US News’ top accounting programs share common X factor – Fisher School alumni leadership

The nation’s top public accounting programs have a common thread contributing to their excellence – University of Florida Fisher School of Accounting alumni leading their programs. 

The latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report position the University of Florida, University of Texas – Austin, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Indiana University among the top 5 public undergraduate accounting degree programs.

The top three public universities for accounting, UT-Austin, Illinois and Indiana, are each led by alumni of the University of Florida’s Fisher School of Accounting at the Warrington College of Business. Dean Lillian Mills (BSAc ’80, MAcc ’81) and Chair and Professor of Accounting Steven Kachelmeier (Ph.D. ’88) lead at No. 1 ranked UT-Austin, while Michael Donohoe (BSAc ’01, Ph.D. ’11) is the Head of the Department of Accountancy at No. 2 Illinois, and Vice Dean and Professor of Accounting Patrick Hopkins (BSAc ’85, MAcc ’86) leads at No. 3 Indiana.

“My education at the Fisher School of Accounting provided the foundation for leading one of the largest and oldest accountancy departments in the world,” Donohoe said. “The Fisher School’s emphasis on both technical excellence and leadership development equipped me with the skills to manage complex challenges and foster innovation in the rapidly evolving accounting profession. Being a Gator instilled in me a sense of pride, perseverance, and commitment to excellence that I carry with me every day in my role.”

U.S. News’ rankings for best undergraduate accounting programs are based solely on reputational peer assessment surveys sent to deans and senior faculty at AACSB-accredited institutions. The Fisher School of Accounting has consistently been recognized as one of the best programs in the nation for accounting. Its strong reputation among its peers has led to a top 10 public ranking among undergraduate accounting programs since 2013.

The Fisher School’s reputational and ranking prowess stems from two areas of excellence – student and faculty quality.

Fisher School students are very successful. Most undergraduates continue their education with a master’s degree in accounting and obtain a CPA license. For the Class of 2024, those students who stayed at the Fisher School for their Master of Accounting had 100% job placement at graduation, with 98% of graduates starting their career in public accounting, including 79% at a Big 4 firm.

Student success at the Fisher School stems, in part, from the excellence among its faculty. In the last five years, current faculty members have produced 320 intellectual contributions, including publishing over 83 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Fisher School faculty are also among the scholars serving as editors to some of the world’s top accounting journals, including Jenny Tucker at Accounting Horizons and Contemporary Accounting Research, Robert Knechel at The Accounting Review and Accountability in a Sustainable World and Gabriel Pundrich at Advances in Scientific and Applied Accounting.

Marcus Kirk, Paul Madsen, Michael Mayberry, Michael Ricci and Michael Schadewald are also among the editorial board members of publications including The Accounting Review, The Journal of the American Taxation Association, Auditing:A Journal of Practice and Theory, The International Journal of Accounting, and The Journal of State Taxation, among many others.