Dear alumni, students, colleagues and friends,
I’m pleased to share a few highlights from the past year — a span that captured meaningful progress in student and alumni engagement, alumni success, curriculum innovation, research and alumni engagement.
Enrollment
Accounting enrollment at Temple is up for the second straight year, likely due to our latest outreach efforts to high schools. This month, I spoke to seniors at G.W. Carver High School of Engineering & Science. The Department of Accounting also hosted an energizing Accounting Career Day welcoming local high school students to Alter Hall where we shared career paths in accounting through panels and conversations. Executive Board member and Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) CEO Jennifer Cryder, Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) President & CEO Michael DePrisco, and a pair of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigations special agents underscored the breadth of accounting pathways. This was just one of the numerous events, open houses and career days we participated inside and outside of Alter Hall.
Student Engagement
Student professional organizations
Our department is home to:
- Beta Alpha Psi1
- Institute of Management Accountants2
- Fox Accounting Association
- Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA)2
- ASCEND2
- National Association of Black Accountants (NABA)2
1 Recognized as a Gold chapter by its international governing body.
24-Star (the highest possible) ratings from Temple Student Government.
CPA exam study group
Over the summer we launched a voluntary study group run by faculty.
Placement
For the class of 2024 (the most recent year we have data for) 92.4% have full-time positions within six months of graduation, with an average base salary of $73,300.
Alumni Engagement
Throughout the year, our Executive Committee of the Accounting Circle provided invaluable guidance—probing licensure changes, student readiness and market signals—so that our curriculum and co-curriculars remain tightly aligned with employer needs. Many thanks to our chair, Rich Haverstick who is always willing to share his wisdom and guidance with me.
We want to thank the Young Accounting Alumni Group (YAAG) who provide mentoring for our current students and host social events for the year. We thank former president Alexis Mongiello for her service and look forward to working with Carrie Walker the current president.
Alumni Achievements
We regale in and honor the achievements of our alumni. At the Accounting Achievement Awards, we honored:
- Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Joe Falkenstein (BBA ’87)
- Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Ed Tarka (BBA ’02)
Academic Innovation
We endeavor to keep our curriculum cutting edge.
New courses
- Forensic Accounting (BBA)
- Generative AI in Accounting (MACC)
Curriculum revision – Auditing
To better reflect evolving industry practices and technological integration we are:
- Using a KPMG-developed prompt engineering case study that introduces students to the use of Generative AI across the audit lifecycle
- Expanded our IT Audit coverage, to include:
- auditing IT based systems
- IT Governance and Risk Assessment
- IT Audit Process
- Cyber Security and SOC Engagements
We graciously thank executive board members Mike Ernst and Shola Oguntunde for their expertise and assistance in this revision.
Program revisions
- We are in the process of revising our Master of Accounting Curriculum under the guidance of our new director Wei Wang. In addition to the Generative AI course mentioned above, the new program will have a heavy dosage of IT audit and information technology. We graciously thank executive board member Shola Oguntunde for helping guide us on this dimension.
Faculty Awards
- Jagan Krishnan was named Outstanding Auditing Educator by the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association.
- Sudipta Basu received both the Hourglass Award from the Academy of Accounting Historians and the Musser Excellence in Leadership Award in Service from the Fox School of Business.
- I received the Stauffer Award for Distinguished Faculty Service from Temple University.
Faculty Scholarship
Our faculty continues to publish at a prolific pace in the top academic journals, including:
- The Accounting Review
- Journal of Accounting Research
- Contemporary Accounting Research
- Review of Accounting Studies
- AUDITING: A Journal of Practice and Theory
- Journal of Business Finance and Accounting
We also convened the Fox Accounting PhD Alumni Conference in August 2025 and are currently planning a conference with Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance for October 31 and November 1.
Conclusion
On a semi-sad note, I have a couple of retirements to note. This semester we bid good-bye to Marco Malandra and at the end of the Spring semester we bid good-bye to Dave Jones after 11 years.
Looking forward, we are working on following three priorities:
- Supporting CPA exam readiness with structured study pathways;
- Deepening employer partnerships and practitioner presence across our courses and SPOs;
- Embedding data, analytics and AI fluency throughout the curriculum while preserving the judgment and ethical foundations of our profession.
Finally, a word of thanks. Last fall’s letter set an ambitious tone for engagement—and you delivered: speaking in classes, mentoring students, opening doors at your firms and investing in scholarships. Please keep that energy coming. If you’d like to guest-lecture, host a site visit, mentor or collaborate on a practitioner-oriented project—we would love to hear from you.
With gratitude for your partnership—and with excitement for the year ahead.
Warm regards,
Steven Balsam, PhD
Professor and Merves Senior Research Fellow
Chair, Department of Accounting
Fox School of Business, Temple University
