Hello, my name is Pete Lisowsky. It's a beautiful day here in Downtown Champaign and I'd like to welcome you to the University of Illinois federal taxation. This course, will discuss historical, conceptual, and applied materials of US individual income tax return reporting based on individual's, employees, business owners, as well as shareholders. I grew up in a wonderful Ukrainian American community outside Detroit. Every Monday through Friday, I went to school, Immaculate Conception. But on Saturdays, I went to Ukrainian school where I learned about Ukrainian language, culture, and history. I also participated in the Ukrainian Scouting Organization Plast. So in short. My upbringing was well if you've seen the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it was a lot like that. Ukrainian except for Greek but a loud house, a big family, lots of tradition, and a large supportive community. After attending high school, I went to the University of Michigan and earned my Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2001 and Masters of Accounting degree in 2002. As a graduate student there, I was able to teach some classes, financial accounting, and I really enjoyed it and that experience stayed with me. So after working at the Department of Defense and earning my CPA credential, I re-entered academia and went to the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. There I did my PhD in Business Administration and I graduated in 2008. After graduating BU, I joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where I'm an associate professor of accountancy. Recently, I finished a visiting professorship at MIT Sloan School of Management. At Illinois and MIT, I taught courses in individual taxation, corporate taxes, tax planning, and financial accounting. In addition to teaching, I enjoy researching various tax copies. My interests include domestic and international corporate tax policy and tax compliance, as well as a financial reporting for income taxes and tax uncertainty. I presented my research studies in various conferences and universities in the US, Europe, and Asia. I enjoy working with undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students in tax. I've also organized seminars for tax doctoral students both at the University of Illinois as well as for the American Taxation Association. There's really no shortage of interesting and important tax topics to study both in the US and abroad. My other professional activities outside the university, I've included being a tax associate for Deloitte Tax LLP, in both Philadelphia and in Boston. I was also a research associate with the US Department of Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis. Currently, I'm an academic consultant with the Internal Revenue Service. I also teach corporate tax classes at the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, I'm also an external research affiliate with a Norwegian Center for Taxation in Bergen, Norway. On the personal side, my wife and I have three kids, two girls and a boy. My wife is a sales rep for a large science company, my daughters enjoy dancing ballet, and my oldest daughter is taking violin which I used to play as a kid. As a family, we love cooking, reading, and traveling. In fact, my kids have frequent flyer miles. We've been to 21 states as well as London and the Turks and Caicos Islands. My favorite vacations are those that revolve around water, the sandy beaches of Western Michigan, the New England Coast, or the Caribbean. Overall, I'm excited to be your instructor. I hope you develop a knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for the US federal income tax system.
