Blogger: Clayton Farris

As my time as a student comes to an end, I do not quite know how to feel. I am excited to be done – .  I am eager to start working – >:).  But I am also kind of sad –  :(. I will miss all of my professors and friends that I have developed close relationships with over the past five years. So I would like to use this blog as an opportunity to thank everyone who has helped me through this critical portion of my life. Don’t worry; I will keep it short and sweet.

Shout outs to the following:

My parents

My soon-to-be wife (only 30 more days……holy moly)

The entire Accounting Department at UT Dallas

My fellow TAs

PPA Class 4

So here is a big “WHOOSH” to no more studying, but always learning! Bring on the real world!

I have come to the U.S. for about six months and finished my first semester in a graduate accounting program. I can’t stop myself from comparing my U.S. school to my undergraduate school in China.

The main difference I think is when asking a question in class. Professors here always ask if you have any questions, and students will ask questions they can’t understand and even some questions that seem unrelated to the main topic. Sometimes students just interrupt the professor’s lecture and express their opinions. In my undergraduate school in China, students seldom ask questions during the course. If students do have a problem they will ask professor after class. Interruption of the professor’s lecture is a rare condition. For most of the time, the professor is the only person who speaks in class. At the beginning of my first semester here, I just couldn’t’ understand the other students’ behaviors and thought they were acting sort of rude to the professor. But now, I know this is just the U.S. classroom culture and the professor is very happy to answer students’ questions.

Another difference is the use of supplemental class material and discussion online with the class and the professor. In my home country, the only material used is generally just class notes or slides. Because there is only one test for each course at the end of each semester, students seldom log on to their accounts except when reviewing for the exam. In the U.S. class, the professor always mentions the supplemental class material online, so students log in to their online accounts frequently to get material. And the time of each lecture and professor’s office hours is limited. If students have problems, they could ask questions through their online discussion board. In my opinion, it’s much more convenient than asking during a lecture.

Another difference I found is you can easily get involved in an organization and act as a volunteer for a program on a U.S. campus.  This is different from volunteer activities in China, which are mainly concentrated on serving at big national events such as Beijing Olympic Games and Shanghai Expo. Volunteer activities in the U.S. are driven by peoples’ motivation of helping each other and paying more attention to peoples’ daily lives by doing simple acts of care in local communities. In the U.S., no matter how rich you are or how famous you are, everyone involved in volunteer activities is treated equally as hospitable participants who will deliver maximum help.

One piece of advice I wish someone had told me about more clearly is the proper use of e-mail in the workplace. E-mailing friends is very different from e-mailing co-workers and bosses, so I will give you a few tips for things to look out for.

When you first start a new job or internship, be very conservative in your e-mails. Be polite and make sure you don’t use any slang or put smiley faces in the e-mailJ! I kind of used the rule that you shouldn’t include something unless the person you e-mail includes it first. If they reply with smiley faces and short-type, then you can start using that with that person. Also be careful when addressing the person in the e-mail. To be safe, I would always call them Mr./ Mrs. Last name. See how they reply to your e-mail and if they use their first name, then you can start using their first name in the e-mails.

Another thing to look out for is mass e-mail addresses. Sometimes to save time with e-mailing and typing each individual address, a mass e-mail will be created. One intern I worked with made the mistake of accidentally sending an e-mail to the whole company saying that he was bored and out of work! I’m sure he got many replies and got in trouble for sending that out. So be careful to check where the mass e-mail is going to be sent and that only the proper people are included.

Another tip is to check with your managers before sending an e-mail to a client. Working with clients is a big part of being an accountant; after all, they are who you will be providing services for. If you are unsure about something a client sent, do not immediately go and send them an e-mail. Make a list of questions that you have and show them to your manager first. As an intern, you might be missing some things that were provided, and a manager can help you minimize the questions and get it down to the ones you do need to ask the client. Sometimes the manager prefers to send an e-mail to them, so make sure they’ve asked you to do it before you hit send. Also as an intern, you might not be completely familiar with the terminology and need help wording out questions so they are understandable to the client and ensure you will get proper answer. Most companies give you a buddy who is one level above you. I would send your buddy a draft of the e-mail first, and then, if they approve it, you are free to send it to the client. It is always good to have someone look over your work instead of being embarrassed by a client.

Hopefully these tips will help you in your future careers!

Why am I here? Because it’s much more fun than studying or reading musty textbooks. Because I love to write. Because I’m opinionated.

But in a broader sense, why am I here? Why accounting?

I was on my way out of the restroom the other day when I bumped into an old colleague whose name I cannot remember (which seems to be plaguing me more and more as time goes on). One thing that remained with me from that conversation was our discussion of details versus concepts. And I’m a detail-oriented guy.

I’ve read the budget for the United States of America. I checked their math. I read the footnotes first. The devil is in the details, and I’ll read between the lines to find him.

And while being detail-oriented isn’t a requirement of accountants, many of our profession’s ranks love to crunch numbers and track items that require a great attention to detail. So detail-loving certainly helps.

But, the best articles seem to be qualified answers, so I suppose there should be another side to this coin which will act twofold: one, it will increase the quality and thoughtfulness of my submission; two, it will make my submission much more difficult to write.

You see, as with most things in life, creating something that is better than before requires more work than before. Ironically, as the flip side of our quasi-phorical coin, being willing to put in extra work for better results is important in accounting (and every profession, for that matter). Your journals entries may not be material, but they lead to material accounts. Your mistakes may go unnoticed, but they won’t serve you any better.

We can all strive to be better at what we are doing, and to appreciate our situations a little more. So with that being said, why am I here?

Because I have three chapters to read, a stack of homework problems to work, and somehow, in the overwhelming-ness of it all, this is the only thing I can focus on.

