Iowa Ledger (2019) - Tippie College of Business

2019 

IOWA 

LEDGER 

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TIPPIE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING 

in this issue 

ARMY ACCOUNTANT 

From a Black Hawk pilot to black and gold alum 

READY FOR WHAT’S NEXT 

Alumna delivers accounting technology 

expertise, job market advantages to students

mission 

Our Mission 

The national prominence of the 

Department of Accounting in the Tippie 

College of Business at the University 

of Iowa stems from the reputation for 

excellence of our undergraduate (BBA), 

master’s (MAc) and PhD programs and 

the high quality research of our faculty. A 

primary goal is to provide undergraduate 

and Masters of Accountancy students with 

a broad and deep educational experience 

that will facilitate their professional growth 

throughout their careers. 

This objective entails providing students 

with a strong technical foundation 

in core accounting competencies; 

developing their skills in written and oral 

communication; critical thinking and 

analysis; broad competency in technology 

and data analytics applications; and 

fostering an awareness of ethical matters 

and a sense of professional integrity 

and judgment. We also seek to educate 

students from other departments in a 

manner that enables them to become 

informed users of accounting information. 

We aim to cultivate the future leaders 

in the academic community by training, 

mentoring, and collaborating with doctoral 

students on cutting-edge research. 

Promoting the research enterprise 

within our department, which requires 

faculty to update their professional 

skills continually by participating in the 

creation and dissemination of accounting 

knowledge, is critical in its own right and 

to accomplishing our curriculum goals.

The Iowa Ledger is an annual publication 

for alumni and friends of the Department 

of Accounting, Tippie College of 

Business, University of Iowa. 

CO-EDITORS 

Amanda May 

Rebekah Tilley 

DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE OFFICER 

Daniel W. Collins 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 2019 

DESIGN 

The Williams McBride Group 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

The American Accounting Association 

Jonathan Chapman 

Lloyd Degrane 

Impact Photo 

Justin Knight 

Miranda Meyer 

Tim Schoon 

Student Publications, Inc. 

Justin A. Torner | University of Iowa 

UI Marketing + Design 

University Archives | 

University of Iowa Libraries 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Lynn Davy 

Tom Snee 

Shirley Wang 

CONTACT US 

Your feedback is always welcome! 

Direct correspondence to: 

Amanda May 

Co-editor, Iowa Ledger 

Tippie College of Business 

S210 PBB 

University of Iowa 

Iowa City, IA 52242-1994 

319-467-1694 

amanda-may-1@uiowa.edu 

ADDRESS CHANGES 

Email your changes to: 

alumni-records@uiowa.edu 

or mail to: 

Alumni Records 

Office of the Registrar 


2 Jessup Hall 


TIPPIE NEWS EMAIL 

Email us at tippie-news@uiowa.edu to 

subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter. 

Copyright @ 2019 Tippie College of 

Business, University of Iowa. 

All rights reserved. 

14 

campus 

7 CPA Exam Performance 

10 Collins Receives Lifetime Achievement Award 

features 

Army Accountant 

From a Black Hawk pilot to black and gold alum 

18 Ready for What’s Next 

Alumna delivers accounting technology expertise, 

job market advantages to students 

20 A Transformative Experience 

Michael Rocca: 2019 Outstanding Accounting 

Alumnus of the Year 

family 

24 Hometown Hawkeye 

Eric Gantz, co-founder of Verena Street Coffee 

28 Why I Give 

Anna Marshall (BBA16/MAc17) 

CONNECT WITH US 

@TippieIowa 

TippieIowa 

Tippie College of Business 

@TippieCollege 

ON THE COVER 

Old Capitol from the 

T. Anne Cleary Walkway. 

Photo by Justin A. Torner.

Dear Alumni and Friends: 

In my chairman’s letter last year, I noted that the Association to Advance 

Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) would be reviewing the Accounting 

Department in 2019 for reaccreditation. This body evaluates and accredits 

business schools and accounting programs at more than 800 universities 

in over 50 countries. I am happy to report that we received reaccreditation 

by AACSB of all of our BBA, MAc, and PhD programs for another five years 

following the site visit in March 2019. Here, I highlight the areas of distinction 

singled out in their report as well as areas that we need to work on. 

2 IOWA LEDGER 2019

Commendations and best practices: 

• Writing program. One aspect of our program that 

differentiates us from other programs around the country 

is our Accounting Writing Program that began in 1998. 

Each accounting class has graded writing assignments 

and initial drafts of these assignments are critiqued by 

writing professionals who provide constructive feedback 

to students on how to become better writers. In addition 

to refining students’ communication skills, the writing 

assignments focus on targeted development of critical 

thinking skills, a primary aim of the college’s strategic 

plan. The 2019 AACSB site team noted in its report: 

“The department’s exceptional writing program is a 

point of distinction for its Undergraduate and Master of 

Accountancy programs. Expanding the program to include 

presentation skill development, data visualization and 

communication through One Button Studio has created a 

significant advantage for Tippie’s accounting students.” 

• Incorporating technology and data analytics into 

the curriculum. The site visit team commended the 

department for recent efforts to incorporate technology 

and data analytic applications throughout the curriculum 

similar to the writing program. They encouraged 

us to develop assessment tools to gauge students’ 

technology/data analytic competency, and we will be 

implementing these assessments over the coming year. 

• Research focus and mentoring. The site visit team 

also commended the department for its strong research 

record and mentoring culture. The AACSB report notes: 

“The department has a strong research focus and culture 

that fosters research productivity, junior faculty 

development, and PhD student development. This 

culture was particularly apparent in conversations 

with the PhD students who lauded the strong support 

and mentoring they receive from faculty. The junior 

faculty also appreciate the feedback, guidance, and 

transparency in the promotion and tenure process. This 

model should serve as an example for other programs.” 

• Alumni and professional engagement. The AACSB 

report commended the department for its strong 

alumni relations and professional engagement. “The 

department is well-connected with alumni and accounting 

professionals. The department benefits substantially 

from active engagement from the Professional Accounting 

Council as well as the [Tippie] Young Alumni Board.” 

Areas of concern and need for improvement: 

• Learning objectives and assurance of learning. 

The site visit team recommended that the department: 

(1) undertake a process to determine if the current learning 

goals in each program should be revised, and if so, revise 

them accordingly; (2) determine learning goals that can 

be directly assessed through our writing program (in 

addition to the learning goals related to written and verbal 

communication skills); and (3) develop direct assessment 

outside of the writing program for demonstrating that 

the degree program learning goals are being met. Over 

the coming year, the department’s Professional Program 

Committee will be refining the learning goals for our BBA 

and MAc programs and developing assessment tools to 

ensure that our students are meeting these learning goals. 

• Senior leadership and succession planning. 

The AACSB visitation team noted that the research 

reputation and strong mentoring culture of the department 

is at risk because of recent faculty departures and the fact 

that a number of senior faculty are nearing retirement. 

