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Alumni Spotlight: Jessica Kao

In April 2023, Dr. Alexander Chen visited alumnus Jessica Kao (MIS 2019) in Taipei during his travels overseas. He sent an update on his visit with Jessica for COB’s Alumni Spotlight column.

Dr. Chen with Jessica Kao

Jessica Kao is an exceptional alumnus of the Management Information Systems (MIS)* department at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA). Since January 2020, she has been working for Qualcomm Semiconductor Inc. in Taipei, where she has demonstrated her commitment to her work and the skills she developed during her studies at UCA.

As part of her role at Qualcomm, Jessica is responsible for identifying key inefficiencies and issues across different projects. She develops user guides and training materials and conducts training sessions for both internal and external clients. She collaborates with multinational teams to develop and test various programs and projects. Additionally, she leverages her system analysis skills to work on supply chain operation and procurement systems for clients across APAC, the Americas, and Europe.

Jessica credits her success in the professional world to the rigorous training she received from UCA’s outstanding faculty members, particularly those in the Computer Information Systems & Analytics*, Marketing, and Management departments. She believes the College of Business at UCA provided her with a balanced, practical, and valuable education, which equipped her with the necessary tools to excel in her field.

Working alongside colleagues who mostly hold master’s degrees from prestigious universities in Taiwan and the United States, Jessica’s exceptional performance and professionalism have earned her the respect and trust of her teammates. She has also received substantial raises for her outstanding achievements. To learn more about Jessica’s achievements, check out her profile on LinkedIn.

* When Jessica graduated in 2019, the department and program were named Management Information Systems; in 2021, the name was changed to Computer Information Systems & Analytics to reflect updates to the program.

Posted in: Accounting, COB News on May 17, 2023 Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

UCA Economist Explains Federal Debt Ceiling in PBS Interview

In this issue of Arkansas Week, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack discusses the U.S. debt ceiling, and the impending deadline for raising it, after which Dr. Jeremy Horpedahl explains the economic impact it could pose. Click the image below to watch the interview:

Dr. Horpedahl serves the community by explaining complex economic issues that affect the average American. He also Associate Prof. of Economics at UCA and the Director of the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University in 2009, concentrating in public choice, public finance, and economic history. His research has been published in Econ Journal Watch, Constitutional Political Economy, the Atlantic Economic Journal, Public Choice, and Public Finance and Management. Dr. Horpedahl has also published op-eds in a variety of regional and national publications. Prior to taking on the role of Director, Dr. Horpedahl has been a researcher with ACRE since joining the UCA faculty in 2015.

Posted in: COB News, EFIRM on May 15, 2023

Students Honored for Work With Community Tax Assistance Program

Congratulations to Harris Felton and Kiadan Zheng for winning university-level service awards for their work in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program this spring (students pictured at left with UCA College of Business Dean Michael Hargis).

Professor Ashley Phillips oversees and coordinates UCA’s annual involvement with VITA through the United Way of Central Arkansas. This tax season, students completed 329 tax returns, helped taxpayers claim $357,549 in refunds, and saved taxpayers approximately $60,000 in tax preparation fees.

The IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals.

Posted in: Accounting, COB News, Featured News, _All Opportunities, _Awards, _Volunteer on April 26, 2023 Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

MBA Director McMurtrey Earns 2023 SWDSI Distinguished Service Award

The Southwest Decision Sciences Institute (SWDSI) has named Dr. Mark E. McMurtrey as its 2023 Distinguished Service Award recipient in recognition of his achievements in research, teaching, and service. He was presented the award on March 9, 2023, in Houston, Texas at the SWSDI 52nd Annual Meeting. McMurtrey holds the appointment of Professor of Computer Information Systems and Analytics and MBA Program Director for the UCA College of Business.

The SWDSI is a division of the Decision Sciences Institute, a professional organization made up of those interested in sharing research on the study of decision processes and the application of quantitative and behavioral methods to the problems of society.

