Get to know Neil Johnson Yuan, who graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accountancy. He lives in Denver with his wife and two children.
Why did you decide to pursue a degree from the School of Accountancy?
I actually spent my first year at DU as a computer science major. Like many people, it was only when I took an accounting class that I realized I had a knack for the material and switched to the business school to focus on the subject.
Were there any particular experiences that sparked your interest in accounting, or an influence in your life that led you this way?
My mother is a CPA, so she was definitely influential, but I believe my main draw to accounting—and more specifically, public accounting—was the nature of the industry. It is very people-oriented and deadline-intensive (client facing, filing deadlines, focusing on team work to get the job done, etc.). It reminds me a lot of my experiences in athletics with the way players are developed by coaches and by peers.
What did you enjoy most about getting your degree from the School of Accountancy? Any highlights of your college career you’d like to share?
When it comes to the School of Accountancy, I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a TA for Buff Honodel’s Management Accounting class. The experience of helping students of all abilities was more rewarding than I had ever expected. It definitely left a lasting impression and fueled a passion for mentoring.
In terms of other highlights of my college career at DU, I’d be remiss to not include playing and coaching for the DU men’s lacrosse team as well as serving as social chairman, vice president, and president of Lambda Chi Alpha. Both college athletics and Greek life are core to who I am today. I also worked as a server at Dave and Buster’s, which taught me many lifelong lessons as only the service industry can do!
How has your education from the School of Accountancy benefited you in your career?
I have a fulfilling career at KPMG because of my time at DU’s SoA. The curriculum and professional development programs are directly aimed to prepare students for life after college. It was very impressive how heavily our accounting core classes were recruited by the Big 4 and regional public accounting firms. The industry access and options we had coming out of SoA allowed me to make a thoughtful choice about where I wanted to start my career. I took advantage of the recruiting process and met with as many firms as possible. Ultimately, that led to a final, educated decision based on where I felt I fit in best. For me, now almost 20 years later at KPMG, I’d say it worked out great!
Tell us about your career. What has been your career path? What led you to your current position?
How much time do you have? Because my path is not a linear one! After wrapping up a BS/MAcc degree at DU, I started with KPMG Denver as an audit associate during the fall of 2005. I was raised a “military brat” (child of a military family that moves states or countries every 2-3 years) and always had an interest in working abroad. One of the big reasons I was drawn to KPMG was because of the international opportunities it presented as a global firm.
In 2010, my wife Emily and I jumped at an opportunity to relocate for a two-year secondment to KPMG Ireland. After returning to Denver, we quickly realized we caught the bug, and more KPMG relocations followed. The next was to New York City in 2016 to join KPMG’s national office. It is true that there is no place like the Big Apple and having a two-year-old son and five-month-old daughter in tow made it even more memorable.
I joined the partnership in 2018 and that same year accepted another international secondment, this time to Budapest, Hungary, to work on one of KPMG’s largest multinational audit engagements where I had responsibilities over Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. After some time in Hungary, we were again offered an additional secondment with the KPMG UK firm. We moved in late 2020 and enjoyed three-and-a-half years in London. After almost nine years away, we moved back to the U.S. and established residency in Colorado in 2024. Now that the kids (and we) are older, it feels important to give them the opportunity to grow up in this beautiful city my wife and I love so much.
These international and domestic relocations have been priceless to my career. Obviously, I learned an enormous amount about the accountancy profession and finance industry at a global level, but what I cherish most is all I’ve learned about people and how to build trust across borders and cultures. I am extremely proud of the friendships I have made within KPMG’s international offices and client network around the world. I have no doubt they will last me a lifetime.
What do you find enjoyable, rewarding and/or interesting about your professional life?
Many things, really: my KPMG colleagues, our clients, the pace of change within technology today and our international network. The opportunity to work on small and large teams for clients in various industries and sizes. And I have truly enjoyed being mentored by a number of fantastic professionals all around the world throughout my career.
The way I describe life at KPMG to our younger professionals or students that are interested in the profession is: You join, we teach you something. As soon as you become comfortable with it, we take it away! You then have to go teach it to someone else, so can we give you something new to learn! Rinse and repeat. There’s truly never a dull moment.
Personally, living abroad and experiencing how people work and live outside of the U.S. has been the greatest gift for both me and my family.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work? Hobbies? Interests?
I enjoy spending time with my wife and kids, which means youth soccer games, after-school activities at DU’s many “Learn To” programs for kids, and trying to avoid stepping on LEGO and/or little Polly Pocket toys littered on our floor! I also enjoy cooking and trying different cuisines. Most mornings and nights you will find me in the kitchen working on breakfast or dinner. And of course, now that we live so close to my alma mater, you’ll find my family cheering on the Pios at as many games as we can make it to.
What are your plans for the future?
Now that I am back in Denver, I look forward to experiencing all of the changes that have happened to the city while we’ve been abroad. We’ve been away from family and friends here in the area, so we are definitely making up for lost time. We also can’t wait to immerse our kids in all the outdoor activities Colorado has to offer.
From a career perspective, my focus is to serve our Denver clients and coach our younger professionals. Would we entertain another international opportunity? I never say never, but for now my family and I are very happy settling back into the Denver way of life.