Currently, the department has only ten tenure-track faculty 

(the smallest faculty size in the last ten years) with another 

tenure-track faculty member scheduled to retire on July 

1, 2020. Accordingly, a top priority of the department 

over the coming academic year will be hiring several 

new tenure-track faculty, some at advanced rank, and 

developing a succession plan for the next department chair. 

On July 1, 2020, I will be completing my term as department 

chair and will be entering two-year phased retirement. 

It has been my honor to lead the department over the 

past six years. We have a strong, committed group of 

faculty, we have excellent students, and we have a strong 

alumni base that supports our program by employing 

our students and by providing financial support to keep 

our department at the forefront of accounting education. 

I hope you will continue to support our department by 

visiting givetoiowa.org/accounting and making a financial 

donation. With your continued support, I am confident 

we can become a better and stronger department. 

Thank you and best wishes. 


Accounting Department Executive Officer 

Henry B. Tippie Research Chair in Accounting

campus 

SHORTS 

Quoted & Noted 

“A big part of the reputation of our school falls 

on the shoulders of the PhD students we send 

out to other schools across the country.” 


Professor and Department Executive Officer 

Nhat Nguyen (PhD19) 

Colorado State University 

PhD Placement 

Heejin Ohn (PhD19) 

University of Oklahoma 

Facts & Figures 

12% 

of the most cited accounting academic 

authors are products of the 

UI accounting doctoral program 

Accounting students participated in the Deloitte 

Audit Innovations Campus Challenge (AICC) in the 

Chicago region on Friday, November 16, 2018. 

(L-R): Gabe Black, Stephanie Herzog, Katie Parizek, 

Dylan Sambrano, Sarah Yanik, and Nate Herbst. 

This team of accounting students competed in the 

fall 2018 Deloitte FanTAXtic competition in downtown 

Chicago. (L-R): Ryan Greenough, Haley Arkfeld, Matt 

Hopp, Sarah Kluesner, and Ethan Hahn. 


MEET THE 

Class of 2023 

2019 Beta Alpha Psi Officers 

Fifteen freshmen accounting scholarships were 

awarded in the fall of 2019. Front row (L-R): Alex Soto, 

Erica Alex, Emily Murphy, Bryce Buhlman, Hannah 

Frankl, Macy Thompson, and Trey Angel. Back row (L-R): 

Ethan Orr, Patrick Bleadorn-Haas, Caymen Woods, Paul 

Eikenberry, Rachel Olson, Bryce Carr, and Diego Ortiz. 

Not pictured: Elliot Martin. 

Haley Arkfeld, President 

Lakota Larson, Vice President 

Jim Postma, Vice President of Reporting 

Sarah Kluesner, Assistant Vice President of Reporting 

AJ Finn, Treasurer 

Libby Brown, Assistant Treasurer 

Sadie Andrews, Vice President of Community Service 

Brooks Rodish, Assistant Vice President of Community Service 

Paige Wagg, Vice President of Networking 

Melanie McCollough, Assistant Vice President of Networking 

Thought Leadership 

Every fall, we invite big names in accounting to be 

presenters for the RSM Institute National Speaker 

Series. Angela Sanders, senior vice president and 

controller at Principal, was our 2018 speaker. 

(L-R): Professor Dan Collins, Associate Professor Jaron 

Wilde, Senior Associate Dean Amy Kristof-Brown, Senior 

Director at RSM Jason Wagner (MAc99), Senior Vice 

President at Principal Angela Sanders (MAc88), and 

Tax Partner with RSM Andrew Swanson (BBA00). 

Associate Professor Jaron Wilde received the 

Outstanding Paper Award from The Journal of the 

American Taxation Association at the 2019 annual 

meeting UNIVERSITY in San OF Francisco. IOWA TIPPIE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 5

campus 

2018 Sullivan Scholar in Residence: 

Editor of Journal of Financial Reporting 

WRITTEN BY • LYNN DAVY 

Cornell University Professor Robert Bloomfield spent one week with Tippie’s 

accounting faculty and PhD students this past academic year to discuss ways to improve 

transparency and replicability in accounting research. He was the 2018 Sullivan Scholar 

in Residence, an honor bestowed upon a leading accounting academic every year. 

During his visit, Bloomfield gave 

lectures to accounting faculty and 

PhD students. During some of these 

lectures, he discussed his mission 

as the recently-appointed editor of 

the Journal of Financial Reporting, 

as well as his efforts to encourage the 

use of multiple research methods in 

accounting, including field work. 

He urged faculty and PhD students to 

commit to prearranged data collection 

strategies, and to then report the 

results regardless of the outcome. 

He told them that this would help to 

overcome the academic bias towards 

only reporting “significant” findings 

in research. 

“Professor Bloomfield encouraged us 

all to do more research replicating prior 

studies to see if the results would hold 

up under different conditions, time 

periods, countries, etcetera,” said Paul 

Hribar, professor of accounting. 

“His talk sparked discussions about 

ways to improve the quality of our 

research and ensure honest reporting 

of results.” 

Funded by a generous gift from 

Michael Sullivan (BBA87), the 

Sullivan Scholar program is important 

because it gives faculty and students 

the opportunity to interact with an 

internationally renowned accounting 

scholar, often one that has a different 

academic focus. The program also 

allows graduate students to have oneon-one 

meetings with the scholar, vet 

their research ideas with someone 

outside the college, and to network for 

research and job opportunities. • 


campus 

CPA Exam Performance 

The following data published by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) 

shows that University of Iowa accounting graduates have consistently performed well on the CPA exam. 

Our graduates’ first-time pass rate on exam sections taken during 2018 was 80.2%, which ranks 11th 

out of 249 large programs nationally (at least 60 candidates) and second among Big Ten Conference 

universities with large programs. 

Our graduates’ average first-time pass rate on exams sections taken over the aggregate 2015-2018 period 

was 75.1%, which ranks third among Big Ten Conference universities with large programs, highest each 

year of the Iowa public universities, and significantly above the performance of all CPA exam candidates. 

2015-2018 First-time CPA Exam Performance 

FIRST-TIME PASS RATES 

SCHOOL 2018 2017 2016 2015 

WEIGHTED 

AVERAGE 1 

BIG TEN UNIVERSITIES 

Wisconsin 87.2% 81.1% 84.7% 84.5% 84.3% 

Michigan 76.8 77.7 77.2 77.9 77.5 

Iowa 80.2 69.1 72.0 79.6 75.1 

Michigan State 75.9 72.0 72.0 73.1 73.1 

Nebraska 73.8 71.8 73.2 68.2 71.7 

Indiana 71.6 73.0 66.7 69.2 70.0 

Minnesota 72.0 69.5 71.6 65.9 69.5 

Illinois 69.9 65.8 69.2 67.2 68.0 

Penn State 68.2 57.9 67.2 67.9 65.4 

Ohio State 65.9 62.6 63.9 66.8 64.8 

Maryland 60.1 63.9 64.2 64.8 63.6 

Purdue 59.3 56.4 49.3 57.9 55.9 

Rutgers 54.5 44.5 46.9 52.8 49.5 

Weighted Average 1 69.4% 65.0% 66.6% 67.7% 67.1% 

IOWA PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES 

Iowa 80.2 69.1 72.0 79.6 75.1 

Northern Iowa 72.0 59.6 62.8 64.4 64.4 

Iowa State 52.1 48.2 48.9 58.1 51.2 

ALL CANDIDATES 57.5% 52.9% 54.4% 55.0% 54.8% 

1 Weighted by the number of exam sections taken. 

SOURCE: Candidate Performance on the Uniform CPA Examination, Appendix B-1, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy 

(NASBA). 

