UB master’s student scores national accounting assistantship

By Matthew Biddle

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Joshua Seward, a graduate student in the University at Buffalo School of Management, was among only 14 students nationwide chosen for an elite postgraduate technical assistantship (PTA) with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

A Webster native, Seward will spend a year interning at the FASB, which establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for all businesses in the United States.

Landing an assistantship with the FASB is often considered the B-school equivalent of clerking for a U.S. Supreme Court justice, and the UB School of Management is the only school in Western New York with graduates who have earned PTAs at the organization.

Seward earned his bachelor’s degree from the UB School of Management in 2014 and will graduate summa cum laude with a Master of Science in accounting this month.

“Learning more about accounting standards and how the rules are made will help me throughout my career, regardless of which area of accounting I work in,” he says. “My undergraduate and graduate education have prepared me very well for this opportunity.”

Seward completed a rigorous six-part interview process this spring and will begin his assistantship in January.

“Josh is a highly motivated student who exhibits a great deal of poise and maturity,” says Alex Ampadu, clinical associate professor of accounting and law in the School of Management, who recommended Seward. “My advanced auditing class is a case analysis course that requires strong critical thinking, research and analysis, and Josh has excelled on all fronts.”

FASB assistants become highly involved in the accounting standards-setting process by working on major agenda projects or short-term practice and implementation issues. Through the one-year program, they develop an in-depth understanding of the roles played by preparers, auditors and users of financial information.

Prior to joining the FASB, Seward will return to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he interned this past summer, as an intern in financial instruments, structured products and real estate.

Seward previously served as an internal audit summer analyst at Morgan Stanley and completed a research internship at Philadelphia Insurance Co. In addition, he has been active in promoting financial literacy by teaching critical financial skills to elementary students through PwC’s Earn Your Future campaign and as a student assistant for MoneySKILL® Mania, a high school financial literacy competition sponsored by the UB School of Management and M&T Bank.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UB’s nearly 30,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.