Yes, accounting majors do use Blue Books. At least at Southwestern they do, and that’s one aspect of her education for which Lisa Smith Gildon ’92 is grateful.

Gildon planned to go to the University of Texas until a recruiter sold her on Southwestern’s intimate setting and liberal arts education. Once here, the broad curriculum propelled her “to think, write, and express thoughts” as she pursued an accounting degree. That, along with the environment of honesty and integrity, helped shape the values she stills lives by. Signing the Honor Code was an early indication of the “trust factor” between students and faculty.

The ethics and integrity instilled in her childhood and at Southwestern are definitely needed in today’s business world. After graduating from SU, Gildon earned an MBA in management with an emphasis in information technology (IT) from Baylor University. She accepted a job with the public accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, and once she was working in the accounting field, she realized how well Fred Sellers, associate professor of business and economics, had prepared his students “in the way he related teaching to real life.” After a four-year stint with EDS, Gildon returned to Deloitte & Touche, where she now serves as a senior manager, focusing on IT control and risk consulting.

Gildon enjoys her work because it’s never boring. Each new client and situation comes with different challenges, and the fields of accounting and IT are constantly changing. She strives to balance her career with the demands and joys of raising three young children with her husband, and the possibility of becoming a partner at Deloitte & Touche remains an appealing goal.

Her advice to today’s students is to recognize how important it is to develop relationships with a diverse group of people while you’re in college and later in life.  “It continues the learning process and is just as important as school work.”