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TIPPIE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 7

campus 

HOT TOPIC 

Cautionary Tale 

Whistleblower in massive fraud scandal speaks to Iowa accounting students 


At the height of his career at HealthSouth Corporation, 

Weston Smith enjoyed lavish fishing excursions on 

yachts and business travel on private executive jets. But 

he ditched those luxuries and others when he became 

a whistleblower in one of the most spectacular financial 

statement fraud cases in U.S. history. 

As the chief financial officer of 

HealthSouth Corp., Smith played a 

role in misreporting financial figures 

to investors and Wall Street. In a talk 

with accounting students during the 

Fall 2018 semester, Smith said the 

misreporting started small, but quickly 

grew as executives continued to try 

to hide missed financial targets from 

the finance world as well as ongoing 

fraud from law enforcement. 

At the height of the fraud, HealthSouth 

had $275 million of cash recorded on 

its balance sheet, but only about $25 

million in the bank. 

“Basically, it was one big shell game,” 

Smith told students. 

The stress of the cover-up and the 

pressure from his boss to remain loyal 

to the company despite the deception 

finally became too much for Smith. 

He was losing his hair and he was filled 

with regret. In 2003, he went to federal 

regulators and told them everything. 

In the end, he served 27 months in 

prison. The first night of his prison 

stay will stick with him forever. 

“I remember lying in my bunk bed and 

thinking ‘What on earth are you doing 

here?’” said Smith, who now travels 

the country speaking about financial 

maleficence and business ethics. “But 

at the same time, I was so thankful that 

the lying was over. I was involved in 

something so wrong that I was serving 

time in federal prison. I knew I had 

broken the law and I knew I had to pay 

for what I had done.” 

Smith was invited to speak with students 

by Jaron Wilde, associate professor of 

accounting, to reinforce the immense 

importance of accounting ethics. Wilde 

conducts research on whistleblowers and 

he knew of Smith from discussions with 

academic colleagues. 

“Weston’s presentation is a personal 

account of a very difficult situation, 

centered in accounting fraud,” 

Wilde said. 

“His presentation invites students to 

reflect on their own decision framework 

and determine what they will do when 

they face difficult circumstances and 

ethical dilemmas.” • 


campus 

Baker Awarded Hancher-Finkbine Alumni Medallion 

(L-R): University President Bruce Harreld, Dale Baker, 

and Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers at 

the 102nd Finkbine Dinner on April 23, 2019. 

Dale Baker (BBA68) received one of the university’s 

highest alumni honors at the 102nd Finkbine Dinner on 

April 23, 2019. Hancher-Finkbine Medallions recognize 

leadership, learning, and loyalty. Baker has long given 

back to the Department of Accounting and the university 

as a whole. Baker provides support for more than 40 

scholarships in the Tippie College of Business. Since 

2013, Baker has also funded the College of Education’s 

iPad Teacher Education Program, which provides iPads 

and training to education students. Baker served on the 

Department of Accounting’s Professional Accounting 

Council for three years. He joined the board of the UI 

Alumni Association in 1998 and the Tippie Board of 

Visitors (now the Tippie Advisory Board) as an ex-officio 

member. In his role with the Alumni Association, he 

served as the chair of the finance committee and later 

president of the board. He currently serves on the UI 

Center for Advancement Board of Directors and on its 

executive committee. According to Dean Sarah Gardial, 

Dale Baker has been an active and supportive alumnus 

for more than 25 years. 

“Dale Baker is truly an engaged and model alumnus. 

His financial support of this institution has not only 

helped educate today’s students, but it has enabled several 

colleges to plan for the future. There are many parts of 

the University of Iowa that are stronger because of the 

support, guidance, and volunteer assistance that Baker 

has provided through the years. He is truly one of our 

most loyal and ardent supporters,” Gardial said. • 

Frank Business Communication Center 

Faculty Now Under UI Accounting 

The traditional academic faculty at the University of Iowa 

are tenure and tenure-track faculty with portfolios of 

teaching, research, and service. Additionally, the university 

employs non-tenured instructional faculty who are primarily 

engaged in the teaching mission of the college. 

This academic year, the outstanding instructional-track 

faculty of the Frank Business Communications Center were 

adopted under the academic umbrella of the UI Department 

of Accounting. This decision pays tribute to the history 

of the Accounting Writing Program, which ultimately 

expanded into the Frank Business Communications Center 

and serves all Tippie College of Business students. This 

reorganization gives instructional-track faculty within 

the Frank Business Communications Center a pathway to 

promotion, representation on the UI Faculty Senate, and 

more transparent expectations for workload. • 

(L-R): Professor of Practice Pam Bourjaily, Lecturer Kodi Scheer, 

Lecturer Jane Murphy, Associate Director of the Accounting Writing 

Program Carl Follmer, and Lecturer Erin Elgin. 


campus 

Collins Receives Lifetime Achievement Award 

for Thought Leadership in Financial Accounting 

WRITTEN BY • REBEKAH TILLEY 

Surrounded by his “academic children,” Daniel W. Collins (BBA68/PhD73) 

accepted the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Financial Accounting 

and Reporting Section of the American Accounting Association in August. 

The award is given to research trailblazers whose work spans at least 20 

years and whose cumulative academic impact is ongoing. 


LEFT: Collins, surrounded by his “academic children.” 

RIGHT: Collins thanks his mentor, Bill Kinney. 

Many of Collins’ former doctoral 

students—now leaders in financial 

accounting research and industry— 

were on hand to celebrate his legacy. 

“A pantheon of faculty and doctoral 

students have wandered through the 

corridors of Iowa, with Dan welcoming 

them and bidding them good-bye. 

But Dan has been the high priest and 

guardian of the culture that has been 

the embodiment of his selfless service 

to the profession,” said S.P. Kothari 

(PhD86), professor of accounting and 

finance at MIT. (Kothari is currently 

on leave serving as chief economist 

and director of the division of economic 

and risk analysis for the Securities and 

Exchange Commission.) 

In his remarks, Kothari said economics 

has a simple theory of output: it is the 

result of the combination of labor and 

capital. But when Kothari reflected 

on his time as a PhD student in the UI 

Department of Accounting, he realized 

culture has a role to play in output as well. 

“Iowa was a modest place in its 

financial and physical resources, but 

with Dan there, it had boundless energy, 

aspiration, team spirit, discipline, and 

compassion,” said Kothari. 

