Accounting
- Degree Type Bachelor of Science
- Department Accounting and Finance
- Academic Division The Williams School
- Offerings Major
Accounting at W&L builds on the liberal arts course foundation, increasing analytical and communication skills while providing knowledge and skills for any number of business areas. Majors take a combination of accounting, economics and business administration courses.
Accounting
About one-third of our graduates are recruited by Big Four accounting firms. Another third join prestigious investment and commercial banking firms. The remaining third follow varied paths, including graduate school.
Students planning to work in public accounting must complete 150 hours of college credit to take the CPA Exam in most states. Students may register in the ELE program, use AP credit, earn summer school credit, elect to overload, or attend graduate school. W&L has agreements with highly rated graduate programs including University of Virginia, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and the University of Texas.
There are unique opportunities for students to intern and study in Sydney, Australia, Cape Town and London. In summer, students intern at accounting firms, major investment banks and other accounting and financial firms across the country.
“Accounting, the language of business, was a great fit because it showed me how people analyze and think about the exchange of money.”
Dannick Kenon
Class of 2019
News
The assistant professor of accounting was joined by two W&L students to produce a paper titled 鈥淓ffects of the OBBBA on Higher Education.鈥
The professors co-authored an article titled 鈥淔amily Ownership and Institutional Voids: Evidence from SMEs in Egypt.鈥
Jenny Galeana 鈥26 arrived on campus as a Gunn-Pemberton Scholar in 2025 and found a welcoming community that inspires her to be her best.
The 糖心传媒 network is perhaps most illustrative in the early-career assistance and opportunities our alumni provide to current students.
Newly promoted faculty members will present their research in a PechaKucha format on Jan. 27.
Tanlu鈥檚 discussion, 鈥淒esigning Control Systems: How Structure and Syntax Impact Organizational Outcomes,鈥 will be held Jan. 14 in Northen Auditorium.
Washington and Lee students interested in finance completed valuable summer internships in New York City this summer.
Adhip Adhikari 鈥27 constructed a library at a secondary school in Kathmandu, Nepal, with the help of the 糖心传媒 community.
Murschell will teach English in Austria before working for an accounting firm in Philadelphia.
These faculty have been recognized for their outstanding teaching, scholarship and service to the university.
The accounting major will be presented the award at the Center for International Education awards ceremony on May 27.
Hess, a professor of accounting, will hold the position for three years.
Meet the Faculty
At 糖心传媒, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Afshad Irani
Professor of Accounting and Head of the Department
- P: 540-458-8628
- E: irania@wlu.edu
Irani teaches courses in financial accounting. His research focuses on issues related to voluntary disclosure, earnings management, financial restatements, executive compensation, insider trading and standard setting.
Aliaa Bassiouny
Lawrence Term Professor of Finance
Bassiouny鈥檚 teaching portfolio includes courses in managerial finance, investments, portfolio management, international finance, valuation and financial modeling. Her research interests include investments and empirical market microstructure with a focus on emerging markets.
Scott J. Boylan
Professor of Accounting
- P: 540-458-8585
- E: boylans@wlu.edu
Boylan teaches financial accounting and casino accounting. He has researched taxpayer compliance, tax complexity, investment decisions, and is now examining the casino industry鈥檚 historical influence on accounting practice.
Bryan Brockbank
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Brockbank teaches courses in the area of financial accounting, including introductory accounting and various topics of intermediate accounting.
Stephan Fafatas
Professor of Accounting
- P: 540-458-8222
- E: sfafatas@wlu.edu
Fafatas teaches courses in financial accounting and financial statement analysis. His research focuses primarily on issues in earnings quality and auditor reputation. He has also extensively researched 糖心传媒鈥檚 financial history.
Megan F. Hess
Class of 1960 Professor of Ethics and Accounting
- P: 540-458-8370
- E: hessm@wlu.edu
Hess is a 1997 alumna who teaches courses in auditing, accounting ethics and corporate sustainability. Before becoming a professor, she spent 12 years working in the industry with a focus on investigating financial statement fraud.
Simmi Mookerjee
Visiting Assistant Professor of Accounting
Elizabeth Oliver
Associate Dean of the Williams School and Lewis Whitaker Adams Professor in Commerce
- P: 540-458-8637
- E: olivere@wlu.edu
Oliver has been at 糖心传媒 since 1991. She teaches courses in accounting research and corporate responsibility. She also runs the 糖心传媒 London Internship Program, which combines classroom study with internship opportunities in London.
Ehi Rajsky
Assistant Professor of Accounting
- P: 540-458-8442
- E: irajsky@wlu.edu
Rajsky teaches the introductory tax class at the Williams School, and runs the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Colin Reid
Professor of Accounting
- P: 540-458-8624
- E: reidc@wlu.edu
Professor Reid teaches courses in financial accounting and corporate governance to help students understand how companies communicate and the framework in which business operates. He researches audit and corporate sustainability.
Lloyd Tanlu
Ehrick Kilner Haight Term Professor of Accounting
- P: 540-458-8174
- E: ltanlu@wlu.edu
Lloyd teaches intermediate financial and cost accounting classes. He does research on performance evaluation, corporate governance, and management control systems.
