Asked to recall his favorite memory as an Ohio State student, Max Carrier vividly remembers a moment—innocuous at the time—that eventually proved to be a major turning point in his life.

“This will sound really nerdy, but it was the day I was sitting in my Baker Hall dorm room studying accounting, and I realized how net earnings or loss on the income statement closed out into retained earnings on the balance sheet,” he said. “That moment put financial accounting together for me, and from there, I was off to the races.”

Carrier, who delivered the keynote address at Fisher’s 2016 MAcc Pre-Commencement ceremony, graduated from Ohio State in 1980 and has established himself as a leader at KPMG. He serves as the company’s National Partner-in-Charge of eAudIT, Global Delivery Center and Audit Data & Analytics. His previous roles with the company date back more than 35 years and include area managing partner, business unit partner-in-charge, and business unit outsourcing leader.

“Max’s successful career in accounting and auditing provides our students with a standard to which to aspire,” said J. Richard Dietrich, chair of the Department of Accounting and MIS. “It was inspiring to hear how his hard work and the insights that his Ohio State education provided led to Max’s sustained success at one of the most highly regarded professional accounting firms in the world.”

Max Carrier delivers the keynote address at the 2016 MAcc Pre-Commencement ceremony.

After the financial accounting puzzle came together inside Carrier’s dorm room, his journey continued with Dr. Elijah McCullough’s cost accounting course and the “Felt Project” that became a hallmark for so many accounting students.

“He taught us a number of valuable lessons, including, be prepared every day to be tested in your work; there is more than one way to get to the right answer if you understand the question, visualize the answer and apply common sense; and that if you do more than is required, you’ll be better off,” Carrier said.

“The accounting program more than prepared me to become a Certified Public Accountant, and the accounting and business courses provided a solid base to build a business career beyond accounting. I find it amazing that I use what I learned in an elective economics course on the U.S. banking system almost every day. The course provided a solid base for appreciating what is happening, or going to happen, in our capital markets when central banks take or don’t take actions.”

Despite graduating more than 35 years ago, Carrier remains connected to Fisher and Ohio State—institutions that helped shape him into the accounting leader he is today. He serves on Fisher’s Accounting Advisory Board, engages with MAcc students as a speaker at orientation and is a trusted recruiter for MAcc talent in the Dallas area.

In addition to his time, Carrier is a generous supporter of a number of initiatives at the college, including global education.

“Max embodies the extraordinary engagement we see from our alumni,” Dietrich said. “When I talk to our faculty and staff members about Max, the first thing they say is that he is always willing to do anything for the college. That level of dedication is truly special.”

Carrier said his commitment to Fisher and Ohio State is borne out of gratitude.

“I owe it to The Ohio State University for the exceptional education I received, both in the classroom and on campus,” he said. “The opportunities my Ohio State education provided me in my life and in my career are appreciated every day. I pay forward to Ohio State so that future students can also receive exceptional educations and opportunities for success in their careers and lives.”