Additional Information
Loras Accounting Professor honored with Young Professional of the Year Award
Luke Lammer, assistant professor of accounting at Loras College, was one of five to receive the prestigious Young Professional of the Year Award.
The Institute of Management Accounts (IMA) announced Luke Lammer, assistant professor of accounting at Loras College, was one of five to receive the prestigious Young Professional of the Year Award. Winners are chosen for their creative approaches to problem solving, their leadership and contributions to the management accounting profession.
Professor Lammer graduated from Clarke University in 2006 and went on to earn his Master of Accounting from the University of Iowa. Lammer is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).
“IMA is pleased to acknowledge the accomplishments of this distinguished group of young professionals, who, even at this early stage of their careers, have achieved considerable success and have given service to the management accounting profession,” said Jenna Uszenski, IMA community engagement leader and staff liaison to the IMA Young Professionals Committee. “We look forward to seeing these professionals’ continued contributions to IMA, and we are confident in their ability to grow as leaders in the profession.”
The IMA Young Professional Award recognizes the finest young professionals with outstanding and creative approaches to problem solving within the accounting and finance profession. Recipients must be under the age of 33, be currently employed in the accounting or finance field, have completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution, be an outstanding contributor in a professional role and be designated as a CMA. Lammer and fellow award winners will receive their awards during the IMA’s 94th Annual Conference & Exposition in New Orleans June 22-26. They also have the opportunity to speak at the IMA Student Leadership Conference this November in North Carolina.
Lammer was also recently elected to a three-year term on the board of directors for the Iowa Society of Certified Public Accounts (ISCPA). The Iowa Society of CPAs is a nonprofit professional organization representing over 4,400 Iowa CPAs and accounting professionals. Their mission is to advance professional success by providing helpful resources and leadership to improve skills of its members.
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Student Involvement Opportunities
Loras has more than 100 co-curricular and involvement opportunities including organizations relating to academic majors, national honorary and professional societies, student and residence hall government, interest groups and recreational interests.
Accounting Club provides opportunities for leadership positions, networking with accounting professionals and learning more about the accounting profession.
Several business-related clubs and organizations.
VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) is an opportunity for accounting seniors to volunteer to prepare income tax returns for low income and elderly clients free of charge; the program is in partnership with the IRS.
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Internship Opportunities
There is strong support for internships part-time during the academic year or full-time in spring semester or summer in public, private and governmental institutions.
Past internship opportunities have offered real-world experience in tax, bookkeeping, billing, auditing, corporate accounting, governmental accounting, nonprofit accounting, banking and investments.
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Curriculum
The Loras College Accounting curriculum is designed for those interested in securing employment immediately following graduation or those interested in moving on to graduate school or obtaining a C.P.A. certification.
Curriculum Outline
- Courses in Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Tax, Auditing, Accounting Systems, Governmental and Not-for-Profit Accounting, Advanced Financial Accounting
- Accounting Systems offered as a J-Term experiential course
- Curriculum designed to meet the educational requirements for the C.P.A. exam in most states
- Students often complete the 150-hour requirement for the C.P.A. exam in four years at Loras
- Students often double major or minor with finance, MIS, marketing, management, criminal justice, economics, mathematics, politics, psychology, sport management
- Students can study abroad and complete the accounting major in four years
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Get Your MBA in Business Analytics
Our undergraduate Business Analytics program is a truly interdisciplinary major with applications in all areas of business. Students embarking on this path will develop solid skills in data mining and methods of discovery, all while exploring the role of ethics and the social value associated with big data collection and usage.
Our undergraduate Business Analytics program is a truly interdisciplinary major with applications in all areas of business. Students embarking on this path will develop solid skills in data mining and methods of discovery, all while exploring the role of ethics and the social value associated with big data collection and usage.
Loras College is a leader in analytics, and our undergraduate program is part of our Center for Business Analytics that includes an MBA in Analytics and a Certificate in Analytics.
These programs generate a culture of data science and offer students a glimpse into the diverse opportunities available beyond graduation.
Learn more about all our analytics programs at loras.edu/bigdata.
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Business Students Get Valuable Internship Experience Through Loras
Each year, Loras College business students complete internships in a wide array of organizations to prepare them for their job search after graduation. Students can complete internships for academic credit or non-credit. Many students choose to complete both.
