Numbers don’t have to be scary.
Just ask Ryan Murray, Utah State University Eastern’s newest accounting instructor. Murray is making it his mission to demystify numbers and make math fun again.
“A lot of people look at accounting with dread because they’re not good at math,” he said. “I would tell people, give it a try. There’s a lot of technology and software that make it more engaging and less tedious. It’s more fun than people expect.”
With a background in corporate finance and entrepreneurship, Murray is a great choice for his teaching position. He earned his undergraduate degree in corporate finance and an MBA in entrepreneurship, and he has spent much of his career helping small businesses succeed.
Murray previously led the Small Business Development Center in Price, where he became the state’s top presenter for the Profit Mastery program. He later developed his own training, Growth by the Numbers, which has been taught to hundreds of organizations across Utah and beyond.
That hands-on experience with business owners sparked a passion for teaching and eventually led him to the classroom at USU Eastern.
“I love seeing those ‘aha’ moments,” he said. “I love being able to help someone recognize that it’s not as daunting as they thought it was going to be.”
Murray’s real-life experience shapes the way he prepares students for their own careers. Some of his students are exploring bookkeeping, a flexible career offering work-life balance and remote options. Many of his students are hopeful entrepreneurs.
“You can be good at business without knowing accounting and finance, but you’ll never be great at it,” Murray said. “Finance is the language of business, and if you can’t speak the language, you’ll always be at a little bit of a disadvantage.”
Murray teaches business principles, accounting courses and a business math class. While the subjects can feel intimidating at first, his goal is to help students see accounting and finance as powerful tools rather than barriers. Murray emphasizes practical, hands-on learning, including courses without traditional textbooks that instead use real-world examples and interactive tools.
“At USU Eastern, you’re going to be in the trenches,” he said. “You’re not going to be stuck in the textbook. The stuff we’re teaching, you can go out and use today.”
For students balancing school with work or family responsibilities, he notes that USU Eastern offers flexible options, from short-term certificates that can quickly lead to jobs to associate degrees that lay the foundation for advanced study.
And if you’re still hesitant to dive into accounting?
“Come talk to me,” Murray said. “I have an open door. If someone wants to learn more, come talk to me. I’d be happy to sit down with any prospective student and see if business and accounting is a good fit for them.”