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Machiavelli (Max) Chao

Machiavelli (Max) Chao

•Senior Continuing Lecturer in Accounting, Tax and Business Law, The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine
•Faculty Fellow, Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation, University of California, Irvine

Biography

Machiavelli (Max) Chao, J.D., is Senior Continuing Lecturer in Accounting, Tax and Business Law at the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine. He has held this position since 2001, teaching courses across undergraduate, FEMBA, FlexMBA, and Master in Professional Accountancy programs, with a focus on taxation and business law. Chao is also a licensed Attorney at Law with the State Bar of California and holds a Certified Public Accountant designation, currently inactive, from the California Board of Accountancy.

Chao is the only faculty member to have received the UCI Lecturer of the Year award more than once, having been recognized with this university-wide honor in both 2018 and 2021. He has also received the UCI Inclusive Excellence in Teaching award and multiple Paul Merage School of Business Excellence in Teaching awards spanning undergraduate, FEMBA, FlexMBA, and MPAc programs. In 2021, he was appointed Faculty Fellow in UCI's Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation and joined the Faculty Academy on Teaching Excellence in 2022.

Beyond the classroom, Chao serves as faculty advisor for several student organizations, including Beta Alpha Psi, the national accounting honor organization, Phi Chi Theta, the Accounting Association, and Volunteers in Income Tax Assistance. He also serves as a Faculty Partner with Cengage Publishing.

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Education

  • Juris Doctorate, University of Southern California, 1996
  • Bachelor of Science in Accounting, California State University, Fullerton, 1990
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Distinctions

  • UCI Lecturer of the Year, 2018
  • UCI Lecturer of the Year (only multi-year recipient of this university-wide teaching award), 2021
  • UCI Inclusive Excellence in Teaching, 2022
  • Paul Merage School of Business Excellence in Teaching, Undergraduate Electives, 2018-2019, 2023, 2025
  • Paul Merage School of Business Excellence in Teaching, MPAc Core, 2026
  • Paul Merage School of Business Excellence in Teaching, FlexMBA Electives, 2026
  • Paul Merage School of Business Excellence in Teaching, FEMBA Electives, 2012, 2019-2023
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Areas of Expertise

  • Accounting, Taxation, and Business Law
  • Corporate and Partnership Taxation
  • Financial Accounting Principles
  • Business Legal Frameworks
  • Tax and Business Strategy
  • Non-Profit Accounting
  • Ethics in Accounting

Contact Information

Email: mwchao@uci.edu

Phone: (949) 824-8888

Address: 4293 Pereira Drive, SB1 4313 Irvine, California 92697

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This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 9/15/2026.