Team Members

Contributing Authors & Editors

Aaron Gill

Aaron is from Los Angeles, California. He has a passion for accounting, data analytics, and simplifying complex topics. In his free time, he enjoys playing drums, writing music, golfing, snowboarding, and spending time with friends and family. Aaron has interned at Alvarez and Marsal and EY.

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Abraham Reyes Leon

Abraham Reyes Leon, from Oaxaca, Mexico, has experience in non-income tax but is still exploring his passion as he nears graduation from the MAcc program. He enjoys solving complex revenue challenges in accounting and stays active playing pickleball, tennis, and online chess. In his free time, he enjoys video games and The Lord of the Rings, always embracing problem-solving in both work and play.

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Dakin Rust

Dakin is from Boise, ID and is passionate about solving accounting puzzles and finding process efficiencies. In his free time, he enjoys running for hours at a time, hiking up mountains, and spending time with his wife and friends. Dakin has interned with Connor Group in its technical accounting advisory practice and will intern with EY this summer.

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Elizabeth Hall

Elizabeth is from Medford, Oregon. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, classical art, photography, music, and running. She has a strong passion for accounting and enjoys staying up to date on current market trends. Elizabeth has interned on advisory teams at Alvarez and Marsal, PwC, EY and will be interning with Lazard this upcoming summer as an investment banking summer analyst.

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Keilani Hess

Keilani is from Milford, Michigan. In addition to her passion for accounting, she enjoys reading, completing puzzles, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. Keilani recently interned with KPMG in their federal audit practice and plans to return after graduating from BYU’s Master of Accountancy program.

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Lauren Taylor

Lauren is from Fremont, a town in the Bay Area of Northern California. She is in her first year of the MAcc program, with an interest in corporate sustainability and social impact. In addition to school, she volunteers with an organization called My Story Matters doing a myriad of tasks.Outside of her studies and volunteering, she enjoys soccer, swimming, running, and any kind of art project. Lauren has interned with Apex Group in New York and will join Deloitte's audit team in San Jose as a summer intern in 2025.

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Maclean Lunt

Maclean is from Los Angeles, CA, and is passionate about financial analysis, capital markets, and finding innovative ways to improve business performance. He has gained experience through internships with Walmart’s Corporate Finance & Strategy team, Ensign Peak Advisors, and Connor Group, and currently serves as a Portfolio Manager for BYU’s Silver Fund. In his free time, he enjoys traveling—having visited over 50 countries—rock climbing, college football, and spending time with family and friends.

Faculty Contributors

Cassy Budd

Professor Budd is the Norm and Cindy Nemrow Excellence in Teaching Professor at Brigham Young University’s (BYU) School of Accountancy. She worked in public accounting with PwC for more than ten years before starting her collegiate teaching career at Utah State University (2002-2005) before eventually joining the faculty at BYU in 2005. During 2014, Professor Budd worked on sabbatical with Connor Group, which provides technical GAAP review, IPO services, and SEC reporting guidance to firms preparing for IPO. Cassy is committed to finding ways for her students to meaningfully contribute to the profession and was honored to be inducted into the American Accounting Association’s Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Section Hall of Honor in 2024 and to receive the BYU Faculty Women’s Association Mentorship Award in 2022.

Connor Group Contributors

Ken Gardner

Ken is a technical accounting adviser at Connor Group where he serves clients in diverse industries across the United States. He helps to solve their most complex accounting and business issues. He advises companies on a variety of technical topics including revenue recognition under ASC 606, lease accounting under ASC 842 and SEC reporting matters. Prior to joining Connor Group, he was with Tesla in their Corporate Accounting group and PwC in their Los Angeles, California assurance practice focusing on financial services clients. Ken graduated from Brigham Young University with a Master of Accountancy, and enjoys travelling, wakeboarding, and eating dessert.

Technical Staff

Michael Peterson

Michael Peterson is originally from Austin, Texas, and is currently in the junior core for Information Systems. He is passionate about technology and business, with career interests in data analytics, consulting, and entrepreneurship. Outside of academics, Michael enjoys playing basketball, watching college sports, and building with Legos.