Dr. McMurtrey has also been recognized as the SWDSI 2020 Outstanding Educator; he also has been awarded the UCA College of Business “Excellence in Service” Award (2014) and the “Excellence in Teaching” Award (2017).

Dr. McMurtrey has been very active in service with DSI and SWDSI in conferences for over 30 years. Between the two he has well over 100 activities, ranging from author, discussant, reviewer, session chair, track chair, presenter, VP-Finance, Program Chair, President, and Past President. McMurtrey had a research study win the Distinguished Paper Award at the 2022 SWDSI Conference in March and competed with the winners from the other regions at the National DSI meeting in November, finishing as a runner-up. McMurtrey has also been a Council Member for SWDSI and serves on both the Strategic Planning Committee and Outstanding Educator Award Committee.

Posted in: CISA, COB News, _Awards on April 20, 2023 Tagged: , , , , ,

College of Business Names Its 2022-2023 Outstanding Students

In its annual awards banquet, the College of Business celebrated its Outstanding Students of the 2022-2023 academic year. The awards given celebrate one student who stood out this year in each academic program and recognized student organization. Students recognized have optimized their education by combining exemplary academic performance with internships, volunteerism, professional development, experiential education, and participation in clubs and other important experiences. See the all of the full resolution photographs.

ACADEMIC AWARDS
  • Outstanding Undergraduate Student of the Year – Will Biernat
  • Outstanding General Business Student – Jose Castro
  • Outstanding Undergraduate Accounting Student – Daniel Wheeler
  • Outstanding Master of Accountancy Student – Jake Harris
  • Outstanding Information Systems Student – Kevin Groce
  • Outstanding Computer Information Systems Student – Sian Fox
  • Outstanding Cybersecurity Management Student – Joshua Andrews
  • Outstanding Data Analytics Student – Maralgua Gansukh
  • Outstanding Master of Science in Applied Data Analytics Student – Brandy Bryant
  • Outstanding Economics Student – Takahito Orr
  • Outstanding Finance Student – Jake DeBusk
  • Outstanding Insurance & Risk Management Student – Will Biernat
  • Outstanding Management Student – Alli Snodgrass
  • Outstanding Marketing Student – Delwin Portillo-Orellana
  • Outstanding Innovation & Entrepreneurship Student – Lauren Martin
  • Outstanding Logistics & Supply Chain Management Student – Peyton Tolliver
  • Outstanding Human Resources Management Student – Lauren Vrazel
  • Outstanding Master of Business Student – Kolby Johnson
SERVICE AWARDS
  • Outstanding Biz@Bear Student of the Year – Mason Smith
  • Outstanding COB Student Ambassador – Amaya Whitmore
  • Outstanding Beta Alpha Psi Student – Kaidan Zheng
  • Outstanding Accounting Club Student – Carson Griffin
  • Outstanding Gamma Iota Sigma Club Student – WIll Biernat
  • Outstanding Bears for Advancing Supply Chain & Operations Management (BASCOM) Student – Peyton Tolliver
  • Outstanding Phi Beta Lambda Student – Kaddie Bailey
Posted in: COB News, Featured News on April 7, 2023

CISA Professor Honored as Most Valuable Professor by UCA Student Athletes

Dr. Mike Ellis was honored last night as “Most Valuable Professor” at the UCA vs Arkansas State baseball game for his impact on UCA student-athletes. Here Dr. Ellis is pictured with MBA student and right fielder Kolby Johnson, who nominated him for the award. Dr. Ellis serves as an Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems & Analytics. Congratulations, Dr. Ellis!

Posted in: CISA, COB News, _Awards on March 29, 2023 Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Top Tax Questions Answered

Ready or not, here it comes. Tax season is underway with about one month left to file individual income tax returns.

