Brandon Bjornson, Audit Associate, Forvis Mazars
Brandon’s journey from the oil fields of Wyoming to an accounting classroom may have been unconventional, but the encouragement and support of the MAC faculty made the experience well worth the effort.
Get to know Brandon
Current role: Audit Associate
Current industry: Public Accounting
Current location: Raleigh, NC
Program start date: August 2023
Graduation date: May 2024
Program format: On-Campus MAC
Life before Jenkins
Undergraduate: B.S. Environmental Systems Science, University of Wyoming
Pre-program work experience: From environmental reclamation in the oil fields of Wyoming, to climbing 600ft+ smoke stacks at oil refineries to perform emissions testing for EPA compliance, to working in an advanced metals lab producing products anywhere from road grinders to the arms of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover.
Pre-program roles: Engineering Technician, Farm Hand, Construction Materials Tester, Environmental Technician, Title & Accounting Clerk, Reclamation Technician
Why a MAC?
Brandon has a self-described “unconventional” path towards accounting. He and his wife moved to Durham right at the start of the pandemic for his wife to take a position at Duke Hospital. Brandon tried a myriad of different jobs, but none of them were interesting enough to keep his attention for very long. “I would quickly become proficient in the processes, get bored and start looking for another job. I slowly started to realize that if I wanted a job with enough scope and responsibility to hold my interest, I would need to go back to school.” Brandon enrolled at NC State, hoping to complete the second half of his engineering degree (he did two years in undergrad at the University of Wyoming). “State is, of course, known for its STEM programs, so I knew it would be easier to transfer into the business school and then prove myself with a 4.0 and make the switch. I couldn’t really tell the business school that, but I got lucky. One of the required courses was Intro to Accounting with Dr. Bruce Branson. To this day, he is one of the best professors I have ever had. He made the class very engaging and fun – not something you hear often with accounting. On top of this, I was getting 95%+ on his exams while the average was closer to 60%, so I thought, ‘hey there might be something to this.’ I talked to Dr. Branson about my interest, and he really got me going down the path of accounting. Just like engineering, accountants are problem solvers – they are just solving business problems.”
“Just like engineering, accountants are problem solvers – they are just solving business problems.”
Why Jenkins?
After that accounting course, Brandon decided to pivot from engineering and declare accounting as his undergraduate degree. “I talked to some Jenkins MAC students who encouraged me to go talk to Jay Arrington in admissions. The rest is history. Jay quickly sold me on applying to the MAC program even though it was past the deadline. He highlighted all of the benefits, the incredible staff and their great placement percentages. I was sold.”
What made it great
The professors are what set the program apart, Brandon says. “They bring tremendous energy and create immersive study plans that prepare you for the real world of accounting. They have the expertise to know what we should be learning and how best to teach us. They don’t just teach you in-depth accounting – professors like Mark Beasley highlight Enterprise Risk Management or Bonnie Hancock cover multiple finance and management topics to truly show all the different roles you can touch with a MAC degree. You can tell they love what they do, and with Scott Showalter at the helm, they run a tight ship.” Beyond the actual program, Brandon appreciated NC State’s campus, where he enjoyed spending time across campus and using amenities like the gym.
Career impact
Brandon found the program’s recruiting process to be top-notch. “I got to meet and have in-depth talks with a lot of firms, locally and nationally. Due to my wife being in the doctor of nursing practice program at Chapel Hill, I stayed in Raleigh, but there are opportunities to go almost anywhere with accounting.”
Final thoughts
To anyone thinking of making the switch to accounting, Brandon encourages them to go for it. “My experience with the Jenkins MAC program was phenomenal. My undergraduate degree in environmental science and geology definitely didn’t touch on any business practices, let alone accounting. I went into the program knowing it was going to be tough. It was, but why go if you aren’t going to challenge yourself? You only truly grow when you face hard challenges. I treated the MAC program like a job, and won the FILO (First-in Last-out) superlative of the class. I would drive from Durham every day, walk a mile to the gym, work out, sauna and shower. Then pick an area to start working and studying. The hard work paid off. With graduation, not only did I feel much smarter with some extra time studying over the summer, I was able to pass all four of my CPA exams.”
Get in touch
Get in touch with Brandon at brandon_bjornson@yahoo.com.
Learn more
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