"This is a man who was put on this earth to be a teacher of others. I can 100% say he is the best professor I've had at Mays. Now, none of this means it's an easy class. It's not. Sharp makes it so much better, 11/10 experience." - A Former Student of Dr. Sharp's via ratemyprofessor
Dr. Sharp is beloved by the students he teaches and faculty he leads because of his passion for the profession. I had the privilege of witnessing this passion, firsthand, during my time at Mays Business School and also during our interview this past week.
Throughout this article, I hope to showcase the man at the helm of the Accounting department at Mays Business School and to share the story of how he came to find himself in such a role.
Who is Dr. Sharp?
Dr. Nate Sharp's official title is Professor and Department Head of the James Benjamin Department of Accounting. In addition to this role, Dr. Sharp also holds the role of the Nelson D. Durst Endowed Chair in Accounting.
For his first thirteen years at Texas A&M University, Dr. Sharp taught what many would consider to be one of the most challenging courses in Mays Business School - Financial Accounting and Reporting I (i.e. ACCT. 327). It's hard to imagine someone better skilled to teach this course than Dr. Sharp, especially after considering his passion for accounting and finance.
Dr. Sharp has a plethora of publications that discuss topics such as financial reporting, financial misconduct, and financial journalism - to name a few. You can find many of his studies referenced in media sources such as The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, or Forbes, or you can see a full list of his publications here.
Now, let's talk about how Dr. Sharp developed into the man he is today.
The Early Years
Born and raised on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, Utah, Dr. Sharp grew up surrounded by his wonderful family. He recalled the presence of his extended family during his younger years by saying, "My grandparents all lived within ten minutes of our home. This gave me a support system like none other while I was growing up."
In addition to providing a strong support system, his family also taught him the value of hard work at a young age. Dr. Sharp mentioned how he was able to learn about dedication and morals through his parents who worked long hours - his father as a bus driver and his mother as a flight attendant.
When it was time to head off to college, Dr. Sharp decided to attend Brigham Young University in search of a degree that would catapult him into a successful career in either law or medicine.
His studies took a short break after his freshman year, when he moved to South Korea for two years on a church mission. Impressively, Dr. Sharp was able to garner a basic proficiency in the Korean language after just an eight-week crash course before his trip. However, it was noted by Dr. Sharp that the Korean spoken by the locals had significant differences that he had to adjust to during his time there.
When Dr. Sharp returned to BYU, he became destined for a new a career path after a conversation with his uncle, an attorney.
During his junior year, after having decided that he was going to complete his Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Accounting, Dr. Sharp began the recruiting process to work at a large management consulting firm. A highly qualified and successful student at this point, Dr. Sharp was well on his way to becoming a consultant at places like Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey and Company.
However, a conversation with a beloved professor during the middle of his consulting recruitment would change his career path yet again.
Dr. Mark Zimbelman called Dr. Sharp into his office and asked "Nate, have you ever prayed and asked God to close the doors that are not right for you?"
After numerous rounds of interviews, Dr. Sharp came to find out that the consulting firm he wanted to work for had decided to go with a different candidate for the position - a door closed.
Dr. Sharp then became one of the inaugural eight members of the BYU "PhD Prep Program" and went on to receive his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.
It was then time for a young Dr. Sharp to find a job.
The Search for a University Position
By the end of PhD program, Dr. Sharp and his wife had two children and were in search of a place they could call home. Texas A&M University was not initially on the radar for Dr. Sharp and his family as they began to search for a place to settle down. Dr. Sharp mentioned, "I remember that we pulled out a map and listed all of the schools that we wanted to go to. It's funny looking back now, but it was actually Ohio State that was our top choice. We imagined moving to Ohio, and I wanted to work at Ohio State University. That was the top of our list."
Dr. Sharp later found out that Ohio State was actually hiring and he immediately applied there for the position. The interview went well and he was extended the offer just a short time later.
Although he had already gotten the offer from his dream school, Dr. Sharp still decided to follow through with the interview at the final school on his list - Texas A&M University.
When asked about his initial thoughts of Texas A&M he responded with, "It's hard to put into words what my experience here was like. I was taken aback by it. I immediately knew when stepping onto campus that this place [was] something special."
