Faculty Spotlight: Stephen Carter, Accounting Department
What Class He Teaches: This year I am teaching Intro to Managerial Accounting (ACTG 12); Financial Accounting Analysis (ACTG 2608); Cost Accounting (ACTG 136); and Not-for-Profit Accounting (ACTG 140)
Hobbies/Interests: My first love and passion is football. I played for 10 years in my much younger days! I was a starting defensive back for Santa Clara 3 years during the seasons of '72-'74, after transferring from Loyola University (LMU) where I played one year. Today, I am still involved with the game as an official. I currently work as a Referee for Junior College, and as Line Judge for high school. When I am not on the field, I really enjoy Pickleball! My wife Diana and I play in the Pat Malley Center with faculty and staff in pick-up games. We have a great time! In addition, Diana and I stay active by running or walking at least 3 miles a day. It is a great opportunity for us to talk (I mostly listen), and catch-up on all that is going on!
Biography: I graduated in Accounting from SCU in 1975. I started my college education in 1971 at Loyola University (now LMU), and then transferred to SCU in the Spring of 1972 so I could play football here in the hopes of obtaining a scholarship. I owe everything to Pat Malley, the Head Football Coach and A.D. at the time. Without him believing in me and granting me a full scholarship, I would have never graduated from college, much less entered the profession of public accounting! I am considered a first-generation graduate in my family thanks to Coach Malley. After graduation, he introduced me to the Lautze twins - Richard and Robert, who also took a chance in hiring me as a staff accountant at Wolf & Company (the same firm who employed Fr. Paul Locatelli). I worked 47 years in public accounting, with 37 of those years as a partner in regional and local CPA firms. I completed my career in 2022 as an Audit partner with a local firm, Abbott, Stringham & Lynch.
Advice: "The best advice I can give students, even to this day, is the same advice my Dad gave me after I started at SCU. I told him I wanted to major in business, but from there I had no clue what I wanted to do or become. His advice, and mind you this coming from a very wise man with no formal college education much less a college degree, told me - "Consider Accounting. It is the language of business. It will afford you the foundation of understanding business. An Accounting degree will open many doors, even if you decide not to pursue Accounting long-term as your chosen field. And if you decide to become a CPA, no one can ever take that away from you!". His words still resonate, and I firmly believe they apply to our world some 50 years later!".