“Internships are a win-win: good for the students and good for the organizations. Students integrate what they have studied with the work they are assigned. Often, successful completion of an internship leads to an offer of full-time employment when the student graduates,” explains Karen Sturm, professor of accounting in the Business division.
Katie Callaghan (’14), a marketing major, completed an internship with Dubuque marketing agency Plaid Swan, which she learned about through the Center for Experiential Learning (CEL). “I learned new writing skills at Plaid Swan, such as writing white paper documents, utilizing social media for small businesses, and creating and executing marketing plans for various clients. I also was responsible for meeting with clients on a weekly basis, developing case studies on previous campaigns, researching target audiences for rebranding efforts, and providing creative feedback
to my clients and supervisors.”
CEL’s role in internship coordination offers:
- Workshops with topics including internships, how to use Google in searching and why and how to network
- Networking Events—students often develop meaningful relationships that may lead to internships
- Career Fairs each fall have led to internships
- Individual meetings showing students how to search and how to network through LinkedIn, a strong tool to connect with alumni by joining Loras alumni groups
Students are taught how to seek out internships as those are the skills they will need the rest of their lives to find full-time positions. Business faculty communicate internship openings to students from a variety of sources, including from the companies, recruiting websites, or from CEL. Students may also find internship positions through career fairs or the Iowa College Recruiting Network interview days. Faculty serve as supervisors for the internships when students choose to earn academic credit.
Chelsea Myers (’14), accounting major, has found internships in two distinctly different ways—one through contact with a Loras professor and one through her own existing network. She served as Petal Project Intern at ECIA, which she learned about through David Cochran, Ph.D., politics department, where she assisted with program implementation, tracking and promotion; and she currently interns for the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, a position she found through her own Facebook network.
“I have learned about proper business etiquette and how much goes into planning a fundraising event that requires the support of an array of area businesses and supporters. In addition to business etiquette and event planning, I have also advanced my knowledge of philanthropy and grant writing, which I am excited to take with me into future endeavors.”
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Division of Business & Economics
Luke Lammer, C.P.A., Chair
Students must earn a cumulative average of 2.00 or better in all L.ACC, L.BAN, L.BUS, and L.CIT courses and complete a minimum of 12 credits of upper level courses in their major (beyond core and supporting) at Loras College, including the capstone course.
Please Note: Students must get PRIOR written permission to transfer in credit once they have matriculated at Loras. Students wishing to take a summer school class on another campus must get written permission from the Chair BEFORE taking the class. If a student has taken courses on other campuses and then transfers to Loras, the Division Chairperson will make a determination of those transfer credits.
Internships cannot be used to fulfill electives for any major or minor in this division. Students should complete their major’s math requirement by the end of their sophomore year.
Requirements for the major in Accounting (B.A.):
Anyone who takes Intermediate Accounting at another four-year institution and earns two Cs or any Ds must retake both semesters of Intermediate Accounting at Loras College unless a waiver is granted by the Division Chair. The Division does not accept Intermediate Accounting taken at a community college. Students planning to take the C.P.A. examination should consult with a member of the accounting faculty to be sure that the student is aware of the educational requirements of the jurisdiction in which he/she plans to qualify for the examination.
Requirements for the minor in Accounting:
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L.ACC-227: Managerial Accounting
A continuation of the study of financial accounting and an introduction to managerial accounting. Topics include the preparation of statement of cash flows, analysis of financial statements, accounting for manufacturing operations, and a study of the internal uses of information for managerial planning, control and decision making. 3 credits.
L.ACC-228: Financial Accounting
A study of the fundamental principles and procedures of financial accounting with an emphasis on preparation of financial statements for external reporting. 3 credits.
L.ACC-331: Intermediate Financial Accounting I
A brief review of basic financial accounting concepts and principles, followed by detailed study of the valuation of various assets and the impact of these valuations on income measurement. Includes a study of compound interest concepts and applications. Emphasis is on concepts, with some consideration of non-GAAP accounting alternatives. Prerequisites: L.ACC-227 and L.ACC-228. 3 credits.
