A message from the chair

Dear alumni and friends,

This fall, we welcomed 160 junior-year students to our undergraduate accounting program — a record enrollment in our recent history that will greatly enhance the talent pipeline available to our recruiters. Our graduate program is also off to a strong start, enrolling more than 70 MS Accounting students, most of whom have already accepted job offers, continuing our trajectory of an excellent job placement rate for our graduate students. And, this past May, we celebrated three consecutive years of a 100% job placement rate for MS Accounting students with employment eligibility.

Our school and department also welcomed our newest faculty member, Professor Vincent Castellani, at the start of the new academic year. Castellani recently completed his PhD in accounting at Pennsylvania State University. His research interests include financial reporting and audit quality, and he is collaborating with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to advance our knowledge about the audit of public companies.

In September, Beta Alpha Psi, the international organization for financial information students and professionals, honored the School of Management’s Zeta Theta chapter with the KPMG Platinum Challenge Award, recognizing it as one of the top ten worldwide. This accomplishment reflects the exceptional leadership of faculty advisor Brittany Bartula.

Recently, we co-hosted the 34th Annual Conference for Financial Economics and Accounting with our school’s Department of Finance. Established in 1990, CFEA is one of the longest-running and best-attended academic conferences in the fields of accounting and finance. Over time, this conference has become an important outlet for presenting and discussing finance and accounting research on cutting-edge issues. This year’s conference attracted nearly 200 attendees from leading academic institutions around the world. Many papers presented at the conference shed new light on emerging issues in business, including artificial intelligence.      

This success has positioned our program for continued growth and impact. Our ambition, however, does not end here as we enhance our contributions to our school’s strategic initiatives and mission. Next year, we plan to launch a Master of Science in Accounting Analytics program, further increasing our student enrollment and faculty hiring.

Thank you for supporting our programs. Your continued partnership is critical for our success, and your generosity will strengthen our ability to provide students with the best educational experiences. Thank you, again, and happy holidays to you and your family.

Feng Gu
Professor and Chair
Accounting and Law Department
University at Buffalo School of Management