By Kara Sherrer
The Vanderbilt Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program partners with liberal arts colleges and universities to offer undergraduates interested in business an opportunity to launch a career in public accounting with only 12 additional months of education.
Laura McLaughlin, Vanderbilt’17 and MAcc’18
In this spotlight, we talk with 2018 MAcc graduate Laura McLaughlin, who got a B.S. in Human and Organizational Development and a minor in Corporate Strategy from Vanderbilt undergrad in 2017. She discusses how she found her passion for accounting and the MAcc program, as well as what it was like to become a Double Dore.
The institution: Located in Nashville, TN, Vanderbilt is one of the top private research universities in the country; it is currently ranked no. 14 by U.S. News and World Report.
How she came to find MAcc: As part of her corporate strategy minor requirements, McLaughlin had to take two classes in accounting, the first one during her sophomore year. One day, MAcc Director of Admissions Emily O’Dell came to speak to the class about the Master of Accountancy program at Vanderbilt, and McLaughlin was immediately intrigued.
“I really liked my first accounting class, which everyone told me was really weird,” she recalled with a laugh. She went to a MAcc info session her sophomore year to learn more about the program and kept the possibility in the back of her mind as she progressed through her undergrad major.
McLaughlin tried out some human resources internships, but by her senior year, she realized that she wanted a more quantitative career. However, she didn’t have enough accounting experience to launch a career in the industry right away. “With just those two accounting classes, I didn’t have the basis to get an accounting internship,” she said. She applied to the Vanderbilt Master of Accountancy at the beginning of her senior year.
The Double Dore experience: After applying to the MAcc program, McLaughlin attended an open house event where she got the chance to talk to current students. She says that experience immediately “sealed the deal” that the Vanderbilt MAcc degree was the right choice for her. “I didn’t even look at another program,” she said.
Once she started the program, McLaughlin felt like it was a continuation of her undergrad experience in the best way possible, with small classes and the opportunity to form close relationships with professors and students. “I feel like the MAcc program has everything I loved about my undergrad experience, but magnified,” she said.
The next chapter: McLaughlin interned in KPMG’s Denver office and will be returning there as an audit associate in the fall. “I still like working with people, and I think that’s why the accounting career appeals to me…(In audit,) all of my assignments at clients will still be team-based,” she said. “I’m excited to be doing the numbers work with a team of people that I really like.”
Advice for Vanderbilt students: McLaughlin recommends that any students interested in a career in business look into the MAcc degree, as the program will help them gain accounting and finance skills that are useful in almost any business function. “Students who want to go into the business world should look at the Vanderbilt MAcc (program) because a lot of people are going to go back to school eventually, and I think you might as well do it now so that you can…keep working for as long as possible,” she said.
McLaughlin didn’t really know what she wanted her career to look like coming into college, so she appreciated the broad liberal arts curriculum that she took during undergrad at Vanderbilt. However, once she decided on accounting, she really liked being able to cap off her liberal arts bachelor’s degree with a quantitative Masters of Accountancy, and thinks this combination will also appeal to fellow Vanderbilt students. “It was pretty ideal, kind of the best of both worlds for me,” she said.
To learn more about the Vanderbilt Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degree, visit the website pages for the MAcc Assurance or MAcc Valuation programs.