“It personified a ‘can do’ culture that 

was high in morale. Dan was central to 

creating this culture that was palpable 

at the time I joined the program.” 

Collins’ dissertation advisor and 

former UI Accounting faculty member 

William Kinney spoke of Collins’ 

coming of age during a time when 

accounting research was entering a 

new frontier and Collins’ brilliance 

as a young academic. 

“Many have said to me ‘I didn’t 

know you were Dan’s chair,’” says 

Kinney, now professor emeritus 

at the University of Texas. “More 

than once, people have asked ‘So 

Bill, after Dan, why didn’t you quit 

chairing dissertations—while you 

were way ahead?’” 

When honoring Collins, Edward 

Maydew (PhD93), professor of 

accounting at the University of North 

Carolina, focused on the legacy of 

Collins’ mentorship of graduate 

students over his 40+ year career. 

“I submit that teaching PhD students 

is a little bit like teaching kindergarten. 

How so? Both enter not knowing much, 

but eager to learn,” said Maydew. 

“Kindergarteners learn how to tie their 

shoes, where PhD students learn how to 

interpret regressions. Kindergarteners 

learn how to get along well with others. 

Doctoral students learn how to work in 

teams, as most research is team-based.” 

Maydew went on to chronicle 

Collins’ “academic children,” 

the women and men he mentored 

who went on to academic roles 

where the process was repeated for 

“Dan’s academic grandchildren.” 

“That’s quite a legacy, Dan, and 

something to be proud of,” remarked 

Maydew. “Your teaching, ways of 

approaching research, and ways of 

thinking will persist for years to come.” 

As Collins steps down as DEO of 

the department, we congratulate 

him on this lifetime achievement 

award and for the many thought 

leaders in the academic profession 

that he has mentored. • 

Nicole Thorne Jenkins (PhD02), president 

of the FARS section of the American 

Accounting Association, presents Collins 

with his Lifetime Achievement Award. 


13 

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18 

3 

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7 

20 

16 

10 

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15 


campus 

Faculty 

NEW FACULTY 

1 

LARS HELGE HASS 

Visiting Associate Professor 

BRIGHT (YUE) HONG 

2 3 

Visiting Assistant Professor 

AMY MCDONALD 

Lecturer 

Education: 

PhD11, Finance 

WHU-Otto Beisheim 

School of Management 

MS07, Computer Science 

RWTH Aachen University 

MS05, Economics 

University of Hagen 

MS04, Business Administration 

University of Hagen 

Previous Position: 

Associate Professor (Reader) in 

Finance and Accounting at Lancaster 

University Management School 

Noteworthy: 

Hass’s research focuses on financial 

reporting, corporate finance, taxation, 

and innovation. 

Education: 

PhD19, Accounting 

Emory University 

MS11, Accounting 

Michigan State University 

BS09, Accounting 

Shanghai University of 

Finance & Economics 


Senior, Financial Accounting Advisory 

Service, Ernst & Young, New York City 

Noteworthy: 

Hong is a Certified Public Accountant 

in New York and a Chartered Financial 

Analyst. Her current research interests 

focus on individual judgment and 

decision making in auditing and 

financial reporting. 

Education: 

MB01, Business Taxation 

University of Minnesota 

BA95, Business Administration & 

Accounting University of St. Thomas 


Vice President of Internal Audit 

Rockwell Collins 

Noteworthy: 

McDonald was a NCAA Division III 

Academic All-American in tennis as 

an undergraduate. She is both a 

Certified Public Accountant and a 

Certified Internal Auditor. 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

SCOTT ASAY 

Associate Professor 

Arthur Andersen/Norman Tucker 

Accounting Fellow 

RAMJI BALAKRISHNAN 

C. Woody Thompson Professor 

of Accounting 

JOYCE BERG 

Sidney G. Winter Professor 

of Accounting 

TERRI BOBEK 

Adjunct Lecturer 

PAMELA BOURJAILY 

Professor of Practice 

TOM CARROLL 

Professor of Instruction 

Director, MAc Program 

ELIZABETH CHORVAT 

Associate Professor of Instruction 

DANIEL COLLINS 

Henry B. Tippie Research Chair 

in Accounting/Department 

Executive Officer 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

DOUG DEJONG 

Lloyd J. and Thelma W. Palmer 

Professor of Accounting 

KEVIN DEN ADEL 

Associate Professor of Instruction/ 

Director, Undergraduate Program 

in Accounting 

LISA DUTCHIK 

Lecturer 

CARL FOLLMER 

Assistant Director, 

Accounting Writing Program 

CRISTI GLEASON 

Professor and Henry B. Tippie 

Research Fellow 

BOB HARTMAN 

Lecturer 

KAY HEGARTY 

Associate Professor of Practice 

PAUL HRIBAR 

Henry B. Tippie Excellence Chair/ 

Director, PhD Program in Accounting 

18 

19 

20 

21 

KEVIN MARKLE 

Assistant Professor 

MARY MURPHY 

Lecturer 

Q & A 

MARK PENNO 

Professor and Ray William Shearman 

Research Fellow 

When did you know you were going to 

pursue accounting as a career? 

I took my first accounting course 

as an MBA requirement. At the 

end of the course, my professor gave 

me a note saying I had the makings 

of a CPA. I had such respect for that 

professor that I decided to become one. 

It is amazing how a small act can make 

such a difference in your life.” 

JARON WILDE 

Associate Professor 

Thomas and Margaret Kloet Fellowship 

and Palmer Faculty Fellow/Director, 

RSM Institute of Accounting Education 

and Research 


feature 

ARMYACCOUNTANT 

FROM A BLACKHAWK PILOT TO BLACK AND GOLD ALUM 

WRITTEN BY • TOM SNEE 

Lt. Matt Slykhuis was 

poised and ready at his 

base in Faryab Province, 

Afghanistan, when the alert 

sounded in August 2010. 

“It was a Category A, so it was urgent, 

and we had to be off the ground in 15 

minutes—which is quick for a Black 

Hawk helicopter, but it’s doable,” says 

Slykhuis, who was then a new U.S. 

Army air ambulance pilot about to 

begin his first mission. “I ran out to 

the helicopter throwing on my gear 

and started doing the pre-flight check 

while the pilot-in-command got more 

information about the patient and 

the situation we were going into.” 

They were off the ground in minutes, 

flying between the jagged mountain 

peaks of Afghanistan—his heart 

pounding, adrenaline rushing— 

to a recently cleared battlefield where 

a seriously injured soldier waited 

for an emergency evacuation. This 

was why Slykhuis joined the Army 

ROTC program as an undergraduate 

student, why he went active duty 

after graduation, and why he chose to 

become an air ambulance pilot. 

“I wanted to serve my country and 

give guys a second chance,” says 

Slykhuis. “That’s what we told each 

other even when we learned that 

someone we transported didn’t make 

it—at least we gave him a chance.” 

The crew loaded the injured soldier 

onto the litter and returned to 

base, knowing the entire flight that 

Taliban and al-Qaida soldiers lurked 

in the valleys below, and fearing the 

helicopter might come under fire. 

