Cal Poly Orfalea College of Business Announces Partnership with Alteryx

The Orfalea College of Business Accounting Area is proud to announce a partnership with Alteryx, which has been supplying software licenses for faculty, staff, and students since 2021.

The company’s $8.6 million in-kind gift is an example of how industry can partner with the college, providing students with technology needed to have an edge upon graduation.

“Using Alteryx prepares students by giving them hands-on experience with the tools and techniques they’ll use in the workforce,” said Chuancai Zhang, an assistant professor of accounting, who has been integrated the software into his lessons.  “They learn how to automate processes, analyze data more efficiently, and produce insights that are actionable in a business context.”

Students in the Orfalea College of Business benefit from both cash grant donations and in-kind gifts, such as the Alteryx software. In-kind gifts  are contributions of goods or services, including computers, buildings, furniture and more.

“With constantly evolving technology, universities need to eliminate the possibility of a skills gap by ensuring that their courses identify and meet industry demands,” said Annie Mais, director of Education Partnerships for Alteryx. “That helps employers succeed and offers graduates the greatest opportunity for employability and career mobility.”

Alteryx, based in Irvine, Calif., produces software widely used in business.

“Alteryx is a data analytics tool that simplifies the process of gathering, cleaning, and analyzing data,” Zhang said. “For accounting professionals, this means they can automate tedious and repetitive tasks, like reconciling accounts, preparing financial reports, or analyzing large datasets.”

The software can solve a wide range of data and analytics tasks, he added, simplifying jobs in auditing, financial accounting and tax. The software’s versatility presents other potential opportunities at Cal Poly, said Dean Damon Fleming.

“Because the software has such diverse applications, we hope to expand the use of Alteryx across the college and throughout the university,” Fleming said. “We strive to provide our students with industry-relevant, experiential learning, and technology like this makes that possible.”

The software also helps bolster the profession.

There is currently a significant shortage of accountants in the United States – what the CPA Journal recently called a “severe crisis” in the profession.  Because Alteryx can eliminate complex, intimidating functions, like coding, Zhang said, that can help attract more students to the profession.

“Then accounting professionals can focus more on decision-making and creative work, which makes accounting seem more valuable,” Zhang said.

Roughly 150 students in Zhang’s BUS319 Accounting Information Systems class use it annually, and since 2021, 278 students have obtained the Alteryx Designer Core certificate.

Providing students with the most up-to-date technology available is crucial to remain competitive, said Rodney Mock, chair of the Accounting and Law area.

“Students are entering into a brave new workplace – one with technology that will soon look like no other,” Mock said. “Think of this like the early days of the world wide web and gaining access to the internet.”

Over the years of building the partnership, Alteryx has also provided scholarship support to accounting students through their Alteryx SparkED program.

Chauncai Zhang explains the Alteryx software to a student, Amanda Schmier. (Photo/Pat Pemberton)

“We support student success in many ways,” said  Jason Belland, vice-president of the Global SparkED Education Program. “Scholarships allow students from all backgrounds to take advantage of the education that institutions such as the Orfalea College of Business have to offer. And once students are in school, we can give them a further edge with the latest technology. ”

In the classroom, Zhang’s students use simulated data and the Alteryx software to detect revenue and sales frauds. And he has groups of students perform an analytics mindset class project with real data.

One team of students in Zhang’s accounting class used the software to analyze whether theme park accidents would damage the company’s stock prices and profits (“Our findings show that there is not a direct relationship between theme parks accidents and stock price.”) Others used the software to explore how streaming services influence box office revenue (“Revenue for box offices increased despite the increase in streaming services.”) and whether an uncertain economy impacts a company’s cash holdings. (“There is a weak positive correlation between the economic uncertainty data and cash holdings data.”)

Zhang, who published a paper in Issues Accounting Education 2023 about how to introduce and integrate Alteryx into classes, said projects like these will provide students the confidence they need to tackle complex challenges in a fast-evolving business landscape.

“As a result, they stand out not only during internships but also as they begin their careers, bringing immediate value to the organizations they join,” he said.

Support from corporations and individuals helps provide our accounting students the tools and instruction needed to succeed in the workforce.

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