Greetings Accounting Alumni,

Welcome to the Spring issue of the C. T. Bauer College of Business Department of Accountancy & Taxation e-newsletter where we highlight major accomplishments of our students, faculty and staff.

Enrollment growth remains robust. We experienced a 32 percent increase in undergraduate accounting majors from Spring 2023 to Spring 2024. This reflects our effort to change students’ perceptions of accounting by connecting them with young alums, employing innovative teaching methods, and ensuring they are exposed to cutting edge topics.

We want to prepare our students for the profession of the future, and to help accomplish this, we’ve put together a Task Force of 10-12 leaders from the profession who will provide us with their perspective on what knowledge and skillsets need to be taught to our students at the undergraduate and graduate levels to help them reach their full potential.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are able to provide vital financial support to our students. One of the most recent examples of this financial support is the $1 million Dan and Carol Crumrine Endowed Accounting Scholarship that was established late last year. Dan and Carol have been long-time contributors of scholarships for our accounting students and made the generous commitment to permanently endow their scholarship.

Thomas Noland, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Chair
Department of Accountancy & Taxation
C. T. Bauer College of Business
University of Houston

Institute of Internal Auditors Names 2023 Emerging Leaders
Accounting Lecturer Aimee Bhakthavachalam was named to Internal Auditor magazine's “2023 Emerging Leaders” list — featuring an eclectic group of 15 visionaries poised to redefine the future of internal auditing during a period of unprecedented change.

SURE^SM Fire Excellence
The Stimulating Urban Renewal Through Entrepreneurship (SURE^SM) Program in the Musa and Khaleda Dakri Center for Economic Inclusion at the C. T. Bauer College of Business has been named one of the nation’s leading courses in entrepreneurship education.

Good Deeds or “Greenwashing?”
Companies like to promote their good deeds. But Bauer Director of Accounting Program Initiatives Michael Kraten asks are they really practicing what they preach?

Accounting Student Lives and Learns in Nation’s Capital
Accounting student Katherine Said hopes to gain insight into business in government objectives as a fellow in the Bauer in D.C. Fellowship Program this spring. Said is interning in the audits group of the Office of the Inspector General within the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in Washington, D.C.

Researcher

Assistant Professor Annika Wang joined Bauer College in 2017 after receiving her Ph.D. in Business Administration from University of California, Berkeley.

Wang’s research lies at the intersection of accounting and finance. Her recent work looks at regulators' information acquisition and analysts' forecasts around non-information events.

Her research has been published in premier academic journals such as Management Science, Review of Accounting Studies, and Contemporary Accounting Research, and has also been featured in major media outlets including Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Economist, Reuters Breakingviews, and Seeking Alpha.

Instructor

Accountancy & Taxation Associate Professor Novia Chen joined Bauer College in Fall 2015 where she has taught Taxation of Business Entities and Advanced Corporate Taxation.

In both her research and instruction, Chen enjoys incorporating new methods to teach more effectively, as well as exploring different approaches to research questions.

Distinguished alumnus

In his long career, Dan Crumrine (MSACCY ‘86), former Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Fayez, Sarofim & Co., was a Tax Partner at Ernst and Young where he served as a leader of a regional federal tax practice. He specialized in the financial services practice serving Mutual Funds, Investment Managers, Banks, and Mortgage Company. He has experience working at two other global accounting and consulting practices.

Crumrine serves on the University of Houston Accounting Advisory Board and as a guest lecturer at Bauer College. He serves on the board of directors of Cy-Hope, a charity for children. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in accounting from the C. T. Bauer College of Business.

Young alumnus

Bauer alumna Isabel Escamilla (BBA ’19, MSACCY ’20) is currently a third-year Audit Senior with experience in private companies in oil & gas and healthcare.

During her time at Bauer, she worked as an instructional assistant, served as the professional development chair with Beta Alpha Psi and stays connected by serving as a mentor with student organizations and volunteers for the Deloitte UH Summer Bridge Program.

“A degree from Bauer shows hard work, devotion, and loyalty,” she said. “Students from Bauer are in it for the long run because they know that opportunities come from their own merit and not by luck.”

Fall 2023 Outstanding BBA Accounting Student

The moment Rosalie Semaska stepped out of her car for a campus tour, the feeling of excitement and belonging hit her. During her academic career, each of her professors encouraged her to dive further into accounting knowledge. She also developed strong bonds with her fellow students that will continue beyond graduation.

In her spare time, she volunteers within her Vietnamese church community, enjoys gardening, helping with rescue animals, working out, trying new food, and helping people pay off their debt.

After completing her degree, Rosalie will start work at a public accounting firm. She credits her professors and fellow classmates as the main reason she continues to push forward.

Fall 2023 Outstanding MSACCY Student

Throughout her tenure at Bauer, Zoya Hussain had the chance to gain exposure to a wide variety of experiences. She has acquired a well-rounded education in accounting ranging from multiple courses in the various areas of tax to modern-day data analytics. Her commitment extends beyond studies, as she was actively engaged as a dedicated member of Beta Alpha Psi and served an officer position as treasurer. Through her academics and involvement, she landed four offers and had the opportunity to do an internship with Ernst & Young in their tax practice.

Hussain is currently a full-time Tax Associate at Ernst & Young. She also plans to gain her Certified Public Accounting license to enhance her skills as an accounting professional. With the valuable skills she has acquired through her education and experiences, she looks forward to giving back to the community and honoring her roots at Bauer.

Director of Accounting Advising and Admissions Edward Manouelian advises for the MS Accountancy program at Bauer. He has been with the University of Houston since 2008 and Bauer College since 2014.

In 2011 he received UH's New Professional Advising Award, and he received the Department of Accountancy & Taxation's Staff Excellence Award in 2017 and 2024.

Recent journal publications by our faculty:

Amin, A., Bowler, B., Hasan, M.M., Lobo, G.J. and Tresl, J., 2023. Firm life cycle and cost of debt. Journal of Banking & Finance, 154, p.106971.

Chung, S.G., Lee, C., Lobo, G.J.and Yong, K.O., 2023. Valuation implications of FAS 159 reported gains and losses from fair value accounting for liabilities. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 38(4), pp.833-856.

Guo, M., Jia, X., Jin, J.Y., Kanagaretnam, K. and Lobo, G.J., 2024. Expansionary Monetary Policy and Bank Loan Loss Provisioning. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 17(1), 1-35.

Kim, R., Lee, Y.G. and Lobo, G.J., 2024. Rounding of earnings per share and managerial insider selling. Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, 31(1), pp.96-129.

Koo, M., Sivaramakrishnan, K. and Zhao, Y., 2023. Third-Party Source Switches: Objective Valuation or Fair Value Opinion Shopping?. The Accounting Review, 98(7), pp.405-433.

See a complete listing of recent accounting faculty publications.

Have you received a special designation, award or promotion? Share with us at acctconnect@bauer.uh.edu for a chance to be featured in a future issue of our e-newsletter!

The Department of Accountancy & Taxation at the
C. T. Bauer College of Business is an AACSB Accredited Business School.

The University of Houston is an EEO/AA institution.

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