2016 BSAcc Profile
Hire the BYU Advantage
Professional Experience
“BYU is a top resource school for us. Students
have technical ability, are mobile, and have global
perspective. We find them to be a solid value.”
JAMES S. TURLEY
Retired Chairman and CEO, EY
THE BYU ADVANTAGE
Are you looking for some of the most highly regarded bachelor of
accountancy students in the country? If so, we’re here to help you hire
the BYU advantage. BYU’s program is recognized by every major
ranking publication as one of the top three programs in the country.
Recruiters from top companies know this and keep coming back for
the character, professionalism, collaboration, and flexibility that set
our graduates apart.
1) Nationally Recognized: BYU accounting students are not only
ranked high academically (Bloomberg Businessweek, 2014: 1st;
Public Accounting Report, 2014: 3rd; and U.S. News & World Report,
2014: 3rd), they are also very highly regarded by the firms—including
the Big Four—that hire our grads.
2) Character: The shared values of BYU and its sponsoring institution
help instill strong character in our students. We build on these values
with a required study of business ethics from some of the leading
experts in the field. Frank Crespo, VP and CPO of Caterpillar adds,
“Graduates come away from the Marriott School with a very high
ethical standard. You don’t have to worry about what’s underneath
the résumé.”
3) Collaboration: The undergraduate accounting program produces
strong graduates who know how to work well in teams. In the past
seven years, BYU teams have taken first or second place at Deloitte’s
national tax competitions. BYU teams have also placed first or
second in their last three appearances at the national Deloitte audit
competition.
4) Flexibility: With strong language ability (about two-thirds of students
speak a second language) and significant international experience
(more than three-quarters have served LDS missions, many living
abroad for two years), BYU accounting undergrads can apply their
top-notch expertise in a wide range of locations and fields. Unlike
many accounting programs where a large percentage of graduates
take jobs in their region, BYU accounting students take jobs all over
the country, with one-third of graduates taking jobs outside the West.
5) Professional Experience: BYU students are recognized for their
professional strengths and technical abilities to the point that they
annually fill internships for major accounting firms and industry
employers. BYU accounting undergrads frequently intern for Goldman
Sachs, Citigroup, Dell, Credit Suisse, and Intel.
CLASS PROFILES
2012
2013
2014
2015
NUMBER OF APPLICANTS
323
337
343
384
NUMBER ENROLLED
252
247
265
266
AVERAGE GPA
3.70
3.70
3.74
3.76
MEN
77%
83%
82%
73%
WOMEN
23%
17%
18%
27%
INTERNATIONAL
13%
10%
5%
6%
BILINGUAL
68%
68%
59%
67%
ENTERING STUDENTS
BSACC RANKINGS
RANK
1
st
1
st
RANKING INSTITUTION
Businessweek, 2014
Accounting Degree Review, 2014–15
3
Public Accounting Report, 2014
3rd
U.S. News & World Report, 2014
rd
BSAcc Recruiters
Accenture
Amazon.com
American Express
Andersen Tax
APX Alarm Security Solutions
Bain & Company
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Barclays Capital/Bank
BDO USA
Boston Consulting Group
BYU
Capital Group Companies
Capital One
Cargill
CBIZ
Citigroup
Cornerstone Research
Credit Suisse
Deere & Company
Defense Contract Audit Agency
Dell
Deloitte
doTerra International
Duff & Phelps
Eide Bailly
EKS&H
EY
FASB
Fidelity Investment
FTI Consulting
Gilbert & Stewart, CPAs
Goldman Sachs
Grant Thornton
Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co.
Halverson & Company
Hawkins, Cloward & Simister
Intel Corporation
Internal Revenue Service
JC Penney
Jefferies and Company
JP Morgan
King & McCleary
King, King, Alleman & Jensen
KPMG
Larson CPA
Lazard
LEK Consulting
Lewis & Roca
Lockheed Martin
Lunsford & Peck, CPA
Marriott
McGladrey
McKinsey & Company
Melaleuca
Microsoft Corporation
Monitor Company
Moss Adams
Mozy
National Oil Well Varco
Novell
Nuskin
Permier Employee Solutions
Pickard & Green, CPA
Prostar Company
Protiviti
PwC
Qualtrics
Sandia National Laboratories
Savage Services
Select Staffing
Squire & Company
Strata Fund Services
Synergy Worldwide
Tanner LC
TaxHawk
Teach for America
The RBL Group
The Walt Disney Company
US Air Force
US Army
UBS
Union Pacific Railroad
Utah State Auditor’s Office
Wachovia Securities
Wells Fargo
Western Financial Consultants
Worthington Industries
WSRP
BSAcc ACHIEVEMENTS
For the seventeenth year the BYU School of Accountancy
(SOA) received a top-three ranking from the Public
Accounting Report, reinforcing its position among the
nation’s best accounting schools.
The SOA is endorsed by the Institute of Management
Accountants (IMA) for excellence in preparing students
to pursue the Certified Management Accounting (CMA)
credential. The endorsement from the IMA signifies
that the Marriott School’s accounting program covers
considerable amounts of material on the CMA exam and prepares students to receive the credential.
BYU boasts top-ranked faculty who remain active in the accounting world, serving on corporate
boards and institutional committees. Jeff Wilks, SOA director, was recently appointed to serve on
the Financial Accountings Standards Advisory Council, which meets quarterly to advise the Financial
Accounting Standards Board on accounting matters affecting companies across the United States.
Associate dean Steve Glover was recently appointed to the Auditing Standards Board, the American
Institute of CPAs’ senior committee for auditing, attestation, and quality control. SOA professors also
regularly receive accolades for their published work. In 2015 professors received awards such as the
CPA Journal’s Max Block award and the 2014 Best Paper Award in Issues in Accounting Education.
BYU’s accounting program ranked No. 1 in Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2014 rankings. Accounting
Degree Review ranked the Marriott School’s undergraduate program the No. 1 Accounting Super
School: a comprehensive ranking compiled using multiple other published resources. The Marriott
School also ranked No. 3 in employer satisfaction and No. 17 in student satisfaction in 2014. BYU
was the only school from Utah in the top fifty and the highest rated school in the west.
2015 PLACEMENT AND AVERAGE SALARY
65%
5%
West
$56,400
4%
Midwest
$57,750
Mid-Atlantic
$56,000
4%
Northeast
$67,000
Alaska
Hawaii
17%
Southwest
$64,600
5%
South
$58,700
AVERAGE STARTING SALARY AND PLACEMENT BY INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY
PLACEMENT %
SALARY
Big Four
42%
$55,500
Other CPA
5%
$50,000
Total CPA
46%
$54,800
Consulting
4%
$64,000
Financial Services
21%
$68,600
Manufacturing
6%
$51,300
Miscellaneous
23%
$55,500
updated 10/15