Alumna Receives Achievement Award in Accounting

Michelle Moor had extensive finance career before coming to SHU

Michelle Moor, who graduated from Sacred Heart University with a master’s degree in accounting (MSA), has earned an achievement award from the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts.

Before Moor earned her MSA with a concentration in forensic accounting, she had an extensive career in accounting and finance and had taken on various roles within her field. Following her 1995 graduation from The College of New Jersey with a degree in accountancy, Moor worked as a profit-and-loss analyst for the Hess Corporation. She then worked at Morgan Stanley for seven years at the company’s London and New York offices before spending five years as the business manager on the commodities training team at Tudor Capital in London.

Moor took a break from her career in 2010 to become a full-time mother. Two years later, she created her own company, working from home to assist start-up companies in the commodity trading sector. Commodity trading is the exchange of certain goods for other, similar goods. These commodities are generally divided into four groups: livestock and meat, metal, energy and agricultural.

She anticipates that her MSA will aid her transition from commodities trading to business valuations. “I plan to study and sit for the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CVA (Certified Valuation Analyst) exams over the next year,” said Moor. “I am already talking with venture capitalists who plan to have me look at some business valuations. After the exams are completed, I plan to work for a small company in the area, which performs business valuations or due diligence for valuing companies.”

The MSA program at SHU specifically prepares its students for the CPA exam and fulfills 150 semester hours, a requirement for the CPA license. Courses are online, with once-a-month Saturday seminars on campus. This hybrid design provides flexibility for working professionals, commuter students and, in Moor’s case, working mothers. Moor calls the program “challenging but manageable.”

The University’s MSA job placement rate is 100%, with many students receiving offers from Big 4 accounting firms, large and mid-sized regional accounting firms, multinational corporations and government agencies. “The concentration courses offered through the program introduced topics that build upon this accounting foundation, equipping students with the tools necessary for opportunities that await the 21st-century accountant,” said Moor.