Dr. Oscar Barzuna

DBA Alumnus Class of 2022

Senior Financial Analyst, Charter Schools USA

Originally from Costa Rica, Oscar Barzuna moved to North Carolina in 2010 in order to further his business education via an MBA at Gardner-Webb University. Oscar earned his bachelor’s in accounting from Universidad de Costa Rica. For over a decade, he has expanded his professional expertise in accounting, finance and higher education. Oscar has been able to accomplish this through various multinational and manufacturing companies, as well as working in the university setting.

In Oscar’s current role as Senior Financial Analyst at Charter Schools USA, he has invested his time to improve processes in forecasting, budgeting, key performance indicators and recently educating school leaders about their finances. It has been during this time that his ultimate desire for pursuing the Doctorate of Business Administration program intensified and he decided to fulfill his teaching aspirations. Oscar’s ultimate goal as a future professor is to bring his professional experiences to the classroom setting in order to bring a hands-on approach method.

Oscar has always enjoyed teaching starting from the days that he tutored business and accounting at Gardner-Webb University. That was actually how he met his wife (she was also a tutor), they now have a 1-year old daughter. He loves running, traveling, getting to know other cultures, getting a good cup of coffee, but what he enjoys the most is watching soccer.

The topic for Oscar’s research interest is detailing how corporations can manage their resources and develop sustainability without sacrificing their profits and/or increase their profits and sustainable investments? In this research, he will be expanding what the best practices are for companies that have focused energy and resources in order to improve their energy and water management and their natural resource conservation. He will be expanding further by looking into the corporation’s considerable investments in order to be sustainable with the environment, society and governance (ESG’s).

Oscar has had previous experience with conducting a research topic. While he was finishing his licensure in public accounting at Universidad de Costa Rica. He had the opportunity to work on a now published dissertation (2006) called: “Propuesta de un cuadro de mando integral para el Centro de Servicios Financieros de la empresa ABC” which is translated as: “Proposal for a Balance Scorecard for a Financial Shared Service Center in company ABC”. The research focused on creating a scorecard for a Financial Shared Service Center for a previous company in five different locations worldwide.  

Dissertation

Resilience and Venture Performance” The moderating Role of Culture within Entrepreneurship