Message from the Chair
On January 17, 2012, an $8.6 million gift from the Leungs launched Azusa Pacific University’s L.P. and Timothy Leung School of Accounting, with the following vision: “We will be a premier Christian Accounting School, recognized as a thought leader on accounting character and competence to reflect the life of Christ and shine the light of Truth.”
Four components of the vision are:
- God First. Consistent with APU’s God First mission, we are united in purpose to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.
- People. We will show God’s love to our customers (students, graduates, employers), colleagues (faculty, staff, administration), the Church, and the world.
- Thought leader. We will be a leader in accounting competence and character, following exemplars like Daniel, who was trustworthy and neither negligent nor corrupt.
- Committed to the Truth. We will be truth tellers, understanding that the purpose of accounting is to give an account. An inaccurate or untruthful account is no account at all. Truth is the “value-added” core of accounting. Falsehood is costly to business.
Prior to the Leung gift, APU’s School of Business and Management (SBM), under the leadership of Dean Ilene Bezjian, DBA, had developed a small but solid accounting major, graduating between 11 and 25 students per year and placing them in many local, national, and international CPA firms, as well as in industry, government, and nonprofit organizations. As of 2011, there were about 75 accounting majors in the program, constituting a relatively small part of about 800 business majors within SBM, guided by two full-time accounting faculty members, including Accounting Director Stanley Deal, M.S., CPA
The Leungs’ gift is being used to build a nationally recognized, highly respected School of Accounting at APU. In January 2012, APU held the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new L.P. and Timothy Leung School of Accounting and unveiled its vision for the future.
Several initiatives are expected to begin in the near future, starting with the unveiling of the Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA). The school plans to launch this distinct MPA that will focus on internships for students; a top pass rate on the CPA exam; and an exceptional student placement rate in public accounting by graduation.
The Leung gift has allowed APU to take a leadership role in responding to the 2014 California State Board of Accountancy requirement for 150 semester credits to become professionally certified. New courses in accounting ethics, forensic accounting, global financial accounting, accounting research, and auditing will assure students are equipped with the character and competence to meet the needs of the accounting profession of the future.
John M. Thornton, Ph.D., CPA
Professor, Leung Chair of Accounting Ethics
