Accounting and Finance Professional Margie Rehart Ups Her Game with Executive MBA

If you want to know how Margie Rehart (EMBA ’21) feels about her WSU experience, no words need to be exchanged. From the WSU class ring, wristwatch, and alumni t-shirt she wears, to the framed diploma on her office wall, it’s obvious Rehart identifies as a Coug. But when she does talk to others considering the Carson College’s online executive MBA program, there’s no mistaking her loyalty.

“ENROLL! Now. Don’t pass go; don’t collect $200! It was a lot of hard work but absolutely worth it!” she says enthusiastically. “It was the best student experience I have ever had.” Choosing to attend WSU was not just a toss of the dice, Rehart says.

The EMBA program’s top US News and World Report ranking and online format through Global Campus were an ideal fit while she worked full-time and took care of her disabled mother. Rehart says the program’s administrators, teachers, enrollment staff, and advisors— particularly Meghan Steinbeiss—convinced her WSU was truly the right place.

“When my enrollment hit a snafu because of a mix up with student loans, Meghan was very supportive. I was literally in tears, and she said, ‘Don’t worry. You’re still a Coug, and we’ll see you in August,’” says Rehart. “Meghan made me feel like family, and I knew I had found my home. Everyone at WSU was absolutely committed to making sure my student experience was the best it could be.”

EMBA program extends Rehart’s business operations skills

Rehart is an accomplished professional with 25 years of experience employing accounting and financial management best practices and team leadership. Her expertise spans financial statement preparation and analysis, forecasting, cost control, and Microsoft Excel applications. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and is a licensed financial modeling and valuation analyst.

Despite her success as an accountant and financial controller for several companies, as well as her substantive education, Rehart discovered she needed more training after working with a very demanding CEO.

“I was inspired to pursue an executive MBA when I realized I needed additional education in areas of business operations to properly do my job,” she says.

Earning her EMBA has given Rehart a much better understanding of how her role impacts the management and success of her organization. The program encourages students to think outside the norms of business and to try new ways of approaching problems—important tenets for tomorrow’s finance professionals, she notes. This approach was particularly helpful when the organization she worked for changed enterprise resource planning systems. Drawing on planning resources she learned in her information technology courses, she helped her company increase productivity.

“I’m able to better fulfill my professional responsibilities because I can look beyond accounting and consider the business as a whole,” she says.

Rehart is currently studying to take her CPA exams and hopes to move into a director of accounting/finance or CFO role. “I am convinced the WSU EMBA will be a significant asset in this pursuit,” she says.