Sydney Hong
Postgraduate positions lead to broader opportunities
When Sydney Hong graduated with her Master of Accountancy, she headed to Norwalk, Connecticut. Natalie Vaughan plans to do the same. Turns out at least 12 other Daniels School of Accountancy alumni have called Norwalk home at some point after graduation.
Hong, Vaughan and many others are part of an elite group selected for a year-long program with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), both headquartered in Norwalk. Hong (MAcc, BSAcc 2021) is a postgraduate technical assistant for GASB and, in July, Vaughan (MAcc, BSAcc 2021) began her postgraduate technical assistant (PTA) position for FASB.
The highly selective program provides individuals interested in an accounting-related career with an opportunity to play an active role in the financial reporting standards process.
“Only the best schools are invited to nominate candidates and each school may nominate only one candidate for each of the start dates,” says Sharon Lassar, director of the School of Accountancy.
Financial reporting standards guide companies on how to measure transactions and communicate their economic effect to investors and other stakeholders. For example, if a customer purchases a product in December but pays for it in January, financial reporting standards guide companies to report the sale in December along with the recognition of an account receivable from the customer.
“I didn’t have that much research experience before coming to the GASB,” Hong said. “This program has allowed me to research and critically think about complex accounting issues in the government environment while working alongside project managers well versed in standard setting. It is amazing how much deliberation and thought goes into each aspect of an accounting standard. Some standards can take over 10 years to be finalized.”
During her program, Hong has been able to work on a range of projects balancing the perspectives of different stakeholders including the people preparing financial statements, the auditors and various government agencies and other individuals using financial statements. She’s even been able to present in front of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Natalie Vaughan
“The PTA program has provided me the opportunity to explore career paths that I had not previously considered and build upon the skills and knowledge I have gained the past year,” Hong said. “After graduation, I planned to begin my career in audit; now, I’ve accepted a job in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) performing financial due diligence for both the buy-side and sell-side of the M&A transaction.”
When Hong’s rotation is up, she’ll move to Los Angeles and be a senior consultant at Deloitte. As Hong leaves, Vaughan will start her rotation with FASB.
“I’m so honored to have this opportunity to understand more about the other side of accounting that most people don’t get to see, where you are actually setting the standards and you’re not just abiding by them,” Vaughan said.
While Vaughan spent time after graduation completing her CPA exam, she also went through a rigorous process to get the PTA position at FASB. She competed against 200 nominees from around the country, all of whom had to submit an essay and recommendation letter. Then, 14 of the nominees were offered interviews.
“It was an all-day interview with questions on technical accounting,” Vaughan explained. “We have a lot of classes where we look at case studies and apply the FASB codification, so I am really thankful I had practice applying the rules.”
The School of Accountancy has placed several other graduates at the FASB, at least 12 other students in previous years.
“These students exemplify what the School of Accountancy is about,” Lassar said. “This is evidence that our program is highly regarded in the nation and we’re graduating outstanding students. We know they and our other graduates are well prepared and will be an asset to any accounting firm.”