Business Honors Student Accepts First Accounting Job at KPMG Global Firm | CSUF News

When business honors student Kyrstin Huxtable graduates this month, she already has her first professional job lined up with Big Four accounting firm KPMG.

As an undergraduate, Huxtable got her foot in the door at the global accounting firm after landing two paid summer internships with the company’s Embark Scholars program. She gained experience in their tax, audit and advisory service lines as an intern.

“I’m thrilled to work there. The people, the culture and the opportunity for growth are what has kept me coming back,” said Huxtable, who is earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration with concentrations in accounting and finance.

“KPMG is a place where I can grow as a young professional. I see a lot of opportunities for learning, the ability to take charge of my work and ownership of what I accomplish.”

Huxtable, who begins at KPMG’s Irvine office in late fall, will work as a deal advisory and strategy associate, helping business clients with complex financial reporting and deal-related accounting issues. 

“What I like about this position is that it is much more dynamic than doing audit or tax,” said Huxtable, who will study for the CPA exam this summer. “I will be exposed to so many different accounting challenges and business transactions, and I will have the opportunity to work on various projects.”

In addition to being on the dean’s list every semester and graduating summa cum laude with a 3.9 GPA, Huxtable has been involved in campus and College of Business and Economics programs and activities.

“The wealth of opportunities at CSUF and everything I was involved in during my time here allowed me to explore all of my various interests, grow both personally and professionally, and helped me figure out my career path,” said Huxtable, who originally was interested in a career in corporate communications and marketing.

As a member of the Business Honors Program, Huxtable found a community of like-minded peers and developed valuable professional and leadership skills, including leading events and activities for the program’s alums. She traveled with fellow honors students to Argentina and Brazil earlier this year, where they toured businesses and learned about the global economy.

This academic year, Huxtable served as an accounting peer leader in the Supplemental Instruction program. In this role, she developed session plans and materials for students to improve retention in historically difficult bottleneck courses. 

“Through the position, I solidified my accounting knowledge and skills while connecting with students and helping them succeed,” Huxtable said. “It’s the best feeling when students understand concepts and practice problems.” 

Since last summer, Huxtable has been part of Titan Capital Management, which gives students hands-on learning opportunities in real-world security analysis and stock and bond portfolio management.

“I have learned useful skills like fundamental business analysis, financial modeling, equity research and valuation techniques,” she said. “We get to do many things one wouldn’t normally do in a classroom setting. We are managing real money and striving for real results.” 

As part of Titan Capital Management, Huxtable was a member of this year’s Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge Team. The team won first place in the CFA Society of Los Angeles research challenge — the fifth year in a row that the CSUF team won the title. 

Huxtable’s other activities have included serving on the Business Student Advisory Board, the Dean’s Advisory Board as a student representative and as an assistant opinion editor for the Daily Titan student newspaper.

Huxtable graduated from high school at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and missed out on having a graduation ceremony to mark the milestone. Now, she looks forward to her May 22 college graduation, with her parents, family and friends watching her walk across the commencement stage.

“It’s going to be a celebration of what I’ve accomplished,” she said. “I’m proud of the hard work I’ve done. It’s time to go out into the world and apply everything I have learned at Cal State State Fullerton.”