He has a BS in Accounting, minor in Japanese, and a MAcc with emphasis in tax from BYU. After graduating Al worked for Deloitte & Touche in San Jose, California for a couple of years in various tax areas (mostly corporate tax) before moving into industry. After D&T he was in the tax departments of two multi-billion dollar high-tech companies for about six years. He was the International Tax Manager at SGI (Silicon Graphics). In 2000 he and his family moved to Ashland to put a bigger emphasis on life in the infamous work/LIFE balance equation. He stayed on at SGI as a part-time telecommuter until September of 2001 when he began teaching at SOU.