Accountancy master’s program at Montana State celebrates 30th anniversary, new endowment

Alumni, faculty and students gathered in Jabs Hall during the Montana State University homecoming week to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Master of Professional Accountancy program, with a new endowment to support students announced at the event.  

Housed in the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, MSU’s MPAc program offers students upper-level accountancy classes to prepare for taking the certified public accountant exam. The master’s program started in 1995, and now around 30 students graduate from it each year. MSU data shows the program regularly sees a 100% placement rate of graduates within the accounting field.   

“Celebrating 30 years of success in the MPAc program is a significant milestone for MSU, and a great time to reflect on our expert instruction and community outreach that launch students into successful careers in accountancy,” said Brian Gillespie, dean of the business college. “We are thankful for our faculty, our students, our donors and our alumni for showcasing the continued impact you can achieve with a degree from Jabs.”   

The gathering showed how former students and faculty remain connected to MSU years after leaving campus, Gillespie said. The MPAc program has produced scores of successful alumni, many of whom chose to build careers in Bozeman or elsewhere in Montana.   

One of those alumni is Mitch Thompson, CEO and CFO of the Billings-based company Iron Oil. Thompson was the business college’s Orser speaker in spring 2025 and this fall, he and his family donated $25,000 to establish and endow the Marc Giullian Accounting Scholarship in honor of professor Marc Giullian’s long-tenured leadership of the MPAc program.   

“It is my hope that this gift will inspire other alumni to give their support in recognition of Marc Giullian’s continued impact on former, current and future students, and the MSU community,” said Thompson, who received his bachelor’s degree from MSU in 2003 and master’s in 2004.  

“We are deeply grateful to Mitch Thompson for his generous gift, which exemplifies our alumni's powerful role in shaping the future of MSU,” added Fran Albrecht, president and CEO of the MSU Alumni Foundation. “Endowments like this create a lasting foundation – providing an enduring source of support for Jabs students and ensuring that the excellence of our accounting program continues for generations to come.”  

Giullian, who came to MSU in 2001 and directed the MPAc program part time until becoming its full-time director in 2012, said learning about the endowment brought tears to his eyes.   

“I feel deeply honored and humbled by the fact that someone thought enough of what I had done to help them in their education that they would remember me, first of all, but also that it meant enough they’d be willing to try and help future students not have as many barriers and have a chance to go to school,” Giullian said. He added that his impact was made possible by countless other faculty in Jabs, including former professors Christie Johnson and Anne Christensen.   

Dean Gillespie also highlighted how the MPAc program provides experience beyond the classroom. One may think accountants only do desk work, but MSU students represent how the profession can have critical community involvement.   

For example, each spring, MPAc students provide free tax services for community members who make less than $60,000 annually. In March 2025, students also traveled to remote Native villages in Alaska to conduct pro-bono tax work, completing more than 160 tax returns for an area that does not have reliable internet access or financial support. Additionally, other student outreach last spring involved MPAc students giving multiple presentations on avoiding digital fraud and common scams to seniors at the Bozeman Senior Center and MSU Alumni Foundation.  

Giullian also noted the MPAc alumni network remains strong and helps educate current students about potential career paths through annual professionalism workshops. Some notable local alumni include Stacie Bruno, CFO of the popular, Bozeman-based outdoor brand Simms and its parent company Revelyst; Jeremy Hauk, CEO of Eide Bailly LLP, a top 25 accounting firm; and Jen Nord, the vice president of finance and accounting for the MSU Alumni Foundation.   

Looking to the future, Giullian said while there has been a decline in the number of accountants nationwide, the MPAc program is still going strong as it teaches students to adapt to technological changes. For example, the use of artificial intelligence can be a tool to make computer work more efficient, he said — but human judgements in accounting aren’t easily replicable by AI.   

“Individuals and businesses will always be making financial decisions that require human expertise,” Giullian said. For example, in Montana, succession planning for agricultural land and new business start-ups will need that human input. “CPAs are part of the necessary infrastructure that has to be in place for an economy to thrive and prosper.”