Holden Greene, MAcc '21

Holden Greene, MAcc '21, wasn’t a typical Master of Accounting student. Though passionate about accounting, he was also fascinated by public policy and economics. Holden majored in both economics and organizational studies as an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. During undergrad, one of his economics professors said something that stuck with him: 

“You can never know too much accounting.”

This led Holden to take Intro to Financial Accounting his junior year, and the class opened his eyes to the possibility of a future career in accounting. He was captivated by the idea that, with the ability to read a company’s 10K, he could gain a stronger understanding of the inner workings of a company.

“That was the first time I had been exposed to anything accounting-related, and I realized how powerful that was. I was able to see how I could intertwine it with my economics education and understand how financial theories play out at a micro level within a firm.”

Once Holden discovered his interest in accounting, he was drawn to the Michigan Ross Master of Accounting Program. While in undergrad, he had connected with economics and finance professors from the MAcc Program and they motivated him to apply during his senior year. Holden was particularly drawn to the program's class flexibility and alumni base. 

Michigan offers a massive alumni network. You can find anyone you need; there’s always going to be a contact out there should you need them. Everyone’s always so willing to help out. Plus, who could say no to a fifth year at Michigan?

As a result of a summer internship, before joining the MAcc Program Holden had accepted a job offer at Ares Management, a global alternative investment management company. Because Holden knew the specific career field that he was entering, he could take classes at Ross that were tailored to his future role, while still gaining a solid accounting foundation.

The ability to take a lot of classes outside the Master of Accounting curriculum was really special. I knew I wasn’t going to go into audit or tax, which is the normal path for a MAcc student. And so I thought that flexibility was really beneficial because by knowing what I was going to do afterwards, I could gear my extra classes towards that.

Holden noted the EY Symposium as a highlight of the MAcc Program. Although virtual for his class, the EY Symposium featured speakers that addressed how accounting fits into public policy. Through the EY Symposium, Holden, who is also interested in politics and public policy, was able to hear from speakers about U.S. debt levels and the pandemic’s influence on U.S. debt.

“The reason I was drawn towards economics was because of the inter-relations of public policy, and current events, and all of these other forces at play. What the symposium was all about was how accounting fits into public policy, and as someone who likes to read up on politics I thought it was super interesting.”

Holden had also set a personal career goal to take the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams and wanted to take classes that would help him better understand the specific topics on the exam. Doing so helped him score well on the first level of the CFA.

“I’m currently studying for the second level of it, and there are at least two classes I took in the program through the core curriculum that have set me up very well for success in those areas. Everything about the program has definitely helped me with that.”

Additionally, Holden has already noticed how beneficial his experience at Ross has been in his current position at Ares Management, where he works in direct lending on the valuation team. 

“I really didn’t realize how much Ross expanded my knowledge about some of this stuff until being at my current job for even just three weeks. There are examples of topics from most classes I took during the program that helped me excel at my work, like my mergers and acquisitions class helped me better understand and contextualize the work I do now. At the end of the day, the program made me a more well-rounded and knowledgeable person.”