Firms are more likely to face accounting-related lawsuits for overstating their earnings or assets than for understating them because it’s easier to demonstrate investor harm with overstatements. So erring on the conservative side can reduce a firm’s legal costs.

Maryland Smith’s Pat McNamee has been reappointed to the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board, for a second five-year term, which began on Jan. 1 of this year.

Jennifer Felix ’92 has one goal in mind when it comes to leadership – helping everyone maximize their potential. As president and CEO of ASRC Federal – a Maryland-based government services subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation owned by 13,000 Iñupiat shareholders – Felix has learned firsthand what it means to lead. It starts with empowering others and finding inspiration in every journey, she says.

When it comes to navigating the business world, Anoop Mehta ’84 understands the power of a network. “During my time at Smith, I was heavily involved in a variety of campus-wide organizations, such as the International Student Association and the Indian Student Association,” Mehta says. “Being around a diverse group of people and learning how to network and collaborate with them helped propel me into my future career.”

“All income is taxable unless the tax code says it’s not; all expenses are not deductible from that income unless the tax code says they can be deducted.”

His fellow students thought he was a faculty member; his professors saw him as a kind and active leader on Smith’s Shady Grove campus. His program director once wrote that “David was a superstar.” Now, students and faculty alike will see David Kantor’s memory live on through an endowed and current-use scholarship for undergraduate accounting students.

Leigh Burnside ’92 has learned what it takes to climb the corporate ladder and succeed in the C-suite. But she’s also learned that careers aren’t just about reaching the next rung on the ladder – they’re about branching out.

As courses convene for the new academic year, Maryland Smith is welcoming eight new scholars to its faculty. Tejwansh (Tej) Anand is joining the decision, operations and information technologies department as a clinical professor. Anand earned a PhD from Columbia University.

What can a taxpayer do now to prepare for the tax year ahead? Maryland Smith’s Samuel Handwerger recently shared some advice. Handwerger is a CPA and a full-time accounting lecturer at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He also oversees TerpTax, Maryland Smith’s free tax preparation service, which puts volunteer undergrad students to work helping qualifying community members and UMD graduate students file their taxes.