Back at base, Slykhuis and his pilot 

landed the Black Hawk and watched 

their charge whisked away to surgery 

to be treated for injuries he received 

from an IED. Slykhuis had no idea how 

long the mission took. 

“It was just a rush,” he says. “When 

we came back, I felt like I hadn’t taken 

a breath since we left. I stood on the 

ground and went ‘whew.’” 

14 IOWA LEDGER 2019 

This article has been designed using resources from Freepik.com

“ 

I WANTED TO SERVE MY COUNTRY AND GIVE GUYS A SECOND 

CHANCE. THAT’S WHAT WE TOLD EACH OTHER EVEN WHEN WE 

LEARNED THAT SOMEONE WE TRANSPORTED DIDN’T MAKE IT— 

AT LEAST WE GAVE HIM A CHANCE. 

” 

LT. MATT SLYKHUIS 


#52 

RANKING IN THE 

U.S. NEWS & WORLD 

REPORT FOR 

BEST COLLEGE 

FOR VETERANS 

Slykhuis with his wife and two oldest children at an Iowa football game. 

Today, Slykhuis is a major 

in the Army and still serving 

on active duty. 

But he also graduated in May 2019 

with a Master of Accountancy (MAc) 

from the UI Department of Accounting. 

He started to think about a different 

position as the stress of flying in and 

out of combat zones began to take its 

toll. The 11-year veteran participated 

in a training program that led him 

to his current one-year assignment 

at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio 

where he is completing a health service 

comptroller internship. 

“My wife and I have four kids now, 

and that shaped part of my decision,” 

says the Cedar Falls, Iowa, native. 

“The Army’s been good to us and I 

wasn’t looking to leave, but I was 

looking forward to a more predictable 

schedule. And I wouldn’t be completely 

honest if I didn’t say that accounting 

is safer,” he says. 

Slykhuis says a career in the Army 

was never in his plans, even after he 

enlisted. The Iraq War was at its 

peak when he attended Iowa State 

University as an undergraduate, and 

he says he felt the need to do something 

to serve his country, so he signed up 

for ROTC his sophomore year. He 

wanted to see what Army life was 

like, so he went on active duty after 

graduating in 2007. He wanted to save 

lives, so he trained as a medic platoon 

leader until an opportunity came to 

learn to fly helicopters and he became 

an air evacuation pilot. 

Slykhuis served two deployments 

in Afghanistan, from July 2010 to July 

2011, and again from March to October 

2014. He flew about 35 missions on 

his first deployment and fewer than 

that during his second, which was 

shorter and followed the draw-down 

of troops from Afghanistan. 

After two deployments, he says he 

began to wonder if it was time to do 

something different, something more 

predictable. He had always been 

interested in finance and numbers. 

Maybe his future was there. 

So he called Tom Carroll, professor 

of instruction in accounting and 

director of the MAc program in the 

Tippie College of Business back home 

in Iowa. He said he was interested in 

becoming an accountant and wondered 

if his background made him a good 

candidate for the MAc program. 

“He told me he’d already taken one 

accounting class, and I told him, 

‘Maybe you ought to take that second 

accounting class and see if you really 

like it,’” says Carroll, who was Slykhuis’ 

academic advisor. 

“I thought it was interesting that this 

guy wanted to go from a being Black 

Hawk pilot to an administrator at Army 

hospitals because those are two very 

different skill sets.” 

Slykhuis stood out in class. He’s 10 years 

older than most of his classmates, who 

enrolled immediately after receiving 

their undergraduate degrees. He’s had 

more life-and-death experiences than 

most of them combined. His lack of an 

undergraduate degree in accounting 

also set him apart. But Carroll says 

Slykhuis’ varied life experience and 

wisdom benefited his classmates. 

“He got along with everybody, and he 

was attuned to working with young 

people and helping them along,” Carroll 

says. “It’s a big advantage to have 

students with different backgrounds in 

our program, and he really helped with 

that. He knew how to solve a problem 

with whatever you have, to make do 

with what you’ve got, and that sets an 

important example for other students.” 

Slykhuis also has the gift of perspective. 

“He was a mechanical engineering 

student at Iowa State, so he has no 

problem handling the rigor, and after 

seeing what he’s seen in Afghanistan, 

a difficult accounting problem isn’t 

very serious,” Carroll says. 


Slykhuis with fellow soldiers during his 2010-2011 deployment. 

Professor Tom Carroll presenting Slykhuis with the Federation 

of Schools of Accountancy Achievement Award for Outstanding 

MAc Student in 2019. 

2,260 

MORE 

THAN 

VETERANS, 

DEPENDENTS, & 

ACTIVE-DUTY MEMBERS 

ATTEND THE 

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA 

DURING ANY 

GIVEN TERM. 

Slykhuis says he was pleased to be back in Iowa for two 

years and close to home, but the tragedy he saw touch so 

many families in Afghanistan touched his own family 

about the time he returned. His father, legendary Cedar 

Falls High School boys’ basketball coach Jerry Slykhuis, 

and his mother, Jane, were killed in a traffic accident in 

December 2016, just days before Matt was going to tell them 

of his plans to move back to Iowa, and their grandchildren 

would be just a 90-minute drive away. Then, a year later, 

his brother, Steven, died after an illness in December 2017. 

The losses hit his family hard, but like one does in the Army, 

Slykhuis says you learn to lean into each season of life and 

keep moving forward. Slykhuis plans to learn the Army’s 

resource-management system during his internship and, 

after that, he’ll be assigned to an Army hospital somewhere 

in the U.S. He likes accounting, he says, and he likes the 

health care setting. It’s a skill he says he can use anywhere. 

“I can do this for the rest of my life,” he says. • 

I WOULDN’T BE COMPLETELY 

HONEST IF I DIDN’T SAY THAT “ACCOUNTING IS SAFER. 

” 

LT. MATT SLYKHUIS 


family 

PROFILE 

Ready for What’s Next 

Alumna delivers accounting technology expertise, job market advantages to students 


When Maria Rydberg Turner (BBA86) graduated with an accounting 

degree from Tippie, her first job required data crunching with a pencil, 

14-column work papers, and an HP-12C calculator. If she needed a computer, 

she had to wait her turn to use one of two desktop computers in her division. 

Today, she’s an accounting executive 

who uses data mining and blockchain 

strategy, among other technology tools, 

to help her clients optimize profitability. 

She’s bringing her expertise back 

to Tippie in an effort to prepare the 

next generation of accountants for an 

industry that today is dominated by 

computer-generated data. 

“Big data and programming tools are 

at the heart of business today and this 

will only become more prevalent in 

the future,” says Turner. 

“Tippie graduates need to be equipped 

to analyze large data sets. Learning how 

to manipulate computer-generated data 

at the undergraduate level will prepare 

students for real-world situations and 

put them in a competitive position for 

post-graduation employment.” 

Turner is the managing director of 

AArete’s Chicago office and a member 

of the Professional Accounting Council. 

