Embracing the unexpected

While pursuing her bachelor’s in accounting, Gore enrolled in a governmental accounting class to fill a gap in her schedule — a decision that set her on a path to a career defined by significant contributions to the field of governmental accounting.

That path led her to join Arthur Young & Co. (now EY), where she held the roles of senior auditor and IT auditor.

“At EY, my coursework in government accounting played a pivotal role in being selected to complete work focused on financial management and reporting in the public sector,” Gore says.

After several years, she transitioned out of public accounting, and her governmental accounting expertise opened doors once again. The owner of a CPA firm in her town approached her to take over his practice, specifically because of her experience in governmental consultation, including the areas of bonding, debt refinancing, tax levies and budgeting.

Gore managed the practice for four years, performing a full range of audit services. Though she enjoyed her work, Gore had a longtime desire to teach that propelled her enroll in the UB School of Management’s PhD in Management program for the next phase of her career, where she discovered a new passion for research.

“When I visited campus, I saw that the students interacted with the faculty as equals,” she says. “I observed open doors to faculty offices, friendly banter and intellectual discussion in the hallways, which I loved.”

As a graduate student, Gore was ready to put governmental accounting behind her and try something new, yet the faculty encouraged her to continue in her area of expertise.

“I remember one faculty member asking me, ‘Why do you want to be the 10,000th person competing in a space that is so crowded, when you could go where there are so many fish they are jumping into your boat?’” she says. “From a strategic standpoint, I realized he was right.”

Gore says the School of Management’s PhD program fostered the inquisitive spirit that has fueled her accomplishments. In 2010, she received the American Accounting Association Deloitte Wildman Medal, which recognizes significant research contributions to the practice of accounting — and in Gore’s case, her contributions to governmental accounting.

“I credit UB with the Wildman Medal because the program emphasizes unique, high-quality research, encouraging us to be inquisitive, bold and take risks,” she says. “The faculty created an environment that allowed us to ask any question without fear.”

Now, Gore pays it forward as professor of accountancy at the George Washington University School of Business, where she teaches undergrad and graduate courses in auditing and has also served as associate dean for research and doctoral programs as well as department chair. She has received numerous awards for research and teaching throughout her academic career, and is a two-time recipient of Peter Vaill Outstanding Doctoral Educator Award.

Before joining GW, Gore was an assistant professor of accounting at the University of Oregon, where she won the Undergraduate Teaching Award five times.

Outside her professional life, Gore is a mother of three and an open water swimmer. She also has cultivated an interest in permaculture, applying her love of learning to her backyard organic garden.

Gore’s advice to her students is to embrace opportunities and explore the possibilities that each new path can bring. She says the undergraduate governmental accounting course that set her on her path stands out in her memory as an example of this because she received a B+ and felt she earned an A-.

“My students think it is funny when I share that grade,” she says. “It’s easy for students to feel like they need to have everything completely tracked and perfect, but they can look at my career path and say, ‘it worked out.’”

Written by Alexandra Richter