Ellison and his wife, Lindsey, enjoy spending time with their youngster.
Entrepreneur
While Ellison began his professional career at KPMG in audit, he now is on his second (or third) career, as owner of Ellison Business Consulting in Allen. His company specializes in small business consulting, specifically helping owners grow their businesses in “a healthy yet aggressive manner.” Ellison, who earned his BS/Accounting, played on the UT Dallas Comets soccer team while an undergrad student and was an ASC Academic All-Conference player. He still volunteers as a Comets assistant soccer coach, specifically working with goalkeepers.
How have your degrees impacted your career?
While the information that I learned at UTD was invaluable, more than anything UT Dallas taught me how to learn in an efficient and productive manner. It is this skill that has allowed me to continually improve my knowledge and adapt to the ever-changing world around us.
What do you enjoy about your current position/profession?
The best part of being self-employed is not having to answer to anyone – directly anyway. If I want to take a day or afternoon off, I can. However, I learned really quickly that this is not a good strategy if you want to be successful!
How do you see your profession changing in the next five or 10 years?
Small businesses are just starting to embrace and implement technology, especially businesses that have been around for a while. Over the next five to 10 years, I expect this trend to continue at a rapid pace. If you are not adapting and implementing technology in your small business, you will not be in business in five or 10 years.
What unexpected experience or event has shaped and/or influenced your current professional life?
Unfortunately, sometimes you must fail to ultimately learn and/or succeed. Because of this, I would say that a bad decision or bad business deal, specifically where you lose a customer, or even worse, directly lose money, is going to be the best learning experience of your life. It can be painful, and downright unpleasant, but if you take the time to reflect and learn, you will come out better in the long run.
What advice do you have for college students hoping to succeed professionally?
Never stop learning, work hard and enjoy it along the way. A career will have many ups and downs, and a lot will have drastic changes in course over a lifetime. Embrace them and learn from them and you will be fine.
What makes an effective leader?
Being able to earn the trust of those that you are leading. Leading by example is the easiest way to do that. Of course, you also have to have a clear vision of where you and the organization can and should go as well.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy spending time with family, traveling, watching any soccer game that is on TV, and, of course, the Dallas Cowboys!
More from Bachelor’s in Accounting Alumni Spotlights
Matt has been a CIA and CPA for more than ten years and has worked with multiple organizations in industries which include inventory-based businesses (such as retail and manufacturing and distribution), oil and gas production, commercial banking, and state and federal government agencies, and technology. Matt has specialized in projects including SOX compliance, internal control analysis, business process improvement, risk assessment, fraud prevention, operational analysis, and CFO advisory for private and publicly held companies.
Sino graduated from UT Dallas with a bachelors and masters in Accounting. She has practiced public accounting since 2006 and serves as an Assurance Audit Partner in the Dallas office. She provides assurance services to various entities mostly in the energy and energy-related construction and manufacturing industries. Sino is heavily involved in recruiting both campus and experienced hires and spends a significant amount of time recruiting at UT Dallas.
In her current position at BDO, Arbuthnot assists accounting clients with their tax compliance and consulting needs including tax returns, tax provision preparation and review, assistance with tax implications of mergers and acquisitions, and other tax planning matters. She joined BDO, an international assurance, tax and financial advisory services firm, after earning her undergraduate accounting degree. Her master’s degree is also in accounting. “My degrees prepared me for a career in public accounting and the necessary qualifications for the CPA exam. Furthermore, my experience at UT Dallas prepared me to have success the professional world,” she said. BDO certainly covers the world, with offices in 167 countries.
Ernest has worked in the assurance practice at PwC for over 10 years. He has worked with public and private clients in a number of industries, including energy, industrial products, media and entertainment and technology. He most recently worked in a digital role, where his primary focus was helping to develop new tools to be used across the assurance practice. What he enjoys most is working with clients and his teams to complete a common goal.
Remsen Jennings graduated summa cum laude with a double bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance in 2011, following that with a master’s degree in accounting in 2012. During his time at UT Dallas, Jennings was appointed as a UT System Student Advisory Council member, elected as student body vice president, served as president of the Davidson Management Honors Program and was a member of the Professional Program in Accounting.
Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD in Accounting?
Bachelor’s Degree Program
The Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting prepares you for diverse career options. There is a wide range of high-demand paths to pursue. It is the only Jindal School program tailored for students who want to become Certified Public Accountants (CPAs).
A Master’s in Accounting and Analytics Program that fits your needs. Choose between the Flex Program and complete the coursework at your own pace, or, the Cohort Program where you take all courses together with other students as a community.
Our PhD Accounting program is designed for students seeking training in the most advanced issues in accounting, both theoretical and applied. Primarily intended for tenure-track positions in research-oriented universities.