She is working with Accounting DEO 

Daniel Collins and Chaired Professor 

Ramji Balakrishnan to build a 

cutting-edge technology training and 

assessment program at Tippie with 

an eye towards duplicating the success 

of the department’s Accounting Writing 

Program, which has become a source 

of distinction for the college. 

The writing program requires accounting 

students to improve their writing skills 

through regular assignments that are 

embedded within each required course. 

These writing assignments teach 

students to effectively communicate in 

the workplace, whether they are writing a 

memo, a client letter, or an analysis paper. 

“This exceptional writing program 

has been recognized as a model for 

the accounting academic community,” 

says Turner. “Our idea is to do the 

same thing with technology; to 

integrate technology education into 

the curriculum to the point where it 

distinguishes Tippie students from 

other business school graduates.” 

It’s also important to keep on top 

of accounting technology trends in 

order to fulfill requirements set by 

the Association to Advance Collegiate 

Schools of Business (AACSB), whose 

assurance of learning standards 

dictate the incorporation of technology 

learning throughout business school 

curriculum, says Collins. Turner 

presented information about the 

technology project, and how it matches 

up with the AACSB’s business education 

goals, to the Professional Accounting 

Council at its April 2019 meeting in 

Iowa City. 

“The department has already made 

commendable efforts to integrate and 

embed technology applications and data 

analysis throughout the curriculum, 

including the use of databases and 

visualization software,” says Collins. 

“But we still want to do more, and Maria 

is helping us to elevate these technology 

goals to the next level.” 

To test students’ knowledge of 

accounting technology, Turner is 

sharing an assessment platform 

that AArete uses when it is considering 

a job candidate. This computerized 

technical assessment tests a candidate’s 

ability to use Excel spreadsheets to 

manipulate complex data. Turner says 

that AArete has found that use of the 

assessment helps enhance the overall 

performance of the firm and improves 

employee morale and retention. 

“The assessment tests candidates’ 

ability to build pivot tables, charts 

and graphs from large data sets,” says 

Turner. “It is meant to mimic realworld 

situations. The focus is on getting 

the correct answer within a reasonable 

amount of time.” 

At the Professional Accounting 

Council meeting in the spring, three 

current undergraduate accounting 

students described their experience 

using the technical assessment. All 

three said they found the test helpful 

in identifying technical strengths 

and weaknesses. 

Over the course of the next academic 

year, the Department of Accounting 

will expand the technical assessment 

and add additional modules, including 

advanced Excel skills, Tableau and 

visualization tools, and other new 

technologies. 


“The University of Iowa, Maria, 

and AArete have a lot in common— 

always striving to attain the highest 

of standards,” says Loren Trimble 

(BBA86), AArete CEO and managing 

director. “The recent integration 

of technology and data analytics 

throughout the curriculum is exemplary 

of Tippie’s excellence.” 

Turner is eager to work with her 

alma mater to improve its curriculum. 

She and her family have a long history 

with the UI: two uncles, three cousins, 

a brother, and her daughter are all 

members of the Hawkeye family. 

Turner’s daughter, Marissa, graduated 

from Tippie in 2017 with a BBA in 

business analytics and finance, along 

with a certificate in risk management 

and insurance. 

“I am a firm believer in never forgetting 

where you came from,” says Turner. 

“Much of where I am today is the result 

of a very strong work ethic coupled 

with the great education I received at 

the University of Iowa. I owe a lot to 

the university and Tippie. It’s now my 

turn to give back in order to ensure that 

current and future students also benefit 

from a great education.” • 

“I am a firm believer in never 

forgetting where you came from.” 

—MARIA RYDBERG TURNER 


family 

PROFILE 

A Transformative Experience 

Michael Rocca: 2019 Outstanding Accounting Alumnus of the Year 

WRITTEN BY • SHIRLEY WANG 

When working as a paperboy as a youngster, Michael Rocca (BBA66) had 

a regular route that included 100 papers. He bought the copies himself, then 

went door-to-door collecting payments from readers to earn the money back. 


2008-2019 

Outstanding Accounting 

Alumnus Award Honorees 

2008 

Dale Baker 

Baker Healthcare Consulting 

2009 

Greg Ellison 

Banks, Finley, White & Co. 

2010 

Ann Madden Rice 

UC Davis Medical Center 

2011 

Robert (Bob) C. Arzbaecher 

Actuant Corporation 

“I kept these meticulous records 

of all the collections,” he said. “I had 

this perfectly balanced book every 

day for two or three years.” It was 

proof that Rocca was destined to be 

an accountant. Rocca was named the 

2019 Outstanding Accounting Alumnus 

of the Year at the department’s Beta 

Alpha Psi banquet in April 2019. 

“What a privilege it was to come 

to this university,” Rocca said. 

“It changed me dramatically.” 

During his first year at school, his 

roommate was a wrestler from Long 

Island named Butch Devine. Rocca 

was from Cedar Rapids, and while they 

had very different backgrounds, they 

became great friends. Devine taught 

him to play pool and they even teamed 

up and won pool games at the Iowa 

Memorial Union. 

“I walked into my dorm room at 

Hillcrest on day one and up from the 

bed hops an individual who introduces 

himself,” Rocca said. “The first thing I 

remember was immediate exposure to 

diversity and building my social skills.” 

ABOVE: South side of the Iowa Memorial Union circa 1965 

(during Rocca’s time at the UI). 

LEFT: Accounting DEO Daniel Collins presenting Michael Rocca with 

his Outstanding Accounting Alumnus award on April 26, 2019. 

As a student, he got the chance 

to interview with the companies 

that the college brought in to recruit 

students. This eventually led him 

to his first job at Honeywell. 

Rocca made an impression because 

of his hard-working values. 

“Trust me, it wasn’t because of my 

grades,” Rocca said. “It was the 

Midwestern culture, the work ethic. 

I had worked my entire way through 

college, paid for everything myself and 

[the recruiter] said, ‘You’re the kind of 

guy we need to have come work for us.’” 

He worked at Honeywell for 27 

years in 13 different jobs, spending 

time alongside Jerre Stead (BBA65). 

In 1994, Rocca was appointed as 

senior vice president and chief 

financial officer of Mallinckrodt Inc., 

a specialty pharmaceutical and 

medical device manufacturer in 

St. Louis. Now retired, he sits on the 

boards of several large companies. 

“It was a great journey. I am so grateful 

for the university,” Rocca said. • 

2012 

Tom Veale 

TRISTAR Risk Management 

2013 

Laura Newinski 

KPMG LLP 

2014 

Thomas A. Kloet 

TMX Group 

2015 

Christopher J. Hoffman 

PricewaterhouseCoopers. LLP 

2016 

Bob Nicolls 

Monarch Investment & 

Management Co. 