L.ACC-332: Intermediate Financial Accounting II
A continuation of intermediate financial accounting. Topics include long-term liabilities, stockholders’ equity, dilutive securities and earnings per share, investments, accounting for income taxes, accounting for pensions, accounting for leases, accounting changes and error analysis and the statement of cash flows. Prerequisites: L.ACC-331. 3 credits.
L.ACC-343: Cost Accounting
Principles, procedures and practices of job order, process and standard cost systems. Also included are additional topics related to managerial uses of cost accounting information. Prerequisites: L.ACC-227 and L.ACC-228. 3 credits.
L.ACC-344: Advanced Cost Accounting
Intended to give the student broader knowledge of cost accounting. Emphasis is placed on the use of accounting data in management decision-making. Includes examination of recent conceptual and analytical developments in the area. Prerequisite: L.ACC-343. 3 credits.
L.ACC-350: Accounting Systems
A study of accounting information systems–the elements they contain; the ways in which they are designed and the role they play in supplying information to those who require it. Prerequisites: L.ACC-227, L.ACC-228, and L.CIT-110 or L.CIT-111, or L.CIT-115. 3 credits.
L.ACC-352: Accounting for Governmental & Non-Profit Entities
A study of fund accounting with emphasis on governmental entities. Other topics include accounting for hospitals, voluntary health and welfare organizations, and educational institutions. Prerequisites: L.ACC-331. 3 credits.
L.ACC-360: Accounting Research & Analysis
This in-depth study course will provide students with advanced knowledge of accounting standards setting and research both in the U.S. and internationally. Students will explore issues related to the conceptual framework for financial reporting, the political environment of standards setting, authority and due process for standards setting, and the applicability or jurisdiction of various regulatory and standards setting bodies. Students will learn methods for performing applied accounting research using a case method approach, as well as methods of effective communication for technical writing in the field of accounting. Prerequisite: L.ACC-331. 3 credits. January term.
L.ACC-394: Accounting Internship
Provides college credit for work experiences related to the major program. Proposals arranged in consultation with Division faculty and approved by Division Chair. Credit varies. Internships cannot be used as accounting electives.
L.ACC-450: Auditing
This course studies auditing theory and practice developed through the study of text material, questions and problems. Emphasis placed on the study of the internal control, audit standards, audit objectives and the preparation of reports. Students also participate in real world audits and complete an electronic major portfolio. Prerequisites: L.ACC-331, L.ACC-332, and L.BUS-250. 3 credits.
L.ACC-455: Federal Income Tax I
A study of federal income tax laws and their application to individuals. Prerequisites: L.ACC-227 and L.ACC-228. 3 credits.
L.ACC-456: Federal Income Tax II
A study of federal income tax laws and their application to partnerships, fiduciaries and corporations. Prerequisite: L.ACC-455. 3 credits.
L.ACC-468: Advanced Financial Accounting
Major emphasis on accounting for business combinations and the preparation of consolidated financial statements. Other topics covered in depth are accounting for derivatives and hedging instruments, and accounting for multinational enterprises. Topics covered in less detail are accounting for branches, reporting for segments of business enterprises, interim reporting, reporting for the Securities and Exchange Commission and accounting for fiduciaries. Prerequisites: L.ACC-331 and 332. 3 credits.
L.ACC-494: Accounting Internship
Provides college credit for work experiences related to the major program. Proposals arranged in consultation with Division faculty and approved by Division Chair. Credit varies. Internships cannot be used as accounting electives.
Career Opportunities
After receiving your degree from Loras, your career could take off into one of these fields:
- Bookkeeping
- Accounting Clerk
- Accountant
- Loan Administrator
- Business Entrepreneur
- Tax Specialist
- Auditor
- Corporate Accounting
- Banking
For those looking for graduate study, Loras is a leader in business analytics and offers a competitive MBA in Business Analytics.
Shikhar P. Acharya
Assistant Professor of Business Analytics
563.588.7784 | shikhar.acharya@loras.edu
Eric Eller, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Finance
563.588.7202 | Eric.Eller@loras.edu
Dr. Eller received his PhD from the University of Virginia, a Masters degree from the University of Missouri, and his undergraduate degree from Missouri State. Prior to joining the faculty at Loras, Dr. Eller spent time on the tenure-track faculty at Bellarmine University, at Buena Vista University (where he was tenured), and at Upper Iowa University. Dr. Eller’s areas of scholarly research include International Service Learning and Microfinance. He has taught numerous study away courses with travel destinations including Cuba, Haiti, Russia, Egypt, and the Galapagos Islands.
