BYU School of Accountancy - History

History

The SOA has roots that date back to the beginnings of Brigham Young University. Bookkeeping classes were taught at Brigham Young Academy (which later became BYU) in its Commercial College (the Marriott School of Management's predecessor).

In 1976, under the direction of dean Merrill J. Bateman, the Marriott School of Management created the Institute of Professional Accountancy within its jurisdiction. Then in 1990 faculty from the Information Management Department joined the school to consolidate the faculty and form a nucleus for program development. However, on August 12, 2005 the Marriott School announced the division of the School of Accountancy and Information Systems into two parts: the School of Accountancy and the Information Systems Department.

The SOA started a Ph.D. prep track informally in 1994. The professors noticed several students who had a desire to enter a Ph.D. program but realized that they understood very little about what earning a Ph.D. entailed; moreover, since academia is suffering from a significant shortage of accounting professors and is projected to face even more significant shortages in the future, the program seemed ideally suited for the situation., The program was formalized in 2000, as applicants were required to apply and efforts were made to more formally recruit students. In 2002, seven students finished the program and entered Ph.D. programs. Thereafter, the program has placed between four and nine students each year into Ph.D. programs across the country. The Ph.D. Prep Track has been successful in placing into doctoral programs 100 percent of its graduates who have submitted applications. The school has become the largest single provider of students into Ph.D. programs in the United States.