Ksenia Kuznetsova

“I am deeply passionate about building up future professionals and am heavily involved in our campus recruiting efforts.”

Accounting & Information Management - Alumni

Learning to speak five languages wasn’t challenging enough for Ksenia Kuznetsova. So, when she got to the University of Tennessee she decided to pick up a sixth that was a little different from the rest: accounting.

Originally from Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, Kuznetsova moved to the United States her freshman year of high school unable to speak any English. Through the process of emersion and educators that were patient and saw her potential, she became fluent in no time.

Kuznetsova applied broadly, including to multiple Ivy League schools, but felt at home at UT because of the attention and value she received during the recruitment process.

“From day one of the application process, I felt as though not only did I want to come to UT, but UT also wanted me,” she says. “I received communication from not just the college but also from alumni, which made me feel valued and respected from the get go.”

The commitment that she was shown inspired Kuznetsova to give back financially, through her involvement with the accounting department and as a member of the Haslam College of Business’s Young Alumni Board.

“I am a firm believer in paying it forward. As a student at the University of Tennessee, and specifically the Haslam College of Business, I was very fortunate to receive a number of scholarships from the college alumni, which allowed me to graduate debt-free,” she says. “As an alumna, I want to pay it forward and be able to create similar opportunities for current students.”

Kuznetsova is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of Tennessee and a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), but she wanted an outlet for her love of leadership. Her involvement on campus allows her to use her accounting skills to foster others’ career growth.  

“I am deeply passionate about building up future professionals and am heavily involved in our campus recruiting efforts,” she says. “I also serve as a mentor for a number of our younger staff and as a training instructor for the incoming intern and full-time start classes.”

Kuznetsova’s role with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a manager in the risk assurance practice, currently on tour of duty with PwC’s U.S. Internal Audit and SOX Center of Excellence (COE), gives her the ability to create content and design processes that foster change and innovation. Kuznetsova’s primary responsibilities include driving methodology and thought-leadership development for PwC, enabling higher levels of quality and consistency, and she is one of the only individuals to hold a position of this kind at PwC.

“As I think of my career vision for the future, I look to our digital world for inspiration. I take all opportunities I have to learn more about various technology platforms and how they impact our day-to-day lives,” she says. “As our world continues to evolve, I strive to evolve as a professional, and envision myself becoming a technology innovator and educator, specifically around how the new technological platforms can be translated to the world of business, accounting and auditing.”

A dedicated yogi and meditator, wellbeing and approaching ideas with an open heart and open mind drives everything Kuznetsova does. Through this source of inspiration, Kuznetsova is adamant about the change that we all can create not only within industry but also the world.

“Know your ‘why,’” she says. “When we are connected to our ‘why,’ we are able to live out our goals and dreams in the most authentic way.”