Under Dr. Eller’s direction, the LIFE Investment class (which manages a portion of the Loras endowment) will focus on choosing investments which align with the College’s mission while still maximizing portfolio efficiency.
Douglas Gambrall, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Business Administration
563.588.7910 | Douglas.Gambrall@loras.edu
Doug Gambrall is Associate Professor of Business Administration at Loras College—joining the faculty in August of 2011. Gambrall earned his BBA, majoring in finance, from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from the University of Evansville. After working in retail banking, Gambrall embraced higher education, serving four different colleges in Indiana, Tennessee, and Iowa as an administrator and faculty member since 1994. In 2005, Gambrall received his doctorate in leadership education from Spalding University with a cognate in business management.
Matthew Garrett, Ph.D.
Professor of Sport Management
563.588.7165 | Matthew.Garrett@loras.edu
Garrett has served as the sport management program coordinator since 2005. Under his leadership, sport management case study teams at Loras have won six national championships. Garrett’s research interests include sport law, governance, and human dignity issues. He also is working on a project studying the factors sport business professionals consider when accepting entry-level and middle-management jobs. An avid Cardinals fan, Garrett coaches youth baseball. He and his wife Cheryl have three children.
Hugh Graham, M.B.A.
Associate Professor of Business Administration
563.588.7765 | Hugh.Graham@loras.edu
Professor Graham grew up in Wichita, KS, and began working at Loras in 1988. He received his Bachelor’s degree in accounting as well as an MBA from Wichita State University. Before Loras, Graham was a public accountant for Grant Thornton and a business analyst in the National Marketing Group of Pizza Hut.
Graham’s favorite part of working at Loras is the intellectually stimulating challenge of learning with the students. He says that he gets the greatest pleasure from seeing his former students succeed, not because he believes he played a large role in their success, but because he gets to witness graduates achieve their professional goals.
William Hitchcock, M.B.A.
Professor of Computing and Information Technology
563.588.7286 | William.Hitchcock@loras.edu
In 1984, William Hitchcock graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, double majoring in Marketing and Management Computer Systems. Upon graduation, he began working as a Programmer/Analyst for the Oscar Mayer Foods Corporation headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Most of his development work was with marketing decision support systems utilizing retail store audit information. While working full time at Oscar Mayer, he began his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1986. He completed his work and graduated with an MBA degree majoring in Finance, Investments, and Banking in 1988. In 1989, Hitchcock made a career move to begin teaching business courses at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He has taught business coursework to both traditional college students and professionals working in the Dubuque area. In 2011, he served as the Faculty Director of the Study Abroad program in Dublin, Ireland. He has a special interest in International/Irish studies, and has since taught several Irish-themed courses including a summer course in Ireland in 2014.
Brian J Kallback CFP® CLU® QPA QKA CTFA
Instructor of Finance
563.588.7626 | Brian.Kallback@loras.edu
Finance Instructor, Loras College Frances J. Noonan School of Business teaching Financial Planning & Risk Management, Managerial Finance, Investments, and Personal Financial Literacy. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kallback/
Luke Lammer, M.A., C.P.A., C.M.A., C.I.A.
Associate Professor of Accounting
563.588.7379 | Luke.Lammer@loras.edu
Professor Lammer joined Loras in 2011. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Clarke University and his Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Iowa. Lammer has earned certifications as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). Prior to Loras, Lammer worked as an auditor with McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, working primarily with financial institutions. Lammer has been an active contributor to item development for both the CPA and CMA exams.
Dale Lehman, Ph.D.
Center for Business Analytics Director
Professor of Business
563.588.7725 | Dale.Lehman@loras.edu
Dale Lehman has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Rochester. He has taught at a dozen universities and was Director of the MBA programs at Alaska Pacific University. He has also held industry positions at Bell Communications Research and SBC. He teaches in a number of specialized MBA programs in Europe.
Dale’s interests are in applied data analysis. This includes visualization of patterns in data, analysis that highlights meaningful stories hidden within data, and replication/validation of data analysis. He is particularly interested in applications of data analysis to problems related to health care, natural resources, telecommunications and information, and finance.
