By Katherine Paladino

Alex Ampadu, clinical associate professor emeritus of accounting and law, was named the 2026 Accountant of the Year by the UB School of Management’s Accounting and Law Department.

Established in 1984, the Accountant of the Year award honors an individual who has been successful in the accounting profession and made significant contributions to the school and its students. Ampadu accepted the honor at the department’s annual awards celebration in April.

Mark Bruno, former talent acquisition leader at PwC and longtime friend of Ampadu, introduced him as someone who has inspired and guided countless students. He shared that Ampadu has made such an impact on so many lives that he has been invited to attend the weddings of more than 100 former students.

During his acceptance remarks, Ampadu talked about his upbringing and professional career, including stories about growing up in Ghana in a small village with only 28 houses.

After obtaining his bachelor’s degree from the University of Ghana, he participated in a one-year exchange program and came to Rochester to work for Columbia Banking Federal Savings and Loan Association. With their help, Ampadu was granted permanent residency in the U.S.

Ampadu went on to earn earn his MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and, later, while working as a manager for Touche Ross, one of what was then the “Big Eight” accounting firms, he was selected to teach the firm’s training programs. This deepened his teaching interest and ultimately led to his career change, and he joined the UB School of Management faculty in 1986.

“I found my true happiness and never looked back,” he said.

Over the next 36 years, Ampadu taught courses in such areas as managerial accounting, financial accounting, auditing, internal auditing and financial statement analysis.

He took advantage of every opportunity to combine his two passions, teaching and traveling, teaching accounting courses for KPMG across several U.S. cities and CPA exam review courses for Becker Professional Education in Bermuda. Most significantly, he worked with UB’s Office of International Education to teach accounting courses in Singapore during the summer. 

A lifelong learner, Ampadu obtained multiple certifications over the years, including Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner, Forensic CPA, Chartered Global Management Accountant and Certified in Financial Forensics. He is the only four-time winner of UB’s Milton Plesur Excellence in Teaching Award.

He created the school’s internal auditing program and served as its director. Ampadu was also active with student organizations. He served as the Beta Alpha Psi faculty advisor for 12 years and won the Outstanding Faculty Advisor award twice. As an advocate for the underrepresented, he founded the School of Management Minority Alliance and was faculty advisor from its inception in the 1990s until his retirement in 2022.

Ampadu concluded his remarks by sharing five pieces of advice with the students:

1. Prepare for the unknown future by earning a master’s degree in accounting to expand your skillset.
2. Love the type of work you decide to do. It’s critical for maintaining your excitement and growth potential.
3. Seek out a mentor who will support and celebrate your development. Remember that you can also be a mentor to someone else.
4. Get involved with and make meaningful contributions to professional organizations once you graduate.
5. Give back your time, talent and treasure to UB. 

Honoring outstanding students

In addition to celebrating the many accomplishments of Ampadu, the Accounting and Law Department also lauded outstanding students at the event. The students and the awards they received were:

• Kimberly Delcamp, the PwC Emerging Leader Award, given to a role model in Beta Alpha Psi who demonstrates inclusive and collaborative thinking, a positive attitude and a drive for professional and personal development.
• Tom Banas, the PwC Outstanding Service Award, given to a graduating senior and Beta Alpha Psi member who has demonstrated outstanding service and leadership.
• Tom Banas, the David Kim Memorial Award, presented to a Beta Alpha Psi member who promotes inclusivity by exhibiting strong leadership, a willingness to help and an outgoing, uplifting nature.
• Ryan Mohammed, the EY Community Impact Award, given to a member in good standing of the UB Accounting Association who aspires towards active citizenship in the Buffalo community, as evidenced through their involvement with the VITA program. They are committed to giving back to the community by using their technical accounting skills to assist low-income residents in completing their income tax returns.
• Giovanni Maldonado, the EY Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, given to a member in good standing of the UBAA who goes above and beyond to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for UBAA members and students in general. They are an advocate for others, fostering both success and belonging for everyone in the club.
• Christopher Kerr, the EY Transformational Leadership Award, given to a member in good standing of the UBAA who is invested in actively mentoring and coaching others and is a role model for their peers. They are a positive influence, connecting with others and lifting them up with their advice and support.
• Tomas Hajek, the EY Outstanding Involvement Award, given to a member in good standing of the UBAA who has actively been seeking out personal and professional development opportunities through their participation in UBAA initiatives and events. They are highly motivated, curious, and dedicated to furthering their growth in numerous facets.
• Kristin Sheridan, the Eddy Lin Memorial Award, presented to a graduating student focusing on a career with a mid-size public accounting firm. The recipient must mentor others and exhibit scholastic excellence, a passion for learning, and a caring and fun attitude.
• Christopher Kerr and Judy Chen, the New York State Society of CPAs Award of Honor, given to graduating bachelor’s and master’s students, respectively, for scholastic excellence.
• Sherry Zhou, the Lisa Friedman Memorial Award, which honors an accounting senior who is highly regarded by peers for integrity and potential contributions to the profession.
• Alexander Pham, the New York State Society of CPAs John T. Kennedy Memorial Award, given to a junior accounting major for scholastic excellence.
• Pat Unger, the Accounting and Law Outstanding Fifth-Year Student Award, presented to a student in the fifth year of a 150-hour program based on academic performance and service.
• Christopher Kerr, the UB Accounting Association Michael S. Dockery Memorial Senior Award, given to a graduating UBAA member who has provided exemplary leadership and service to the club and school.
• The following students were recognized for successful completion of the Institute of Internal Auditors Internal Auditing Education Partnership program: Marrah Almontaser, Rebecca Belz, Judy Chen, Zhi Chen, Esteban Colon, Ben Douglass, Bella Houseknecht, Brody Kamuda, Jon Karis, Nate Kosakowski, Irvin Lopez, Brandon Louie, Aidan Miller, Aum Patel, Shaniyah Scott, Matt Terzo, Alex Tills, Michael Tortorello, Pat Unger, Lucas Valckenaere, Grace Wansor, Tony Yang, Manny Zaransky, ZhiWei Zhang and Ai Wei Zheng.

Finally, the department also recognized the following scholarship winners:

• Isabella Raber, Accounting and Law Department Undergraduate Scholarship.
• Hao Lin Li, the Judith and Allan Felong Trinkwald Endowed Fellowship.
• Ryan Mohammed, Sherry Zhou and Jillian Sujka, the Accounting Advisory Council Fellowship.
• Tracy Son and Giovanni Maldonado, the Gloria and Oscar Goldstein Memorial Fellowship.
• Adrianna Brooks, Bryce Buchholz and Troy Zamrok, the Paul W. Sweet Memorial Health Care Finance Student Financial Assistance Fund.
• Stefan Stefanov and Cynthia Vokshi, the KPMG Accounting Excellence Fellowship.
• Boris Guanga, the Kathleen M. Hamm, BS ’85, Accounting Fellowship.
• David Liu, the Keith M. Stolzenburg Fellowship.
• Ricardo Vargas, Cole Belt, Faith Rosenthal, Nicholas Konsul, Joseph Denaro, Jayden Bennett and Donato Fiorentino, the Victor and Joan Brown MS Accounting Fellowship.