), inquiring about which majors might help him become a special agent. He chose the accounting program at BYU Marriott, a path that ultimately led him to the bureau and beyond.

Growing up, Zack Fox enjoyed spending most of his time on the football field. Although Fox’s football playing days are mostly behind him now, the lessons he learned on the field— especially the importance to always “show up”—apply throughout his life and in his new role as an assistant professor of accounting.

For School of Accountancy professor Brant Christensen, educating others and teaching younger generations is the family business. Understanding that life as a student can be challenging, Christensen earnestly mentors his students at the BYU Marriott as his predecessors mentored him.

After living and working in Seattle, New York, and Ohio, Jon Kerr—a brand-new School of Accountancy professor, tax law fanatic, and part-time beekeeper has circled back to BYU—the place where his family and his dreams of teaching began.

Beginning with the fall 2022 semester, BYU Marriott students graduating from the School of Accountancy undergraduate and graduate programs will receive a STEM designation with their degree.

From completing junior core projects together to sharing a one-bedroom apartment in New York City with two other girls and a Great Dane, Sara Sparhawk and Lyn Johnson have been through a lot together. Since graduating from the BYU Marriott School of Business, they have become cofounders of West Tenth, an online platform that enables women to easily market and sell their home-grown talents and skills. These 2004 School of Accountancy (SOA) graduates find joy in bringing entrepreneurial opportunities to women everywhere through their unique business model.

The BYU Marriott School of Business welcomed 12 new professors this fall.

This summer, four BYU Marriott School of Business students were paired with financial literacy startup FinLit for an internship. The partnership came about through a social impact project (SIP) at BYU Marriott’s Ballard Center for Social Impact, which provides students with opportunities to develop business and personal skills while applying social impact principles in real-world settings.

Almost half of American adults don’t meet recommended weekly physical activity levels, but new BYU research suggests a surprisingly simple way to help increase exercise time: just strap on an activity monitor.

Most 57-year-olds aren’t thinking about heading back to school and taking classes. However, Lyn Ellis, a 1985 accounting graduate of the BYU Marriott School of Business, found herself doing exactly that.

After initially attending Utah Valley University and Southern Utah University as an undergraduate in the early 2000s, Sara Hubbs felt prompted to transfer to BYU. That decision led to a fulfilling career that ultimately included returning to Provo as an assistant dean of finance and HR at BYU Marriott.

The call of free doughnuts can be powerful, and for BYU Marriott School of Business student Emily Holden, this call led to her major at BYU and her eventual career. A Yakima, Washington, native and a lover of the outdoors, languages, service, and yes, doughnuts, Holden is excited to use the accounting abilities she has gained from the School of Accountancy (SOA) to serve not only the business world but also the environment she loves and the underprivileged communities she aspires to empower.

When people think of accounting, an affinity for parties might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, Brooke Bradford, the events and programs coordinator for the School of Accountancy (SOA) at BYU Marriott School of Business, says accountants are all for having a good time. As an employee for the SOA, Bradford organizes events that are not only for enjoyment but also allow connections to be forged between students, faculty, and alumni.

Mornings are when Joseph Appiah shines. As a young boy, he remembers waking up early, pulling on his worn slippers, and making his way to a busy highway between Kisi and Komenda, Ghana, to sell donuts before school. Although Appiah’s current routine is different from the donut-selling days of his childhood, he is grateful for the early mornings of his youth that helped him develop lifelong habits that lead to success.

Nine students at the BYU Marriott School of Business were recently honored as 2022 Bateman Award recipients for their excellence both inside and outside the classroom. The annual award, named for Merrill J. Bateman, allows each undergraduate program at BYU Marriott to select a 2021–22 academic year senior for recognition.