Hillary Salo sets the standard
As vice chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, she defines guidelines she studied at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Hillary Salo ’02, ’03 (MAC) is vice chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the very body that sets the accounting and financial reporting standards she once studied as a student.
For Salo, the path to leadership in the accounting profession began with uncommon clarity.
“I took accounting in high school and really liked it,” she says. “It felt intuitive to me—something others found difficult came easily, and I saw that as a sign.”
That early interest led her to seek out the best business education possible at UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Undergraduate Business Program, followed immediately by the Master of Accounting Program.
At UNC Kenan-Flagler, Salo quickly found professors who would shape her future.
“C.J. Skender made intro to accounting exciting — even at 8 a.m.,” she remembers. “And Wayne Landsman completely changed my career.”
Landsman encouraged her to apply for a post-graduate technical assistant position at the FASB after completing the MAC Program in 2003. That one-year postgraduate experience launched her career in financial accounting and reporting practices.
After the FASB, Salo joined KPMG, working in the global accounting firm’s advisory and audit practices, including a rotation in its audit quality and professional practice group.
She then earned a prestigious fellowship with the Office of the Chief Accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C., before returning to KPMG in New York in 2015 as a partner. But when the opportunity arose in 2020 to return to the FASB as its technical director — a rare, high-impact role overseeing the FASB’s standard-setting activities and staff — Salo couldn’t say no.
“I actually loved being an audit partner, which not everyone can say,” she says. “But the FASB role was too interesting and impactful to pass up.”
She served in that capacity for four years before being appointed vice chair of the board in 2024. Salo brings a uniquely holistic perspective to her leadership at the FASB — combining experience as an auditor, a regulator and now a standard-setter.
“The strength of our capital markets depends on transparency and consistency,” she says. “Our job at the FASB is to provide guidance that presents the economics of transactions in a neutral, unbiased way. We don’t decide whether a transaction is good or bad. We make sure it’s clearly understood by investors.”
Salo draws on her diverse career experiences to evaluate potential standard-setting activities and balance the needs of different stakeholders. “At a very high level, preparers are concerned about cost. Investors want more transparency. Regulators want consistency,” she says. “Our job is to weigh all that and make the best decision we can for the system as a whole.”
Accounting isn’t about crunching numbers for Salo — it’s about understanding systems, analyzing implications and communicating clearly. “We’re not just historians of financial activity,” she says. “We’re translators of economic reality.”
It’s a responsibility she takes seriously — and one she traces back to her early days in Chapel Hill. “The education I got here prepared me to think deeply and lead confidently,” she says. “And I’ve never forgotten where it started.”
Salon returned to Carolina to address the MAC Class of 2025, urging the graduates to stay curious and courageous. “You’re stepping into a profession with enormous influence and responsibility. We are the ones who champion transparency, uphold ethics and turn data into decisions. But more than that, we are stewards of trust. When I look out into this room, I don’t just see future accountants, I see future leaders. So carry that responsibility with you. Lead with it and grow with it.”
