The Student CPA at Blogged
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I was hoping to file this blog post a week after I announced with much fanfare my return to the weekly blogging I had been doing until I went missing in action for several months. I must confide to you that my long absence from the blogging world has had a somewhat corrosive effect on my blogger's soul. You ought to however concede that it is often a little challenging to resume normal activity after an extended period of interruption. I therefore ask you to bear with me as I slowly but surely get reacquainted with my muse. I started the first semester in the completion of my master of accounting a little over two weeks ago and so far I have been very pleased with the way each of my professors go about delivering the lectures. I will even go farther and say that I am surprisingly impressed by the human touch that has characterized most of my interactions with the faculty and staff members of the University of West Georgia. I have been so used to being treated as a number throughout my previous experiences at other universities that I initially found it odd that the human factor played a primary role in the way services are provided to students at UWG. This shouldn't have come as a surprise because this is what ought to be expected out of any educational institution or service provider. I sure hope I keep on getting pleasantly surprised by members of the staff and faculty here at UWG.
As things stand right now, I can say without any reserve that I am very happy I chose UWG to pursue my Master of Accounting degree. I am particularly pleased with this choice as I completed my application file less than four weeks before the deadline. At the time, I already had received five formal admission decisions, four of which were favorable but none of them came with a much anticipated Graduate Assistantship appointment. In a previous post entitled Graduate Business School Admissions: The Waiting Game, I explained that financial aid would be the decisive factor in deciding which school I would en up enrolling at. That is the reason why, very early in my school search process, I only shortlisted MAcc programs located within less than 50 miles radius of a major metropolitan area (employment and networking opportunities) and that not only have a clearly defined GA program for first year students but also that have easily attainable admission standards as they related to my applicant's profile. I did firmly believe that scoring 620+ on my first and only attempt at giving the GMAT, graduating with an overall GPA flirting with 3.0, writing compelling admissions essays, securing terrific academic and professional recommendations, and submitting a respectable resume would all have sufficed to very easily earn me a GA appointment at each school I applied to. Unfortunately things did not turn out to be that way. Let me give you a very concise summary of what actually happened.
In a nutshell, none of the schools that made me an offer of admission was willing to tell me where I stood on my GA applications. They all kept jerking me around, I could never get a straight answer out of any of those schools. I was really disappointed that none of the schools was making any effort to be forthcoming with me. I ended up getting so frustrated by the treatment I was receiving from those institutions that I decided to cease communicating with each and everyone of them.Through all those tumultuous times, I never allowed my faith to weaken. I kept on praying for the outcome I hoped for: receiving a GA appointment with benefits that would substantially cover the cost of a Master's degree in accounting. It's been my personal experience that I have a much higher success rate in achieving my goals when I make room in my plans for God as opposed to when I don't. The month of April 2010 was about to come to an end when it occurred to me there still was one last institution with which I still had to complete the application process. That institution in question was the University of West Georgia. However I needed to proceed without wasting any additional time because the deadline to have all application materials submitted for the fall admission was June 7. I managed to have everything turned in by the end of the first week of the month of May. While I waited for one more admission decision, I kept snooping around the website of UWG to learn everything I could about all the financial aid possibilities. That was how I found out that out of state MBA/MAcc applicants with both an analytical writing test score over 3.0 and an overall score above 480 on the GMAT would be eligible for a full out of state tuition waiver. After all I had gone through with the other schools I had applied to, I was on the brink of catching a big break. The admission decision from UWG came in the mail in late May and not only was it was favorable but a full out of state tuition award also came along with it. I could not help but accept the offer because it was in fact the best one I had received up to that point. Now that I knew which school I would enroll at for the fall, I could focus on cold calling the various academic departments of the university to inquire about possible GA opportunities. It didn't take me too long before I identified very promising leads. To cut the story short, I ended up receiving three GA offers and the rest is now history. What a relief that was, my prayers were favorably answered and my perseverance rewarded.
The lessons that I have learned from my graduate school admission experience can be summarized in just a few sentences. If you are interested in obtaining a GA, it is of the utmost importance that you start your school search process and standardized test (GMAT/GRE) preparation at least a year before your anticipated term of entrance. You also need to cast your net very wide in selecting the programs you would like to enroll in. As opposed to targeting two or three universities, make every effort to shortlist anywhere between 7 and 10 institutions. That will be the best way to hedge your bets. Be mindful of not getting personal because it is all business. No matter what happens, good or bad, keep your cool and just keep on plugging away. Also, make an effort to be proactive as opposed to being passive. Passivity is not going to get you anywhere. Last but not least, make a room in all your endeavors for The Lord: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rms 8:32).