Dale has co-authored three books and numerous articles. He enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, golf, travel, and teaching at small private universities.
Anne Marx Scheuerell, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Sport Management
563.588.7216 | Anne.Marx@loras.edu
Dr. Marx Scheuerell is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management. She joined Loras College in the fall of 2011. She has practical experience in collegiate and secondary education athletic departments, and as a summer camp director. Her research focus is on sport as a platform for socio-cultural change with specific interests in ethics, law and gender issues. Her research has been published in numerous academic journals, and she has presented her research at national and international conferences. Dr. Marx Scheuerell received her master’s from Arizona State University and her doctorate in Sport Management from the University of Arkansas.
Patrick Marzofka, M.B.A.
Associate Professor of Business
563.588.7283 | Pat.Marzofka@loras.edu
Pat Marzofka began working at Loras College in 1987. He received his Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MBA in marketing from the University of Wisconsin Madison. Before Loras, Marzofka taught at two small schools in Wisconsin and later worked in marketing research at Shopko.
Marzofka explains that his favorite part of working at Loras is the opportunity to interact with students inside and outside of the classroom. He considers teaching fun and rewarding. He is passionate about the topics he teaches and has discovered that each class has its own personality. “Students can make or break the class!” he explains. Based on his many years in the classroom, Marzofka believes that computer simulation is an effective tool in the education process because it focuses on experiential learning. In the class Marketing Management, he uses simulations to guide students to understand how to work in a group, be creative and have fun in the process, even if the outcome seems uncertain. Furthermore, Marzofka enjoys seeing the long lasting friendships that started in his classes or began as a result of one of his class projects.
Biniv Maskay, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Economics
563.588.7915 | Biniv.Maskay@loras.edu
Dr. Biniv K. Maskay is an empirical macroeconomist with research interests in economic growth and development, open-economy monetary policy, financial development, international financial integration, international trade and foreign direct investments. He received his Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Kentucky, where he also served as the Instructor of Record. He has taught courses such as Principles of Microeconomics, Principles of Macroeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Statistics for Business and Economics, Money and Banking, International Economics and Growth and Development at Loras College and the University of Kentucky.
Debra Schleicher, L.L.M., C.P.A., C.M.A., C.F.M.
Associate Professor of Business
563.588.7404 | Debra.Schleicher@loras.edu
Jennifer Smith, P.h.D.
Associate Professor of Economics
563.588.7952 | Jennifer.Smith@loras.edu
Dr. Smith earned her BS in mathematics and an MA in economics at Illinois State University. After being employed by an insurance company as an Actuarial Research Analysis for five years, she enrolled at Northern Illinois University to earn a Ph.D. in economics. While completing her graduate degrees, she taught classes at Heartland Community College, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Northern Illinois University. Upon completing her Ph.D., she taught two years at Illinois Wesleyan University. In 2009 Dr. Smith joined the faculty at Loras College. Dr. Smith has research interests in maternal employment or non-employment on childhood obesity. Dr. Smith has been an expert witness in wrongful death lawsuits and contributed chapters to an Economic Terms research text.
She has taught a variety of courses including: Introduction to Microeconomics, Introduction to Macroeconomics, Intermediate Microeconomics, History of Economic Thought, Public Finance, Economics of Poverty, Gender, Race, and Immigration, Econometrics, Senior Seminar Research, Labor Economics, Comparative Economic Structures, Democracy and Global Diversity, and Managerial Economics (MBA course).
Karen Sturm, M.A., C.P.A
Division Chair of Business & Economics
Professor of Accounting
563.588.7405 | Karen.Sturm@loras.edu
Professor Sturm started her career at Loras College as an undergraduate student. Her journey then took her to graduate school at the University of Iowa. After some experience at Deere Company as an internal auditor, Karen came back to Loras, where she has taught since 1983.
Sturm explains that her favorite part of Loras, from a student and teaching perspective, is the campus size. The small size allows students to be more involved with a variety of different activities such as campus ministry, sports, or the variety of clubs Loras offers. She believes that all the involvement options offered help students develop skills inside and outside the classroom. The smaller size also allows Sturm the opportunity to get to know her students better, which helps making recommendations and advising students much more successful. Sturm enjoys interacting with her students and seeing them grow throughout their Loras experience.