The deadline for filing a 2022 federal individual income tax return and an Arkansas individual tax return is April 18, 2023, rather than the usual April 15th deadline, due to the District of Columbia’s Emancipation Day holiday. If you find yourself unprepared, here are some answers to the top tax questions to get you started.

What documents do I need to prepare my return?

The following are common documents taxpayers may need to prepare their 2022 tax return.

Employment:

  • You will need your W-2s from every place you were employed during 2022.
  • If you received any unemployment compensation during the year, you will need Form 1099-G from the state paying the unemployment.

Retirement Income:

  • If you were retired or if you took a distribution from a retirement plan, you will need Form 1099-R from each plan that your received a distribution in order to file your return.
  • Furthermore, if you received Social Security, you will also need a SSA-1099.

Investment Income:

  • If you had interest income (Form 1099-INT), dividend income, (Form 1099-DIV) and/or stock sales (Form 1099-B), you will need these related forms.
  • Companies will only send a 1099-INT if you had more than $10 in interest income for the year.

Self-employment Records:

  • If you were self-employed, then you will need to have documentation of both your income and expenses.
  • In certain circumstances, you may receive a Form 1099-NEC and/or 1099-K for earnings as an independent. In addition to your income, you will need records of any business expenses.
  • This includes the business miles you have driven.

 Pass-through Income:

  • If you had an interest in a partnership, LLC, S Corporation, trust, or estate, then you will need the Schedule K-1 from the entity.

Rental Income and Royalties:

  • If you owned rental property, then you will need a record of the rents you received as well as the expenses you incurred on the rental properties.
  • Furthermore, if you received royalty income, then you will need Form 1099-MISC from the company paying the royalties.

Other Income:

  • If you had any other source of income, you need documentation of it.
  • This includes gambling income and cancelation of indebtedness.

Child Care:

  • If you incurred childcare expenses on behalf of a dependent, you will need the total amount of these expenses as well as the tax identification number of the child care provider.

Education:

  • If you were a student in higher education, you will need a Form 1098-T showing the amount of your higher education expenses.
  • Additionally, if you paid student loan interest, you will need Form 1098-E.

Health Insurance:

  • If any point during 2022 you had health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, you will need a Form 1095-A before you can filed your tax return.

 Should I take the standard deduction or itemize?

According to the IRS, approximately 87% of taxpayers elect to take the standard deduction. For a single taxpayer in 2022, the standard deduction is $12,950 and for a couple that elects married filing joint status then their standard deduction is $25,900.  These amounts increase slightly for taxpayers over age 65 or those that are blind. If the total of your state and local income or sales taxes, personal property taxes, real property taxes, mortgage interest payments, charitable contributions, and a portion of your unreimbursed medical expenses exceeds the standard deduction, then you may want to itemize.

One important thing to keep in mind is that even if you choose to take the standard deduction on your federal return, you may want to itemize on your Arkansas tax return. This is because the Arkansas standard deduction is significantly lower than the federal standard deduction.

 What if I am unable to file by the April 18th deadline?

If you need additional time to file, you may request an extension.

  • To request an automatic 6-month extension of time to file for your federal individual income tax return, Form 4868 should be filed before the filing deadline.
  • The deadline for filing returns with an extension is October 16, 2023.
  • An extension of time for filing a federal tax return is valid for extending your Arkansas individual tax return also.
  • In the event that a taxpayer only need to extend an Arkansas individual tax return, form AR1055 may be filed.

It is important to keep in mind that while you may extend the time for filing a federal income tax return, the extension does not extend the time to pay any tax due. The tax due must be paid on or before April 18, 2023, in order to avoid interest and penalties.

Where can I get help with my Tax Return?

