News & Events

Public Accounting Report Ranks UM Accountancy School in Nation's Top 25

OXFORD, Miss. - Fierce competition abounds for excellence in accounting education across the country and a new national ranking places the University of Mississippi's undergraduate program in the top 25.

The Nov. 30 issue of the Public Accounting Report slots Ole Miss
at No. 23 in its 24th annual survey of accounting professors. The report also gives the school an honorable mention in the list of top doctoral programs.

"For many years, it has been well known that our School of
Accountancy is among the outstanding programs in the nation," said Chancellor Robert Khayat. "Recognition of the quality of our school by the Public Accounting Report, the independent newsletter of the accounting profession, is the highest compliment our faculty, students and graduates could receive."

More than 1,000 schools in the United States offer accounting
programs and more than 400 of those - including UM - are accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) as being among "the best accountancy and business programs in the world."

PAR's 2005 ranking of undergraduate programs is led by the
University of Texas, which has held the spot for at least four consecutive years.

Dale Flesher, associate dean, noted that all but one of the
schools ranked above Ole Miss are much larger than UM, with some schools being four times its size.

This is the first year that Ole Miss has appeared in the ranking,
with seven SEC schools and five Big 10 institutions failing to make the list. Flesher pointed out that "huge, respected accountancy programs, such as Penn State, Iowa, Purdue and Minnesota, are not ranked in the Top 25."

The top-ranked SEC school is the University of Georgia at No. 12.

"We are very pleased to see others recognize what we have long
known - that the university's Patterson School of Accountancy program produces top-notch accounting graduates and rivals the best programs in the country," Provost Carolyn Staton said.

The ranking survey considerations included determination of the schools that consistently turn out students capable of attaining partner status.

"A study several years ago showed that on a per capita basis we
rank in the top five in producing CPA firm partners," Flesher said. "Thus, this ranking confirms that we are still viewed as a top producer of national firm partners."

Dean Morris Stocks said that the recognition is attributable to
the success of Patterson School graduates. "A high percentage of our graduates go to work for large national CPA firms and many of them become firm leaders, so word gets around that Ole Miss graduates are the type that CPA firms want to recruit," he said.

Former deans of the school and current faculty members Tonya K.
Flesher and James W. Davis pointed out that the acquisition of the America Institute of Certified Public Accountants library more than three years ago has expanded the visibility of UM's accountancy program.

"We have always produced great graduates, but with the presence
on our campus of the National Library of the Accounting Profession, we are now seen by a greater number of accountants," Davis said.

Summarizing the reason for the ranking, Tonya Flesher said, "The
ranking addresses the perception of how well our graduates will perform; this perception is based on the success of past graduates, the national reputation of the faculty and the availability of the largest accountancy library in the world."

The list as it appears in the Nov. 30, 2005, issue of the Public
Accounting Report follows, with ties reflected and the total number amounting to 26 due to a three-way tie for No. 24 position: (1) University of Texas, (2) Brigham Young University, (3) University of Notre Dame, (4) University of Southern California, (5) University of Illinois, (6) University of Michigan, (7) Texas A&M University, (8) Michigan State University, (9) Indiana University, (10) Ohio State University, (11) Northern Illinois University, (12) University of Georgia, (13) University of Wisconsin, (13) Miami (Ohio) University, (15) Baruch College, (16) University of Virginia, (17) University of Tennessee, (18) Arizona State University, (18) University of Florida, (20) Wake Forest University, (20) University of Washington, (22) University of Alabama, (23) University of Mississippi, (24) North Carolina State University, (24) Florida State University and (24) Baylor University.

For more information about the UM School of Accountancy, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/accountancy.