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Imagine: You’ve entered your senior year of college, and shortly into your fall semester you are offered a placement with one of the nation’s top accounting firms. While your classmates perfect their resumes and polish their interviewing skills, you can enjoy the remainder of your college experience without engaging in a tedious job search. You’re coasting along the road to success when suddenly, only months prior to graduation, your future employer rescinds your offer.

While this might sound like a college senior’s worst nightmare, it mirrors the course of events that befell 24 Villanova students last spring. These students had all accepted offers from Arthur Anderson, one of the nation’s Big 5 Accounting Firms. However, once the company faced charges of corporate fraud following the Enron collapse, each of these agreements was revoked. Where were these now unemployed seniors to turn?

Enter Professor Bob McParland.

Prior to becoming an adjunct professor at Villanova last fall, McParland had worked for many years in the accounting world and maintained a curiosity about pending crises and events relating to the field. The Anderson crisis sparked his interests during its investigation in the fall, particularly since some of his students had already accepted offers from the company. “In December I started getting back with a lot of people inside the industry…they were saying things really don’t look good for Anderson and there really could be a problem,” he said.

McParland’s associates were correct, and by the end of March, all 24 students’ offers from Anderson were rescinded. After meeting with the students and a number of Anderson representatives, the accounting department began proposals to assist these beleaguered students. Dr. James Borden, head of the accountancy department requested that McParland take the initiative to coordinate a placement effort for these students.

In the months that followed, McParland devoted countless hours in helping these students locate new job opportunities. “I started working with them all to make sure they kept their resumes updated, keeping them on track and getting them set up for interviews,” he explained.

McParland also maintained correspondence with his contacts in the accounting industry, listening for potential openings and job prospects for the students.

During the months of March and April, McParland put his own career at TL Ventures on hold in order to work full-time assisting these students. His efforts proved successful and all 24 students were eventually placed in new positions. Students received offers from firms such as Grant Thorton, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, KPMG and even the Royal Bank of Canada.

While McParland’s efforts in helping the displaced Arthur Anderson recruits have passed, he continues to assist his students find post-graduation employment. “They still come in this semester and I am doing the same thing…I’ve volunteered to sit down with any of them and work though their resumes and teach them how to look for a job, how to work on their interview skills and hopefully open any doors that I can for them,” he said.

McParland continues to teach Cost Accounting at the University and has also returned to his position at TL Ventures, a local venture capital firm.