For individuals who generally make less than $60,000, the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program offers free tax return preparation and e-filing for basic tax returns. All VITA tax preparation volunteers are required to take and pass tax law training exam established by the IRS. In Central Arkansas, there are several VITA sites, including 2 sites in Conway. One is sponsored by United Way of Central Arkansas and the other is sponsored by Arkansas Asset Builders. Taxpayers can find contact information for the VITA sites using the following link:  https://irs.treasury.gov/freetaxprep/

In addition to the VITA program, the IRS Free File Program provides free online tax preparation and filing at an IRS partner site for taxpayer whose adjusted gross income is $73,000 or less. The link for the free filing software is:  https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile

Why is my refund less than last year?

For the 2021 tax year, certain tax credits were increased or had expanded eligibility due to the global pandemic. Many of those credit have returned to pre-pandemic levels for the 2022 tax year.  Taxpayers taking advantage of these credits may see a decrease in their tax refunds for the 2022 tax year as compared to last year due to these changes. These includes changes in the child tax credit, child and dependent care credit, the earned income tax credit, and charitable contributions.

 Child Tax Credit: For the tax year 2022, the child tax credit has a maximum amount of $2,000 per dependent under age 17. This is down from a maximum credit of $3,600 per dependent in 2021, depending on the dependents age.  Additionally, while the entire of the credit was refundable in 2021, only up to $1,500 of the child tax credit is refundable per dependent in 2022.

 Child and Dependent Care Credit: The child and dependent care credit has a maximum credit of $2,100 for 2022.  The maximum credit in 2021 was $8,000. While the child and dependent care credit was refundable for eligible taxpayer in 2021, it is no longer refundable.

 Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): The amount of the EITC for a qualifying taxpayer with no dependents is $560 in 2022 compared with the $1,502 in 2021 for the same individuals.

 Charitable Contributions: During 2021, taxpayers could deduct up to $300 ($600 for married couples) of cash contributions to charitable organizations even though they claimed the standard deduction. For 2022, taxpayers may only deduct charitable contribution if they elect to itemize their deductions.

Where is my refund?

According to the IRS, over 90% of refunds are issued in less than 21 days for those taxpayers that e-file their return and have the refund direct deposited into their account.   In many cases, the refunds are appearing in approximately 10 business days.  Taxpayers filing a paper tax return can expect longer wait times on refunds as processing the paper return may take more than 4 weeks. Taxpayer’s may check the status of their refund using the IRS2Go app on a mobile phone or visiting the following site: https://www.irs.gov/refunds.

About the author: Ashley Phillips, JD, LL.M

Ashley Phillips joined the University of Central Arkansas in August of 2016 as a full-time Assistant Professor in the College of Business Accounting Department. Prior to that, Phillips served as an attorney in Tennessee and Arkansas, including as a Senior Attorney for the Internal Revenue Service. At UCA she teaches classes like Accounting 2310 for beginners all the way through Advanced Income Tax courses for graduate students.

Phillips earned her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Arkansas, her Master of Laws (LL.M) in Taxation from the University of Florida, and her Juris Doctorate (JD) from the University of Arkansas. Phillips is well known for serving her community though the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program. In 2022, she was awarded the Peter J. Mehl Service-Learning Faculty of the Year Award for 2021-2022 and the College of Business Excellence in Service award in 2021.

Posted in: Accounting, COB News on March 17, 2023

UCA College of Business Unveils the Dr. Conrad Carroll Society Annual Giving Wall on UCA’s 9th Annual Day of Giving

Members of UCA and College of Business leadership unveiled the Dr. Conrad Carroll Society annual giving wall today on UCA’s 9th annual Day of Giving. Honored guests in attendance included Dr. Conrad Carroll, his wife Theda, his son, and his daughter in law, there to share in the historical moment.

Educational excellence requires resources, and the Dr. Conrad Carroll Society will provide the UCA College of Business with the resources to invest in its programs and people. This annual giving program will position the college to pursue unique opportunities as fresh possibilities emerge and ensure that the college is positioned to thrive in the years ahead.

