Utah State Tax Teams Again National Finalists

Utah State Tax Teams Again National Finalists

Undergraduate and graduate tax teams from Utah State’s School of Accountancy once again were selected as national finalists in the 2003 Deloitte Tax Case Study Competitions.

The two Utah State teams will now travel to Orlando for the finals Nov. 21-23.

The School of Accountancy in the College of Business has two of the 12 teams selected for the finals.

This is the third consecutive year that Utah State’s graduate tax team has earned a berth in the finals. The team consists of Hal Allen, Heather Allen, Jason Chatterley, and Joseph Larsen. They will compete in the finals with

Brigham Young University, the College of William and Mary, the University of Central Florida, the University of Denver, and the University of Texas.

The undergraduate team is making its second appearance in the finals in the last three years (they were also finalists in 2001). The team members are Rick Dooley, Thomas Lemon, Tom Marchant, Charity Moore, and Mike Seeley. The undergraduate team will compete with Brigham Young University, the College of William and Mary, the University of North Carolina –– Charlotte, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Texas.

Richard Jenson, department head of the School of Accountancy and the ATK Thiokol Professor, said the students worked hard to prepare for the competition, and special recognition and appreciation also should go to Dr. Vance Grange, who serves as advisor to both teams.

"Under his leadership, our tax teams have brought national exposure to an outstanding tax program here in Utah State’s School of Accountancy," Jenson said. "We have high hopes for the next rounds of the competition too."

Grange said student interest in the competition is high in the department, and he hopes that commitment will translate into a long-term tradition of success. The competitions expose students to real-life tax issues through team-oriented exercises. They model the real world, Grange said. They offer an exceptional educational experience while permitting students to get a sense of a professional work environment.

"The students involved in the competition learn a lot about taxation and tax planning as they prepare for the competition," Grange said. "In addition, the competition allows our students to meet top tax students from throughout the country."

Jenson added that Utah State’s accounting program has a long history of academic excellence and innovation. While many schools in the United States are only now beginning to design master’s degree programs in accounting to satisfy new national requirements for CPAs, Utah State has offered a high-quality master’s in accounting program that has met the "new" standards for more than 30 years.

It has achieved national recognition as one of only 142 schools worldwide to have been awarded special accounting accreditation by the prestigious AACSB, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.