Inaugural Class Selected For KPMG Masters Program At Ohio State And Villanova Universities' Business Schools

The high caliber of applicants led to an expansion from 50 to 52 students – 26 at each institution – who will begin classes in the fall of 2017. The program integrates courses in accounting, auditing, technology and advanced D&A capabilities to develop auditors for an era of change and disruption, characterized by machine learning, artificial intelligence and technological advances.

"Congratulations to each of these outstanding students! They represent the future of our profession," said Scott Marcello, KPMG vice chair, Audit. "Their critical thinking skills, along with their scholastic and extracurricular achievements, made them successful candidates, and their ability to innovate and adapt to change will make them outstanding leaders."

KPMG worked with Villanova and Ohio State to integrate its latest technology and methodologies for today's highly complex, data-centric audits into the Data and Analytics program curricula. The program also gives real-world experience to the students, who will work on KPMG audit teams as interns during the spring semester and be offered full-time KPMG positions upon graduation.

"Fisher is proud to welcome the first class of KPMG Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics Program students," said Anil K. Makhija, dean and John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business at Fisher. "These students join a Master of Accounting program at Fisher that is recognized as among the best in the country. Led by our world-class faculty and with the support of KPMG, we look forward to advancing and elevating the critical importance of data and analytics in preparing tomorrow's accounting leaders."

"We are excited to welcome this outstanding group of 26 students to VSB," said Joyce E. A. Russell, Ph.D., the Helen and William O'Toole Dean of the Villanova School of Business. "This program will provide our students with the experience necessary to make an immediate impact and prepare them to become effective future business leaders."

"This program has the potential to spark an evolution in the accounting profession, and I'm very excited to be a part of it," said Margaret Mary Rilling of Fort Washington, Pa., who will attend Villanova School of Business.

"This experience will transfer to the working world. With the incredible amounts of data available today, the KPMG Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics program is clearly a step in the right direction," said Ranier Moore of Colonial Beach, Va., who will attend Fisher College of Business.

The KPMG Master of Accounting with Data and Analytics Program will pay tuition, room and board for the 52 students. Applications for the 2018-19 class will be available in March.

Click here to learn more about the program.

About KPMG, LLP
KPMG LLP, the audit, tax, and advisory firm, is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 155 countries and have more than 174,000 people working in member firms around the world.

About The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business
Since 1916, The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business has served as a recognized leader in business education, critical research, and innovative partnerships. Its mission—creating ideas, encouraging scholars, and developing leaders who positively impact their communities and the world—is influenced by the tenets of Mr. Fisher, a leading industrialist, philanthropist, and public servant. Fisher prepares its students to transcend the expectations of business education through its top-ranked programs and its vast network of partnerships that reaches from the surrounding business community to multinationals, nonprofits, and startups across the globe. Fisher students learn from distinguished faculty from across all facets of business. Fisher's students are uniquely prepared and highly sought by Fortune 500 companies and leading organizations around the world. Students at Fisher leverage the college's rigorous, applied learning environment with the resources of The Ohio State University, a premier research university with 500,000 proud Buckeye alumni.

About Villanova School of Business
The Villanova School of Business (VSB) undergraduate program is ranked #1 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek and has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to six Centers or Institutes of Excellence (the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights, the Center for Church Management & Business Ethics and the Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Institute) with each center and institute designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and teaching opportunities for business faculty. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business. For more, visit business.villanova.edu.

Contact: Elizabeth Lynch       
KPMG LLP
201.505.6316
[email protected]

SOURCE KPMG LLP

Related Links

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