It's been quite a wile since I filed my last blog post. While I do really enjoy almost any activity that stimulates the intellect, just over three months ago, I determined that my brain cells could seriously benefit from an extended break from most intellectually driven activities before I embarked in my graduate studies in accounting. As a matter of fact, in less than a week I will be starting the completion of my masters degree in accounting at the University of West Georgia. While I pursue my graduate degree in accounting, I will be simultaneously employed as a Graduate Assistant in one of the university's academic departments. In one of my previous blog posts entitled Graduate Business School Admissions: The Waiting Game, I explained how important it was for me to obtain a graduate assistantship as it enables me to optimally minimize my out of pocket expenses. In a later post, I will be sharing further details regarding my journey to an admission into a master's degree in accounting. While I was away from the blogosphere, I did make the extra effort to add additional features to the website. Indeed, The Student CPA weblog now features a "Sample Accounting Tests" page as well as a "Forum" page. The former comes to complement the already very popular "Accounting Lecture Notes" page while the latter offers a discussion and collaboration platform for anybody either enrolled in an accounting course or preparing for any of the accounting professional certifications. I am really excited at the idea of resuming my blogging activities. I will make every effort to improve upon what has already been accomplished so far. You can expect the same high levels of candor and thoroughness that have become the hallmark of almost each and every post or page published on The Student CPA weblog.
Tags: Accounting Department Advisory Board, Accounting Textbook Authors, Accounting Textbook Publishers, Big Four Accounting Firms, GAAP, IAS, IFRS, SEC, SEC IFRS Adoption, US GAAP to IFRS transition | Category: Audit and Assurance, Financial Accounting, Master of Accounting |  For a decade or so, there has been quite a lot of talk in the US about a possible transition from US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) to IFRS (International Reporting Standards) with regard to US publicly traded companies. Up to this point, most of the discussions on the subject have been about assessing the merits of such a change. As usual, some people are for it while others aren't. Because I am still in the process of gathering the facts on the possible ramifications of the adoption or non-adoption of IFRS by the SEC (US securities and Exchange Commission), I find myself incapable of formulating an opinion on this issue. There is however plenty of literature about the subject available online therefore I urge you to conduct your own investigation. From the little I have learned so far, it is no longer a matter of if but when the SEC will require US publicly traded companies to report under IFRS. I am saying this because the American Institute of Certified Public Accounting announced not too long ago that starting with the year 2011, the CPA exam will test the candidate's knowledge on IFRS and IAS (International Auditing Standards). What would be the purpose of incorporating IFRS and IAS content into the uniform CPA exam if IFRS and IAS were not actually going to be widely or selectively implemented in the US? The debate we should be having right at this moment is how to best prepare accounting professionals and college students majoring in accounting in order to ensure a smooth transition from US GAAP to IFRS. This debate is critical because without adequately trained accounting professionals, the migration from US GAAP to IFRS is going to be a total disaster. Two Big Four accounting firms Deloitte and Ernst & Young have independently created partnerships with a select number of universities in order to develop teaching materials to aid instructors and professors in incorporating the differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS into intermediate accounting courses. Although I salute those initiatives, I believe that more needs to be done. In my opinion, every higher education institution offering accounting degrees ought to, without further delay, start reengineering its curricula in anticipation of the ineluctable adoption of IFRS by the SEC. Right at this moment, it will indeed pay more to adopt an anticipatory attitude rather than a reactionary one. Furthermore, every accounting department's advisory board shall make it a top priority that IFRS is no longer vaguely talked about but rather taught in classrooms' settings. Last but not least , college accounting textbooks publishers and their respective authors must work hand in hand in order to quickly bring to market comprehensibly updated study materials that fully incorporate IFRS. Because mankind is a creature of habits, I thus understand that we have a certain tendency to resist the idea of change. However, one can no longer ignore the fact that the SEC is moving inexorably towards the adoption of IFRS. Therefore, all potentially affected parties must work in concert with each other to ensure that today's and tomorrow's US accounting professionals are more than appropriately prepared to deal with the much anticipated SEC migration from US GAAP to IFRS.
Suggested reading:
- International Financial Reporting Standards: An AICPA Backgrounder
- Content and Skill Specifications for the Uniform CPA Examination
- University Professors Weigh In on IFRS Curricula
- Is it US GAAP IFRS at US Universities?