2017 

Michael J. Anderson 

FBI, Special Agent in Charge, 

Chicago Division 

2018 

Stephen Belyn 

FTI Consulting 

2019 

Michael Rocca 

Michael Rocca as a senior 

business student from the 1966 

Hawkeye yearbook.

family 

Professional Accounting Council 

Adds New Members 

WRITTEN BY • ALLISON GRIER 

Members of the Professional Accounting Council (PAC) help ensure that Tippie’s 

accounting curriculum is ahead of the curve. With their guidance, course work 

is tailored to train students for industry needs today and the educational base 

needed to pivot to meet the needs of tomorrow. The PAC is comprised of leaders 

in private industry, public accounting, academia, government, and the nonprofit 

sector. In 2019, the PAC added three new members: 

Rory Doheny (BBA02) is a partner with KPMG in 

Chicago. He replaces Michael Trettin who served on the 

PAC for over three years. Doheny is a Certified Public 

Accountant in the state of Illinois and New York. He has 

been with KPMG in various roles since 2003. 

Karla Jeffries (BBA86) is the vice president of business 

operations at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines. She 

replaces Joe Ceryanec who was recently appointed to the 

Tippie Advisory Board. Jefferies has been with Meredith 

for 30+ years in various roles. 

Tiffani Shaw (BBA92) is the executive vice president 

and chief operating officer at the University of Iowa 

Center for Advancement. She began working for the 

University of Iowa Foundation in 1997 and in her current 

role she oversees the foundation’s total assets, which 

exceed $1.5 billion, as well as all operations departments: 

finance, investments, and information technology. 

22 IOWA LEDGER 2019 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

2019 PAC Members 

Kelly Allsup (MBA00) 

Director of Finance- Capital & 

Regulatory Reporting, 

Transamerica 

Brian Beck (BBA88) 

EVP and Chief Financial 

Officer, Golin 

Ryan Campbell 

Senior Vice President and 

Chief Financial Officer, 

Deere and Company 

Kyle Cannon (BBA99) 

Partner, Ernst & Young LLP 

Todd Caven (BBA86) 

Managing Director, 

Saguaro Capital Partners, 

Rock Ridge Enterprises 

Tiffani Conrey (BBA98) 

CFO and Treasurer, 

Skogman Companies 

Rory Doheny (BBA02) 

Partner, KPMG 

Jorge J. Garcia (BBA94) 

Senior Vice President & 

Corporate Controller, 

Popular Inc. 

Karla Jeffries (BBA86) 

Vice President and General 

Manager- Business Operations, 

Meredith Corporation 

Nicole Thorne Jenkins (PhD02) 

Executive Associate Dean for 

Administration, Faculty and 

Research; Von Allmen 

Endowed Chair of 

Accountancy, Gatton College 

of Business and Economics, 

University of Kentucky 

Amanda Kroman (BBA02) 

ePMO Program Manager, 

Google Fiber 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

Joe McCarragher (BBA99) 

Partner, RSM US LLP 

Bob Nicolls (BBA80) 

Owner, Monarch Investment & 

Management Group 

Duane Sadler (MBA99) 

Vice President and Chief 

Financial Officer- Mission 

Systems, Collins Aerospace 

at United Technologies 

Angela Sanders 

(BBA86/MAc88) 

Senior Vice President & 

Controller, Principal 

Jeremy Schlee (BBA00) 

Partner, Pricewaterhouse- 

Coopers LLP 

Tiffani Shaw (BBA92) 

Executive Vice President 

and Chief Operating Officer, 

University of Iowa Center 

for Advancement 

Michael Sullivan (BBA87) 

Financial Executive—Retired 

Wolfe Tone (BBA96) 

National Tax Leader for DGES, 

Tax Partner, Deloitte Tax LLP 

Michael Trettin 

Director of Audit Services, 

LWBJ 

Loren Trimble (BBA86) 

Founder, CEO, and Managing 

Director, AArete LLC 

Maria Turner (BBA86) 

Managing Director, AArete LLC 

Jennifer Ward (BBA90) 

Tax Partner, Pricewaterhouse- 

Coopers LLP

13 

12 

7 

5 

8 

4 

2 

11 

15 

14 

1 

9 

10 

3 

6 


family 

Hometown Hawkeye 

Eric Gantz, co-founder of Verena Street Coffee 


Eric Gantz (BBA04) had an idyllic Iowa childhood. He grew up in 

Dubuque surrounded by his large extended family on Verena Street. 

Today, you can go to any Hy-Vee and see a childhood snapshot 

of Eric and his cousin Michael riding their pint-sized bicycles on the 

side of a bag of Verena Street Coffee. 

“When Michael and I launched Verena Street, we were 

trying to capture that feeling, that experience of growing 

up in a small Iowa town,” said Gantz. 

Starting at age 12, the pair became the fourth generation 

working in the family Pepsi franchise business. During his 

formative years, Gantz attended the school of hard work 

and hustle, and that experience led him to choose accounting 

when he entered the University of Iowa. 

“I chose to pursue a degree in accounting because it’s the 

backbone of any business,” said Gantz. “I approached it from 

the perspective of ‘What is my career path and what do I 

need to do to get there?’ Accounting teaches you to see things 

in the numbers before business challenges become evident.” 

Eric put his head down and worked hard through college, 

including summers driving a delivery truck for the family 

business. After graduating from Iowa in 2004, Eric returned 

to Dubuque and, in 2010, he and Michael launched Verena 

Street Coffee Co. to diversify the family business and as 

a celebration of Dubuque pride. The coffee company’s 

foundational blends, including Mississippi Grogg, Nine 

Mile Sunset, and Lock & Dam 11, are inspired by Dubuque 

landmarks. They recently launched the fair trade and 

organic- certified “Iowa Native by Verena Street” line 

of coffee blends including Bonfire Espresso, Farmhouse 

Breakfast, and Branding Iron dark roast. 

“When I was growing up, young people wanted to get out 

of Dubuque. We wanted to build this company in a way that 

encouraged people to be proud of this place and its heritage. 

We started seeing big-city brands creeping into Iowa. 

We want an Iowa brand to start creeping into the big cities.” 

• 


family 

Joe Ceryanec Named 

Deloitte CFO of the Year 

Joe Ceryanec (BBA84), 

CFO for Meredith Corp., 

was recently named Deloitte 

CFO of the Year by the 

Des Moines-based Business 

Record. Meredith Corp. acquired 

Time Inc. in 2018, the largest 

acquisition in the company’s 

history, which Ceryanec helped 

guide as CFO. Ceryanec is 

a member of the Tippie 

Advisory Board. • 

Alumnus Named Chief Economist and 

Director of the Division of Economic and 

Risk Analysis at the SEC 

S.P. Kothari (PhD86) was recently 

named the Securities and Exchange 

Commission’s (SEC) chief economist 

and director of the agency’s Division 

of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA). 

Before joining the SEC, Kothari 

held numerous leadership positions, 

most recently at the Sloan School 

of Management at the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology as a professor 

of accounting and finance and a sixyear 

term as deputy dean. In 2008, he 

served as global head of equity research 

for Barclays Global Investors, where he 

was responsible for research supporting 

the firm’s active equity strategies and 

for managing a team of approximately 

50 PhDs based around the world. 

“S.P. brings with him wide-reaching 

insight from his decades spent as 

a leader in applying sophisticated 

research to the operation of our 

financial markets, including firsthand 

experience from his time in the private 

sector,” said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. 

