News Releases

Tax students help artists plan financial futures

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Master of Accounting students at the KU School of Business are always looking for a new way to use their tax training to assist others. This fall, 27 students planned a series of financial planning workshops to help area artists understand complicated tax laws.

The students researched issues pertinent to artists, developed presentation materials and broke into teams to conduct three financial planning and tax workshops. Self employed artists who attended learned how to recognize income, maximize deductions, calculate self-employment taxes and plan for retirement.

School of Business Professor Raquel Alexander said the assignment allows her students to develop research skills and apply their knowledge in a meaningful way.

"The students are excited about this opportunity to help others," Alexander said. "The most challenging part is conveying technical tax law in a way that non-accountants can understand."

Two workshops were held at the School of Fine Arts to address the concerns of young artists just entering the workforce. A third workshop, geared towards older artists, was open to the public and held at the Lawrence Arts Center.

These workshops are the latest example of Alexander's Accounting 731 students serving Kansans. Previous class projects have included a voter guide that simplified the tax plans of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain and a brochure to help residents of tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kan. receive tax refunds.

These service learning projects earned Alexander the 2008 teaching award from the Deloitte Foundation and American Taxation Association (ATA).The annual award encourages tax professors to develop new teaching methods that stimulate students' critical thinking skills and enhance the learning experience.

"Our students select a career in tax because they want to help others navigate through a complicated area of law," Alexander said. "Providing our students with the opportunity to learn while helping their community has been an incredible honor."

Her students also seem to appreciate the service learning projects. Enrollment in Alexander's Accounting 731 class is up 30 percent from 2006.