- Deloitte Puts IFRS in College Classrooms
- E & Y Launches Academic Center
I am currently going through the final stages of the graduate business school admission process. I intend to enroll in a Master of Accounting program coming this fall. I applied to four different graduate business schools besides the one at my Alma mater: the University of New Orleans. I have already been admitted to two Master of Accounting programs, I am expecting a third admission decision within the next two weeks. I was never concerned with having any of the graduate schools deny me an admission because I made sure to apply to Master of Accounting programs for which my applicant profile met or exceeded each of the program's admission criteria. It was indeed paramount for me to send admission applications only to graduate business schools that were going to seriously want me to enroll in their Master of Accounting program. Although my top university choice already sent me an admission offer, I still have to send out a response. This is because I am still waiting to find out if I have been awarded a graduate assistantship. When I submitted my graduate school applications, I was expecting that graduate assistantship offers would be sent along with the admission letters, however that is not the case. It is actually a two step process. The selection of graduate assistants at all five universities will take place during the period going from mid April to late May. It is my intent to earn a Master of Accounting with the lowest of out pocket expense. I have been in communication with the two business schools that have already admitted me and they told me that I was among the select number of admitted students being considered for a graduate assistantship. One of these two universities in question has been somewhat pressuring me to give them a response with regard to its admission offer but I replied that I wouldn't be making my final decision until I have had the opportunity to find out if I have been selected to receive a graduate assistantship. Going through graduate school can be a very expensive business proposition, therefore it is very likely my that my ultimate choice will be the one with the least opportunity cost. In evaluating graduate assisstantship offers, I will give special consideration to the level of tuition remission as well as the size of the stipend. Unless I am presented with an uncharacteristically compelling graduate assistantship offer, I don't expect to make a final decision on my business graduate school choice until sometime in May. In any case, if you stick around this blog long enough, you will get to find out which business graduate school I have chosen.
Tags: Accounting Profession, AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, Business Ethics, Corporate Fraud, Corporate Governance, Ethical Judgment, Ethical Standards, Integrity, Ponzi Scheme, Public Trust | Category: Audit and Assurance, Careers in Accounting, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Master of Accounting, Words to the Wise | Integrity is one of the essential pillars of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct. A distinguishing mark of the accounting profession is acceptance of its responsibility to honor the public trust. Lenders, investors, government agencies, and other members of the business community rely on the integrity of certified public accountants to preserve the proper functioning of commercial activities. Indeed, the published independent annual audit reports of the financial statements of public companies play a fundamental role in maintaining the soundness of business transactions of all types. Active and aspiring public accountants ought to embrace the obligation to act in a way that warrants the faith that the entire public reposes in the work they do or will do. Richard L. Schmalense, former John C Head III Dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management, once stated: "Without ethics, business can't be done – or taught". In the wake of the resurgence of high profile Ponzi schemes and corporate frauds, it is now more important than ever to teach standards of professional conduct in undergraduate accounting and business curricula. While it may be impossible to mold every undergraduate student into a business professional that will spouse the form and spirit of ethical standards, it remains nonetheless essential to impress upon students the significance of fostering an organizational culture that values a high standard of business behavior. I personally think that the chapter on professional ethics taught in the introductory auditing course is not enough to ingrain in students' minds the necessity of conducting their duties in accordance with professional standards. Additionally, I don't know why anybody should wait until enrolling into a MBA program before he or she is exposed to a course on business ethics and corporate governance. Business programs need to be reminded that repetition has a pedagogical significance. Ethical cases should be regularly discussed in each and every accounting and management course at the undergraduate level. This will ensure that business and accounting college students are adequately prepared to deal with most ethical dilemmas that could arise in the workplace. It seems to me that universities are churning out a lot of business and accounting graduates that sadly are unable to identify business situations requiring sound ethical judgment. It is about time to start putting an end to this very alarming trend. Accounting professionals have always been held in high esteem because they are viewed as business professionals that do their work with a high degree of integrity. With major accounting firms being repetitively and deservedly scrutinized for failing to flag some flagrant cases of fraudulent financial reporting by their audit clients, I am increasingly concerned that public accountants will soon start loosing the good reputation that so many of their earlier generations worked so hard to establish and preserve.