“We have built a comprehensive college of business and we are providing our students with a remarkable and powerful education. I want to thank Dr. Carroll for his years of strong leadership and recognize the foundation he helped build for our world-class College of Business,” said College of Business Dean, Dr. Michael Hargis. “This program will help us continue to celebrate his lasting legacy for years to come.”

The Dr. Conrad Carroll Society allows the UCA College of Business to say ‘yes’ —–

Yes to scholarships for exceptional students,
Yes to applied, hands-on learning experiences,
Yes to world-class research and service opportunities, and
Yes to programs that provide transformational experiences for our students and positively impact our community

Those who say yes to the Dr. Conrad Carroll Society will directly impact the College of Business by providing support for people and programs.

  • By supporting people, the College of Business can provide more enhanced professional development to its faculty, assist students in paying for certifications, and send students to conferences and competitions.
  • By supporting programs, the college can enhance classrooms as technology evolves, purchase state of the art equipment, and provide outreach.

The Dr. Conrad Carroll Society recognizes the highest level of leadership in annual giving to the UCA College of Business. Members of the Dr. Conrad Carroll Society will see their names proudly displayed within the college lobby to inspire future leaders who walk the halls.

Along with unveiling, the college announced three levels of giving:

  • Emerging Leader: $1,000 annually (10×6)
  • Society Member: $3,000 annually (10×14)
  • Executive Member: $5,000 annually (22×14)

Finally, the College of Business thanked those who have already pledged to join the Dr. Conrad Carroll Society, specifically for the partnerships and generous support that has gotten the college to where it is today.

Anyone who would like to make a pledge to join should contact the college’s Senior Director of Development, Mrs. Jaime Briggs at (501) 852-1263.

Posted in: COB News on March 9, 2023

Senior Accounting Major Amaya Whitmore Secures Full-Time Job After Internship

AMAYA WHITMORE

In fall 2022, Senior accounting major Amaya Whitmore accepted an internship to explore what a career in accounting might be like. Little did she know, her fall internship would extend into spring 2023 and then turn into a full-time job offer after she graduates in May. Learn more about Amaya’s experience and her plans for the future:

Why did you choose this internship?
I saw this position for a paid internship at Dillard’s on Handshake. I wasn’t really looking for an internship when I came across this position, but I was in a rut of trying to decide which route I wanted to take after graduation. So I decided that it would be a great opportunity for me to get some experience and decide if I like working in tax. I had done a lot of research on accounting careers, and public vs. private, and realized that most people go the public accounting route after graduation, so I wanted to see what private accounting was like and to get that experience.

What did you learn at this internship?
My internship at Dillard’s has taught me so much. My favorite part has been being able to put the skills that I have learned into the classroom into practice and see real life examples. Working in the tax field, there is always so much to learn with the laws constantly changing. Also, I have been able to learn so many tips and tricks in Excel. We take courses that focus on Excel in the College of Business, but getting to use the program every day has allowed me to learn many shortcuts and ways to make using Excel more efficient.

How do you think this internship will be beneficial in your career?
I have already learned so much, and I am still learning on a daily basis. The things that I have learned from this internship have already helped me in the classroom setting, so I know it will help me in trying to get my CPA license and anything after that.

How do you plan to use your degree?
I will be graduating from UCA with my B.B.A. in Accounting in May. I plan to return to UCA in the fall to start the Master of Accountancy program. Also, I plan to start studying to take the CPA exam. There are so many things that someone can do with a degree in Accounting, so I know that my possibilities are endless!

What advice do you have for students who may (or may not) be considering an internship?
The biggest advice that I have is to take advantage of any internship opportunity that you can get! Internships are very beneficial and allow you to get some insight into what you could possibly be doing in the future. It is a great time to figure out what you like and don’t like, and help you decide what you want to do in the future. Plus, you never know the opportunities you can get from your internship… you could end up with a full-time job secured for after graduation!

Posted in: Accounting, COB News, _Internships and Part-time, _Jobs on February 27, 2023 Tagged: , , , , ,