The UW-Madison Accounting and Information Systems Program (the “Program”) at both the undergraduate and graduate levels is ranked among the top 10. Recent events, however, pose serious challenges to our ability to maintain such pre-eminent status over the next five years, much less the next several decades. These are the challenges:

• Until recently, strength in the economy and the increased demand for accountants as a result of Sarbanes- Oxley has spurred the growth of accounting programs at other top-ranked universities.
• Many of these programs are not only larger in size but also have greater endowments providing the means to entice the best faculty and students.
• Ever-increasing budgetary pressures within the University and the School of Business have limited, and threaten to further limit, the resources available to the Accounting Programs.

Given the quality and the reputation of the Department of Accounting & Information Systems, we are well positioned to maintain and enhance its status by growing the size of the Program and extending educational offerings to include professional and continuing education courses, which can generate new revenues. To attract and retain the best faculty and students, pay for physical space needs, and fund the growth and extended offerings, it is imperative that we endow the Program with sufficient financial resources to compete in this market.

The Accounting Campaign, which began in May of this year, has a $13 million goal of gifts and pledges, with an interim goal of $6.6 million to be received by December 2008. As of the date this newsletter was published, gifts and pledges totaled over $3.8 million.

Howard Carver (MBA ‘66), a retired partner from Ernst and Young and Chair of the Development Committee, is leading the campaign with a number of development strategies, including “tell a friend you have given and ask him/her to give,” small gatherings throughout the United States, one-on-one meetings, a direct mail campaign, use of an interactive web site, creative thinking regarding matching gifts and involvement of employers and students.

Over the past 12 months, we have had several alumni events around the country, including Denver, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis and Atlanta. At many of the events, the Dean and the AIS Department Chair attended to discuss the state of the school and the accounting department. They also discussed other topics (such as the economy and President-elect Obama's tax policies). If you are interested in hosting an alumni event in your city, please contact the Department chairman, Jon Davis, at jdavis@bus.wisc.edu.

Howard and the Committee believe that every gift to the Program is important and that the number of people that support the Program and the number of contributions is a strong indicator to the marketplace of our alums’ commitment to UW-Madison. For additional information on the Accounting Campaign, contact Jim Kubek, Senior Director of Development, School of Business, at 608-265-7942 or jim.kubek@supportuw.org.

Contributions can be made today by visiting our Make a Gift website.

We also invite you to read a recent article by faculty member Thomas G. Tierney, entitled “The Power of Gifting,” which was published in the July 2007 issue of The Tax Adviser. The article is available by contacting the Program via e-mail at accountingdept@bus.wisc.edu.