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PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Department of Accounting & al case competition. The knowledge acquired assists
Finance the teams in understanding how internal audit iden-
tifies and addresses risk so that they have a “big pic-
The Department of Accounting and Finance has ture” understanding of enterprise risk management
had a very successful year. The MGA Accounting team as foundational knowledge to use in the competition.
has placed in the statewide Internal Audit Case Com-
petitions for five years running. During this competi- The department has a number of initiatives to
tion, teams of three students compete against grad- ensure timely graduation. One of these programs is
uate and undergraduate schools in Georgia, judged called “Advising Through Graduation.” While all stu-
by a panel of professionals who pose as a board of dents receive professional advising, accounting stu-
directors. Between 20 and 30 teams compete each dents are required in the first course in the major, In-
year. In all five years that MGA has sent a team, they termediate Accounting I, to receive advising by the
have placed. department chair to ensure learn about potential ca-
reer choices, select electives that are matched to their
During this past academic year, an MGA alumnus goals, and schedule when classes are offered since
won the coveted Public Company Accounting Over- not every course is available every semester. Students
sight Board (PCAOB) internship in Washington. Clay- find this initiative particularly motivating since it con-
ton Vedder, originally pursuing a business degree to nects their coursework specifically with what they
run a barbeque business, graduated with a degree in hope to do after graduation.
accounting from MGA. He then completed his mas-
ter’s degree from UGA. He was one of two nominat- The second initiative aimed at student success is
ed from UGA for the 2018 national summer internship called “Campus Day” for accounting seniors. As an
at PCAOB. After winning the internship, he spent the experiment, two senior level accounting classes were
summer learning to research current accounting top- scheduled on the same day (one early in the day and
ics for impact on audit risk. one at night) with club meetings, competition prac-
tice, group project sessions, homework help, and pro-
The department is also host of MGA Accounting fessor office hours scheduled between the two class-
Association. This group is the oldest accounting club es. Students were notified one semester in advance to
at MGA. This organization sponsors three seminars arrange their schedule set aside Thursday as “campus
and the annual “Meet the Firms” event for regional day” and come early and stay all day. They were en-
accounting firms to come to campus. The Meet the couraged to bring their lunch, go to the gym, work
Firms event offers mock interviews and networking with classmates and cease being a “parking lot stu-
to give students experience with their newly acquired dent.” Student response was strong, with more than
professional skills. The officers each year also decide 75 percent of the students enrolling in both classes
the extent of social events and civic volunteering. and staying for the day. Further experiments with ju-
nior courses are planned.
The first-place-winning team at the statewide
Internal Audit Case Competition in 2016 was so en- For the past two years, since a change in curricu-
thusiastic about their experience that they banded lum in 2015 in the auditing class, MGA students have
together and created a second accounting club, the exceeded the national average pass rate.
Internal Audit Club. The club educates students (of
any major) on identifying and addressing organiza- In recognition of Professor Mimi Ford’s extensive
tion risk by meeting five to six times prior to the annu- leadership service, the North American Accounting
Society (NAAS) awarded their Jacob R. Wambsganss
Scholarship to MGA student Franklin Clark. Franklin
graduated summa cum laude, was president of the
Accounting Association and passed the CPA exam
shortly after graduation. Professor Ford was presi-
dent of North American Accounting Society (NAAS)
in 2018, program chair in 2017, and vice president in
2016. She currently serves on the NAAS Advisory
Council and the editorial board of the newly launched
journal of NAAS, The North American Accounting
Studies.
Professor Troy Sullivan is the incoming president
of the Operations Management and Entrepreneurship
Association (OMEA) after completing this year as
program chair for the MBAA (Midwest Business Ad-
ministration Association) international conference in
Chicago.
Academic Affairs Annual Report 2019 | Middle Georgia State University 35
