Alumni Activities

With 20+ years of professional experience in public accounting, Anna Tallent, CPA (BBA ’01) is an assurance partner at Ernst & Young (EY). Throughout her career she has served clients in energy, advanced manufacturing and mobility, technology, and real estate. She has extensive audit and reporting experience in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, common control transactions, equity and debt offerings, and private placement offerings. She spent two years working in London, United Kingdom, serving clients required to comply with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Anna says her work is very interesting as she gets to collaborate with exceptional individuals who strive to disrupt the market with innovative ideas. She also notes there have been many technological advances in the past few years within public accounting. Thus, she is continually learning at the firm and that motivates her every day. Another motivator is being the co-director for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Gulf South program. Working with entrepreneurs and following their journeys as they build exceptional businesses that contribute to growth in their communities is very fulfilling. Being in the Austin office has given Anna the opportunity to frequently be on-campus at Texas State. She has demonstrated her dedication to her alma mater by serving on the Accounting Department’s Advisory Board and is now on the McCoy College of Business Advisory Board. Anna’s belief in service is further evidenced by chairing Junior Achievement of Central Texas and serving on the board of the Jon Bromley Texas Venture Labs and the Swedish Women’s Educational Association.

In her position with one of the largest government agencies in Texas, Namrata Adhikary (BBA ‘20) gets a lot of satisfaction from knowing that her work results in helping people access essential services. She previously had more than 15 years' experience at multiple employers in the medical and healthcare industry. Adhikary describes her major in accounting at Texas State as providing a solid foundation for being successful in her work. “Accounting is needed in almost every department of any government agency and most businesses, so students should be encouraged to major in accounting.” Namrata is planning to sit for the CPA exam in early 2024.

Sometimes, fate plus a lot of hard work produces unexpected positive rewards. Edna Galinda Brambila (BBA '21 & MAcy '22) is proof of that. While working on her MAcy degree, she saw an opportunity to start her own small business and has been devoted to that full-time until she begins employment with a Big 4 firm this coming fall. "During my studies, I learned how to analyze financial data and how to create budgets. Obtaining an accounting degree has been instrumental in my success as a CEO and provided me with knowledge that is essential to handle business operations and to make strategic plans. The skills I've developed in my business will be valuable to my employer and our clients when I embark on my public accounting career this fall."

When he began his academic career at a local community college, Mark Mata (BBA '21) also began working at a central Texas credit union. First, he was in member services and then moved to a position as a loan processor and on to being a commercial loan processor. From that work experience and the coursework required for his accounting degree, he developed strong financial analysis skills. These served him well when he went out on his own two years ago to begin working full-time for himself as an investor in residential real estate.

While pursuing his BBA in accounting, Riley Shuffield (BBA '21 & MAcy '22) worked for 18 months in a retail popcorn shop. True story...popcorn. Working in retail provided valuable experience in customer service. His first tax internship was at a Big 4 firm where he worked on state and local taxes. The following year, he held an advanced tax internship and accepted a full-time offer at the same  Big 4 firm. Most of his clients are private equity firms, hedge funds, and fund of funds. Riley says earning both his undergraduate and MAcy degrees at Texas State was a wise decision. "There is such a wide range of opportunities that are available to you when you graduate with an accounting degree. Even when the job market has dipped in many other careers, the accounting field remains consistent and reliable."