Accounting Department Ranks Eighth in Nation

Students cite ethical emphasis and alumni relations for new status

Sophie MattsonTHE SANTA CLARAOctober 16, 2014 

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]inkedIn declared this month that Santa Clara is among the top 10 schools in the nation for accounting  professionals.

The Santa Clara Accounting Department was ranked eighth in the nation on a ranked list published by LinkedIn, and beat out programs at University of California, Berkeley, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, among other universities.

Mafalda Coscia, recruitment manager for the Campbell office of Moss Adams LLP accounting firm, said she has been recruiting students at Santa Clara for the past nine years, and that the students are “bright, well rounded” candidates.

“In my opinion, the Silicon Valley accounting community views (Santa Clara) as a reputable school that has graduated many alumni that hold prestigious positions in the accounting arena,” Coscia said.

Senior accounting student Kevin Krautscheid, an officer for the Santa Clara University Accounting Association, which hosts professional and social events for accounting majors, said the Santa Clara Accounting Department has an extensive alumni network and faculty members that have taught for many years.

According to senior accounting major Lydia Ku, who is also an Accounting Association officer, accounting firms send Santa Clara alumni to attend on-campus recruiting events as often as possible, which increases student connections to the accounting community.

Ku also said that students in the Accounting Department are trained in ethical practices because accountants have the power to manipulate numbers, which makes them very attractive to recruiters.

In order to take the Certified Public Accountant Examination, which licenses individuals to practice accounting, Santa Clara students are required to take 15 units of ethics classes.

“Locally, we definitely love hiring Santa Clara students. We just wish there were a lot more accounting majors coming out so we can hire them,” said alumnus Joe Maglione, an audit partner at Deloitte accounting firm.

The Accounting Department also has an advisory board, comprised of business leaders and accountants, which meets once a quarter to advise the department.

Maglione said the Accounting Advisory Board discusses changes in the profession, such as the increase in government regulation of the industry and how these changes should be reflected in the Accounting Department’s curriculum.

Maglione said his firm has requested that accounting students from Santa Clara receive more training in writing and that students build up their teamwork skills, and the Accounting Department has been very responsive.

“They are constantly asking us what we would like to see their graduates trained in,” Maglione said.

Michael Calegari, associate professor of accounting, said the Accounting Department’s main emphasis is on “student placement and success.”

According to Calegari, the LinkedIn ranking is the “only national ranking that is based solely on student placement and professional achievement of students,” rather than on other aspects such as faculty publication records and faculty surveys.

Contact Sophie Mattson at smattson@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.