I recently came across a very interesting post entitled "Are New Graduates Getting Squeezed by the 150 Hour CPA Requirement?" and signed by Francine McKenna who is founder and editor of a very popular blog dubbed re: The auditors. In her piece, Francine spoke about how the 150-hour credit CPA education requirement is somehow pushing new accounting college graduates to seek a Master of Accounting as a mean to fulfill that requirement. Most importantly, she makes a pertinent remark when she points out that new accounting college graduates have little to nothing to gain in rushing to obtain a Master of Accounting. When you stop and think about it, she relatively has a valid point. Of all the business and accounting courses that constitute the required body of knowledge to be prepared for the CPA exam, Corporate and Estate Taxation and occasionally Government and Non Profit Accounting are the only two classes that are not included in the required curriculum of a typical bachelor's degree in accounting. This entails that the gap between the standard curriculum of a bachelor's degree in accounting and the CPA's candidate body of knowledge is no wider than six credit hours of accounting courses. Anything beyond those six credit hours is inconsequential as it relates to having the proper training to give the CPA exam. I would love to sit here to discuss the usefulness or relevancy of the 150-hour credit CPA education requirement but it would be a counterproductive effort. I feel this way because I genuinely believe that the 150-hour credit CPA education requirement is here to stay and there won't be any turning back as long as thousands of students are graduating every year from universities with a bachelor's degree in accounting. What I intend to do however is to talk about how some universities are bucking the trend by offering innovative and business relevant Masters of Accounting. If you read my profile located on the upper right corner of this blog, you already know that I recently graduated from college with a degree in accounting and that I am in the process of applying for admission into a Master of Accounting program. As far as I am concerned, I am interested in obtaining a Master's degree in Accounting because I would like to acquire the necessary academic training to become an expert in fraud examination and in business advisory. As I was researching universities offering a Master of Accounting, I discovered that while most universities offer a bare-bone like curriculum, a handful of other institutions are setting new benchmarks by designing innovative curricula. A bare-bone style curriculum is one that has been put together without the student in mind since it does little to nothing in expanding a person's professional competencies. For instance let's take a look at the curriculum of the Master of Accounting offered by the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder:
| REQUIRED COURSES (15 Cr. hours) |
ELECTIVE COURSES (15 Cr. hours) |
| Income Taxation |
Advanced Financial Accounting |
| Auditing |
Financial Statement Analysis |
| Advanced Business Law |
Accounting Information Systems I |
| Business Risk and Decision Analysis in Auditing |
International Accounting |
| Current Issues in Professional Accounting |
Accounting for Government and Non Profit Organizations |
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Special Topics – Energy Accounting and Finance Seminar |
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Special Topics – Accounting Information Systems |
For somebody who has already completed his/her Bachelor in Accounting, the curriculum above does absolutely nothing to expand his/her academic credentials. Let's scrutinize this curriculum even further. Three of the required courses (Income Taxation, Auditing, Advanced Business Law) are part of the curriculum of most undergraduate accounting programs. As far as the elective courses, three of them (Advance Financial Accounting, Accounting Information Systems I, Accounting for Government and Non Profit Organizations) are often taken either as a requirement or as an elective by college students majoring in accounting. The Master of Accounting at the Leeds School of Business is more suited for graduate students without a background in accounting. If you have completed a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and are planning on entering a Master of Accounting program, be sure not to commit your financial resources into a program similar to the one above because you are very unlikely to get a return on your investment. The bad news is a plethora of Master of Accounting programs have the same characteristics as the one illustrated above. The good news however is more and more schools are setting themselves apart by offering curricula that allow students either to specialize into a specific area of accounting (Forensic Accounting, Information Systems, Controllership) or to combine advanced accounting courses with other advanced finance and management courses. Examples of schools offering a Master of Accounting with a special emphasis in Forensic Accounting are: The College at Brockport, Duquesne University, and Georgia Southern University. Specializing in Forensic Accounting will guarantee you an above average rate of return on your investment because it is one of the fastest growing areas of the accounting profession. Some of the universities offering a multidisciplinary Master of Accounting are: The University of Baltimore (Assurance, Finance, Information Technology), The University of Akron (Assurance & Information Systems or Assurance & Finance), College of William & Mary (Integrated curriculum with a mix of Financial Reporting, Investment Management, Business Administration), and Portland State University (Emphasis in Business Administration and Financial Analysis that prepares the student for both the CPA and CFA exams). A multifaceted Mater of Accounting enables you to have much more flexibility in the way you plan your career progression. In other words, you won't have to be boxed in either public accounting or industry because your acquired academic credentials will give you the freedom to work in other services areas such as consulting and or financial/investment management. College students should never loose sight of the fact that they are first and foremost customers and as a consequence they must never be taken for granted by universities. If your state universities are unable to give you the best bang for your buck, you must not be shy to go get your master's degree out of state. There should be no room for complacency on your part when it comes to investing your time and money in a post secondary degree. For my part, I intend to start my own list of Innovative Masters of Accounting. The goal of the list is to assist prospective Master of Accounting students to make more informed choices about the schools they should consider attending. If you know of a school that offers an innovative Master of Accounting, be kind to let me know by submitting a comment or by shooting me an email at ndansu(at)thestudentcpa(dot)com.
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I am currently enrolled in a Master of Professional Accounting program at UWG. I intend to develop expertise in Fraud Examination and Business Advisory. The Student CPA is a blog that strives to provide learning resources for accounting courses, graduate business school admission tips, information about careers in accounting, and job search strategies.
Saturday, 28th of August 2010 at 10:12:59 AM
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