A curious case of UW business and accounting

Every day you may encounter something that surprises you, and leaves you wondering why things would be this way.  

UW’s business is quite peculiar in that regard — why is there no exact business school for UW? Many universities with business programs tend to have a business school, like the Ivey School of Business at Western. UW does have business programs, although they tend to be under other faculties. To name a few, there is arts and business, mathematics/financial analysis and risk management, business administration and computer science, and global business and digital arts. Business seems to be more of a component to a degree or a double degree than a standalone major at UW.  

In search of answers, there was a particular rumour that kept popping up on the Reddit thread r/uwaterloo as to why UW doesn’t have a business school, and that has to do with Wilfrid Laurier University. The rumour goes that UW and Laurier have an agreement with each other in which UW will not build a business school and Laurier will not build an engineering school. There is no documentation for this agreement anywhere, just word of mouth, implying this is an informal agreement. While Reddit is not the most reputable source, the rumour has gained a small bit of notoriety due to lack of answers for the question.  

At first glance, this agreement might make sense as UW has an outstanding engineering program and Laurier has much the same with their business school, right? Why would you need two universities who hold the same program with one being more specialized in that field than the other? Not to mention, they’re right down the street from each other. It’s never been stated why this “agreement” exactly exists; though there is implication that it might be to prevent competition from both universities.  

After countless attempts to email people who might be able to tell me the answer, Imprint received no responses. Therefore, Imprint will examine this rumour based on research. 

UW has the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business (CSEB), as well as the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF). According to Investopedia, accounting is crucial to a business and setting up a new business means you are an entrepreneur. Under Laurier’s own Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, there is entrepreneurship options and concentrations, as well as accounting concentrations. Options are enhanced minors and concentrations are more specific fields that students can pursue. For example, students can pursue a finance concentration with an honours bachelor of business administration degree.  

If the agreement is to prevent competition, then how come UW has entrepreneurship and accounting programs just like Laurier? These programs are competing with each other at the separate universities. There is competition between the two schools for programs with components of business-like accounting and entrepreneurship, but not for business as a whole. If the agreement is to prevent competition, then SAF and CSEB should not exist. Not to mention, UW can have business-adjacent schools like SAF and CSEB, but not have a general business school according to the “agreement”? To add insult to injury, Laurier’s new Milton campus that will be opening in fall 2024 will be hosting engineering programs.  

All in all, this rumour of an agreement that prevents the creation of a general business school and engineering school does not seem the most plausible. UW certainly has business in its sights with the many programs and schools that address the moving gears of a business, even if it does not have a general business school.  

There is another abnormality to address in regards to SAF — why is SAF under the arts faculty?  

Upon asking director of SAF Blake Phillips this exact question, he explained that business schools tend to originate from the arts faculty, like the previously mentioned Ivey School of Business. “Some move out to become independent faculties, some don’t, and some move out and then move back into a larger social sciences faculty as recently happened at the University of Alberta. Thus, SAF is not unique in this respect.” So, it is no abnormality but rather a commonality that business schools are under the arts. Given this answer, what is the history of SAF that brings us to this moment?  

Accounting programs saw its start in 1969 when UW’s math faculty created accounting courses that helped prepare for the chartered accountant (CA) designation. Seven years later in 1976, the economics department followed suit and offered their own major that prepared for the CA designation.  

In the early 1980s, Jack Hanna, associate dean of McMaster’s commerce faculty at the time, noticed an issue with accounting programs. Accounting major students from both the math and arts faculty would graduate and find that their work toward the CA was still incomplete, requiring them to take further studies or accreditation to write the CA qualifying exam. Recognizing a need, Hanna resolved this dilemma that plagued the aspiring CAs. “[He] developed a revolutionary idea of accounting education which included a full undergraduate degree in accounting followed by a master’s degree which would be a direct pathway to the CA,” Phillips described. Phillips emphasis on “revolutionary” lends merit to Hanna’s work, and rightfully so as Hanna was admitted into the Canadian Accounting Hall of Fame in 2024 partially for this idea.  

Hanna went on to pitch the idea to McMaster but was rejected. On the other hand, Robin Banks who was the dean of arts at the time, jumped at the opportunity and offered Hanna, Len Eckel, Don Johnston, Duane Kennedy, Stan Laiken, Morley Lemon, and Anthony Wesley, to pilot the idea at UW. All of these individuals were fellow faculty members at McMaster. Hanna, Eckel, Johnston, Kennedy, Laiken, Lemon, Wesley, and faculty from the economics department at UW were the brains behind the creation of SAF (formerly School of Accountancy). Finance would not see inclusion into the school until 2008/2009.  

UW may be home to innovation and excellence like SAF’s achievements in the highest level of national accreditation from CPA Canada and being ranked first in Canada for producing successful entrepreneurs, but it’s also home to a plethora of fascinating discoveries and stories to investigate.