After a full day of interviewing and meetings for Dr. Sharp, the namesake of the department and former head of the accounting department, Dr. James Benjamin, called the recruiting committee together. They discussed the potential of Dr. Sharp joining the faculty.
Before Dr. Sharp could even make it home that day, Texas A&M had offered him the job.
Not long after, Dr. Sharp would claim his position within the faculty of Mays Business School and quickly begin helping shape the future of the accounting program and the lives of every student within it.
Dr. Sharp's Point of View
After accumulating such great experiences and having done ample amounts of scholarly research, I thought that it would almost be an injustice to not get Dr. Sharp's opinion about a few accounting and university related topics.
When asked about some of the biggest issues facing the accounting profession, Dr. Sharp spoke about the constantly changing landscape of artificial intelligence. As the head of the accounting department, Dr. Sharp and his faculty are having to try and keep pace with the increasing automation of the profession so that they can prepare their students with the skillsets that firms are looking for.
Even within the past five to ten years, there have been such impressive changes made to the way that accounting work is automated that much of the work of entry-level professionals from just a decade ago is now non-existent. This requires students entering the workforce to be better prepared to work at a higher level, with the proper tools and knowledge base.
In contrast to the constant changes being made with technology, another problem Dr. Sharp identified is the lack of change within the pay of accounting professionals. He mentioned the stagnation of pay for entry-level workers in public accounting over the past ten years as an obstacle to recruiting business students into accounting.
To put things into perspective, an entry-level audit associate at a Big 4 accounting firm makes virtually the same, if not the exact same, in 2021 as they did in 2011. However, the upside that Dr. Sharp mentioned is that if students focus on the long-term, the pay typically increases at a faster rate as you stay at one of the Big 4 firms for a longer period of time.
Emphasizing his encouragement of students to pursue accounting, Dr. Sharp said, "I am completely convinced that the Professional Program of Accounting is the best decision an incoming freshman can make. You get 2 degrees in 5 years, starting with a strong accounting foundation, and then you get to choose whatever master's program you want. I think it's the right way to go for almost any student at Mays."
In addition to accounting, I asked Dr. Sharp about his view of the younger generation and problems that he believes college-aged students are facing.
His response was, "I hear a lot of criticism of the up-and-coming generation and I want to start by saying I disagree with most of that criticism. I see so much that is commendable and should be applauded in the younger generation. I'm very optimistic about them. I see so much that I am impressed with."
Dr. Sharp said that sometimes searching for a job is hard for the younger generation because they are looking for things in a position that weren't prioritized or sought after by previous generations. Some of these factors are the employer's commitment to the environment or charitable causes.
He exclaimed, "A lot of the younger generation has this hunger to try and find ways to make the world better, and often the job opportunities that you have when you come out of school are not a perfect fit for those desires."
After describing the positives of the younger generation and his optimism for the future, he did mention that the biggest problem he sees them facing is patience. The first job that students find is likely not going to be their dream job, and they need to be patient enough to learn from that first job and grow into their dream position later down the road.
Dr. Sharp's perspective on the accounting profession and the younger generation is something I was proud to have gotten the chance to hear him speak on.
Family Life
"The most important work you ever do will be within the walls of your own home."
- Harold B. Lee
The above verse is what Dr. Sharp keeps at the forefront of his mind as he goes throughout each day.
Since he was a child, this verse has been a North Star for him and has helped guide the way he approaches his life and career. Dr. Sharp mentioned that he loves his job and his faculty, but he recognizes that his career is not the only job he was called to do on this earth. He is a father of five and a husband - the most important job titles that he claims.
Final Thoughts
Over the next year, Dr. Sharp is looking to continue spending time with his family - hopefully traveling and seeing more of the world once we can get COVID-19 under control.
In addition, he's got big goals for his research and is working on multiple publications that he is excited to release. The department of accounting is working on "Reimagining PPA" - a process started by Dr. Sharp back in September 2020. He hopes to begin implementing the great ideas that have been thought of about how to make the PPA program the best it can be.
Dr. Sharp is an incredible professor, speaker, and leader of others. I'm happy to have had to opportunity to learn more about his story and share with all of you the 'behind the scenes' of the man at the helm of the Accounting department at Texas A&M.
If you know of anyone else you'd like me to interview and write a feature story about, please shoot me an email at "vinny.hale123@gmail.com" and include [BLOG] in the subject line.
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