Jumpstarting Accounting Career With Two Degrees in Four Years

When James Dougherty was a sophomore in the Gabelli College and uncertain of what he needed to big in, he took a class with Barbara Porco, scientific professor and associate dean of graduate research.

“Dr. Porco instructed me that she enjoys accounting simply because there is always a proper answer—it’s the only self-control in company that has an remedy that you can get to at the end of the day,” Dougherty mentioned, adding that which is what drew him to the subject.

With Porco’s support, Dougherty threw himself into accounting, acquiring his undergraduate degree in December 2021, adopted by his master’s in professional taxation in May possibly 2022—fully completing two degrees in four decades.

Dougherty, who’s at first from ideal exterior Philadelphia, claimed he was able to make it come about many thanks to some pre-college credits, summertime programs, and relationships with faculty like Porco and the dean’s office environment. He was able to choose five grasp-stage courses as an undergraduate university student, which enabled him to have just 1 total-time semester as a graduate student.

For Dougherty, juggling a good deal of do the job has often been a aspect of his lifestyle. He worked three jobs in high school, which includes as a janitor at his school, to save up some paying out money for university, and ongoing doing work at Fordham as Ram Van driver in addition to his internships.

When he determined he needed to go after accounting, this motivation to do as a great deal as feasible carried above to his teachers.

“The faculty have always been excellent, and prepared to function with me,” he claimed. “I believe I drove some of them up a wall at times—I was asking for a lot—but they have been genuinely valuable and they ended up thoroughly being familiar with that [getting these degrees]was anything that I required to do.”

Porco stated Dougherty’s accomplishment is thanks in component to his crystal clear vision.

“Planning is key—students want to have the prepare, and the before you have that vision, then you have much more capacity to be supported and guided,” she reported. “I experienced him initially semester sophomore yr. I had some visitor speakers. He was inspired by some of the factors that he was finding out. I was launching a ‘wintership’ system. [A winter internship program which Porco defined as “a win for the firms, and a win for students.”]  And he was 1 of my initially contributors in the program—all of that early organizing is section of what I think creates the success.”

Porco emphasised that Dougherty’s self-confidence and thought of other folks played a position in his achievements.

“He’s a strategic thinker, he is experienced, accountable, articulate, amiable—very thoughtful of others, incredibly keen to support other men and women,” she mentioned. ”He’s assertive, he’s confident, but there is a humility there, and I believe it is a placing harmony.”

As element of the winternship plan, Dougherty labored at KPMG as a pupil. He also finished internships at Ernst and Youthful and Buchbinder Tunick.

“I was performing total-time at KPMG, and I was equipped to consider a comprehensive semester value of classes, so that was a actually interesting possibility that not several learners get—it’s variety of a exclusive scenario to Fordham since we’re in New York Metropolis,” he mentioned.

Because of his devotion to his schoolwork and internships, Dougherty, who just concluded his CPA test, will be starting off a complete-time purpose as an associate at KPMG in their mergers and acquisitions tax department in November. Prior to that, he’s squeezing in a single far more internship this summer time at CBS with their Paramount World division in their tax accounting department.

As a lot as he enjoys New York, Dougherty also credits Fordham’s International Outreach plan to Kolkata, India, with expanding his viewpoint and contributing to his accomplishment. Dougherty said that he arrived throughout the International Outreach table at the club honest and talked with college students there about the trip next semester to India.

“Global Outreach was most likely my favourite experience in my 4 decades of Fordham,” he mentioned. “I was the only a person that was a freshman, and it was an knowledge especially outside the house of my comfort and ease zone. It was just a really impressive knowledge.”

Dougherty claimed some of the most vivid recollections from the vacation provided a check out to the Mother Household of the Missionaries of Charity to understand about Mother Teresa’s do the job and her effects in the region. The group also invested time with higher education learners from India.

“We got to fulfill students at a university in India—St. Xavier’s, Kolkata—and that was a truly awesome part of my Fordham knowledge, assembly people who are in my similar placement, just on the other aspect of the globe,” he mentioned.

Dougherty said that the journey authorized him to see points from a different, a lot more world point of view, one thing that he set into his function at Fordham.

In addition, Dougherty reported he felt linked to the Gabelli School’s “business with a purpose” mantra, something he was capable to set into action by way of a former club known as Social Innovation 360, which inspired very first-calendar year learners to start a organization and method organization difficulties creatively.

“It was to persuade social innovation and consider to boost extra sustainable versions of company,” he said”

Dougherty reported he strategies to have that mission with him as he moves forward in his job, along with a information he took from Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, and the William J. Loschert Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship at the Gabelli School of Enterprise, Professor Benjamin Cole, whom Dougherty took two courses with, which include a blockchain program his senior 12 months.

“Father McShane constantly tells learners that they’re going to depart Fordham bothered by the injustice of the environment and determined to resolve it,” he said. “I’ve form of seasoned that identical detail with being in [Cole’s] course. He troubles you to think about the broader implications of things—it’s not just about, ‘how can I make revenue?’ but also, ‘what’s really likely on in this nuts globe that we live in?’”