“His leadership will guide DERA well 

in the research and analysis it provides 

in support of the Commission’s work 

on behalf of Main Street investors. • 


family 

Hawkeyes Represent at the 

Iowa Society of CPAs 


Five members of the Hawkeye family were honored at 

the Iowa Society of CPAs (ISCPA) Leadership Conference 

and Annual Meeting in May. Austin Greenough (BBA18) 

and Grant Miller (BBA17/MAc18) received Capstone 

Awards for passing the CPA exam in 2018 and scoring in 

the top three of all exam takers in the state of Iowa. 

Ellen Willadsen (BBA82), chief financial officer at 

Holmes Murphy & Associates, received the Outstanding 

CPA in Business and Industry award. The award recognizes 

the achievements of an Iowa CPA who exemplifies and 

promotes the CPA designation as the definitive professional 

credential for financial managers in business, industry, 

education and government. 

Annually the ISCPA awards four $2,500 Iowa CPA Education 

Foundation Scholarships to Iowa college accounting 

students who make a commitment to take the CPA exam 

in Iowa. This year, UI senior accounting student Paige 

Power of Defiance, Iowa received a scholarship. 

Associate Professor of Instruction and Director of 

Undergraduate Studies in Accounting Kevin Den Adel 

(PhD99) was elected treasurer of ISCPA for 2019-20. 

He assumed his role as treasurer on May 1, 2019. 

TOP: (L-R):, President of the ISCPA Board of Directors 

Dwayne Vande Krol, Grant W. Miller, Michaela 

Christian, and ISCPA CEO Cindy Adams. 

Not pictured: Austin Greenough. 

MIDDLE: (L-R): Dwayne Vande Krol, Ellen Willadsen, 

and Cindy Adams. 

BOTTOM: (L-R): Cindy Adams, Paige Power, 

Associate Professor Kevin Den Adel. 


family 

ALUMNI NOTES 

Hawkeye Pride 

JEFF RASMUSSEN (BBA83) 

has published a book (with Lou Banach, 

former UI wrestler), Start It, Grow It, 

Sell It: The Journey of Business. 

He lives in Cameron, Wisconsin. 

SCOTT FLYNN (BBA89) was appointed 

to the Board of Directors of KPMG LLP. 

He lives in Louisville, Kentucky. 

LEYUAN LI (BBA19) is a property 

accountant with Cushman & Wakefield. 

THOMAS J. SCHENKELBERG 

(BBA82/JD86), an attorney with 

the Polsinelli law firm in Kansas City, 

Missouri, has been selected by Best 

Lawyers as a 2019 Lawyer of the Year. 

AMANDA KROMAN (BBA02) 

is ePMO program manager at Google 

Fiber in Kansas City, Missouri. 

MALLORY SMITH (BBA17) recently 

attended Deloitte University for an 

annual training and connected with 

fellow Tippie alumni. 

JAY GILBERTSON (BBA82) 

representing Hawkeye pride while 

exploring Greece. 

DAWN JINDRICH (BBA86) was 

promoted to Linn County finance 

director. She had served as the Linn 

County budget director since 1994. 

She lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

STEVE KLYN (BBA88/MBA98) 

has been appointed chief financial 

officer of Life Fitness. Klyn worked 

with KPS Capital Partners since 2012 

as chief financial officer of one of its 

portfolio companies, International 

Equipment Solutions, a market-leading 

manufacturer of engineered equipment. 

YOUR NAME HERE (BBA/MAc/PhD) 

New job? New baby? Run a 

marathon? It’s ok to brag 

a little. Send your update to: 

tippie.uiowa.edu/update 

MATT MORAN (BBA18) received a 2018 

Elijah Watt Sells Award. To qualify for the 

award, CPA candidates must obtain a 

cumulative average score above 95.50 

across all four sections of the Uniform 

CPA Examination, pass all four sections 

on their first attempt and have 

completed testing in 2018. The award 

was established in 1923 by the American 

Institute of CPAs. Moran is a capital 

markets and accounting advisory 

services associate with PwC in Chicago. 

ALISSA (SCHNERRE) WEBER (BBA01) 

was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare 

Community Plan of Iowa, a managed 

care organization within the Medicaid 

program. She previously was the CFO. 

HENRY B. TIPPIE (BSC49) 

was honored by the Association of 

Fundraising Professionals of Eastern 

Iowa with the Outstanding Individual 

Philanthropists Award. He was 

recognized for his support provided 

to the University of Iowa, Kirkwood 

Community College, Coe College, and 

many other Eastern Iowa charities. 

SARAH (CARTER) VANBECK (BBA84) 

was named senior vice president, 

chief financial officer, and treasurer 

of National Life Group in Montpelier, 

Vermont. She joined National Life Group 

in 2017 after 25 years at AIG Life & 

Retirement in Houston, Texas. 


WHY I 

GIVE 

Anna 

Marshall 

(BBA16/MAc17) 

Analyst, Red Ridge Diligence Services 

Childhood Ambition 

A chef… until I took my first accounting class in high school. 

First Job 

Cashier at Hy-Vee. 

Proudest Moment 

Receiving the Byron R. Ross Award for Teaching Excellence 

when I was a teaching assistant at the University of Iowa. 

Inspiration 

My family. 

Favorite University of Iowa Memory 

November 12, 2016—Iowa vs. Michigan. 

Kinnick’s eruption was unforgettable. 

Why I Give to UI Accounting 

I came into Iowa as an accounting major with a scholarship for firstyear 

accounting students, got involved in the department my first 

semester, and never looked back. All the professors genuinely cared 

about all of their student’s success. My professors taught me more 

than accounting—they also taught me to communicate accounting 

knowledge, to help and teach others, and to develop a very strong work 

ethic (shout out to the Friday night exams). I am always proud to say that 

I am an Iowa accounting grad—and that is why I give to UI accounting. 


How to Give 

givetoiowa.org/accounting 


Center for Advancement 

One West Park Road 

Iowa City, IA 52242 

Greg Lamb 

Executive Director of Development 

(319) 335-3305 or gregory.lamb@foriowa.org 

Your inquiry will be treated confidentially.

Department of Accounting 

108 John Pappajohn Business Bldg. 


The University of Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment, educational programs, and activities on the basis of race, creed, color, 

religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual 

orientation, gender identity, associational preferences, or any other classification that deprives the person of consideration as an 

individual. The university also affirms its commitment to providing equal opportunities and equal access to university facilities. For 

additional information on nondiscrimination policies, contact the Director, Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, the University of 

Iowa, 202 Jessup Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242-1316, 319-335-0705 (voice), 319-335-0697 (TDD), diversity@uiowa.edu. W40149

Iowa Ledger (2019) - Tippie College of Business

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