Enjoy your semesters, and stay focused!

On my Facebook account, I have over 700 “friends.” Going through the list, I can tell you exactly how I know each person, but I can honestly say that I don’t keep a personal friendship with each individual. I am not saying that having Facebook friends is bad, professionally. In fact, this social media site can be used as a networking tool to help keep you posted on what is going on in your friends’ (cough, acquaintances’) lives. What I am trying to say is that you should remain professional during your Facebook expeditions.

When Facebook first became popularized, there were numerous stories about employees getting fired for talking poorly about their bosses or jobs. And while there are so many arguments about protecting your right to free speech, why not avoid this potentially negative situation all together? I would suggest never posting anything negative about your work. It’s one thing to say “TGIF” or “I can’t wait for the weekend,” but something like “I hate my job and can’t wait to leave” or “I can’t stand my co-worker Betty” might have some consequences that you were not expecting, including ruining a positive working environment. Negative opinions about your work are not the only thing that should be avoided on social media sites.

When I was growing up, my mom always told me that it was inappropriate to talk with most people about three things: money, religion and politics. She didn’t mean that I was never allowed to mention anything relating to those topics but that I should be careful about whom I talk to about them. I believe that this rule should apply to Facebook and other social media sites as well. Of course, there is no hard and fast rule about this, but I would suggest staying away from anything that the media is currently arguing with itself about on a daily basis. A general rule that you can follow is to not explicitly take sides on one of the news networks’ hot stories.

Of course you are completely entitled to your own opinion, but as we become part of the professional world, we are encouraged to remain professional in every sense of the word. Let me give you a quick example. Let’s say you get into an argument about politics on Facebook. In some cases, you have two people that firmly believe in opposite sides of the coin. Each is trying to convince the other of his ways, while truly believing that his thought pattern is superior to his opponent’s. In the end, neither individual is going to say “Oh, you know what, you are so right. I’m sorry, my opinion is wrong.” I feel confident in saying that this will never happen—which, let me interject here to say that this outcome is perfectly fine. It is fine to debate, but what you want to think about is “do I care if my 1,000 ‘friends’ see everything that I am saying?” If the answer is no, then go at it! If the answer is yes, take your debate to a more private setting. Make sure that you are honest with yourself when answering, and as always, if you are not sure, don’t do it.

Happy social media-ing!

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Blogger: Kelly McNeil

I know we have written previously about taking breaks during studying to let your mind refocus and rest for a bit, but this topic really hit home with me this week. All of us bloggers have started studying for the CPA exam and are getting knee deep (maybe waist level) in accounting material. The CPA exam can seem like the most important thing you have to do in your life, but I don’t want anyone to forget about other important things such as friends and family.

I have been so focused on studying this month that I have not given much time to hanging out with my friends or having dinner with my family. They are all super supportive and know how important passing is to me. Unfortunately, one of my close friends passed away in a car accident last weekend. This tragedy has really made me realize how important it is to not get completely bogged down in studying that you lose sight of your normal life. Make sure that you have a healthy balance of study/regular life so that you don’t get lost.

Luckily, I don’t have a full time job while studying for the CPA exam, which I highly recommend not having while you study. This helps balance free time with study and work well. If you have friends that are also taking the exam, have a study night each week. It is sometimes frustrating to study with friends because they might not be at the same pace as you, but if they have any questions, going over the material again with them is a good form of review. They might also be able to help you out on a section you are having trouble with.

If you don’t have friends that are studying for the exam with you, still make time to hang out with them. My boyfriend is not in the accounting field, so he could not tell a debit from a credit, but he humors me by letting me explain accounting for bonds to him. Even though he doesn’t understand exactly what I’m talking about, explaining it to him helps review my fundamentals of the topic. If your friends could give you an ear every now or then, it will help. I also have the TV on in the background while I study, which I don’t recommend if you get easily distracted. I usually turn on the game show network or funny videos so that between each question I answer, I can look up and get a quick laugh in.

No matter what your study technique is, make sure your friends and family know how important studying is to you. Their support goes a long way, but at the same time, don’t forget that they exist! Take time out each weekend to relax or go to dinner and rejuvenate yourself!

After finishing this blog I had some Chinese food and these were my fortunes, and if that’s not a sign, then I don’t know what is! Make sure you balance the two!

Blogger: Clayton Farris

Whether we like it or not, exams are a large deciding factor in life’s success. As early as kindergarten and as late as college, tests determine whether or not an individual is knowledgeable enough to advance to the next phase of his or her education. Many people become anxious and unnerved by the thought of sitting for an important exam. Unfortunately for those who experience test anxiety, their performance is often weakened. Despite hours of studying and preparing for the exam, they are simply incapable of overcoming their feelings of nervousness.

One of my good friends that I study with quite often suffers from test anxiety. I know he is intelligent—he often tutors me in some of the material I am unclear on—yet his grades rarely reflect his mastery of the class material. When he finally told me about his text anxiety, I gave him the best advice I could think of. I told him, “Dude, just be confident! You know the stuff better than I do, so just be confident in what you know. That is the reason we spend all of this time studying.”

He said he kept that advice in mind right before his next test…and he aced it! Whoo Hoo! Let’s all clap for him! *clap clap clap clap* I believe this shows that mindset is incredibly important in your approach to life’s events.  Confidence and a good attitude can go just as far as knowledge and preparation. I have to remind myself of my own advice every now and then, especially as I get closer and closer to sitting for my first section of the CPA exam.

Blogger: Diane Henry

There is nothing worse than walking into an interview or job and starting off 10 feet behind your competition. The workplace is like a race: not everyone wins. In this race, that 10 feet can easily become the difference between getting an offer or a promotion and not. What I am talking about in this situation is how you dress.

When you walk into an interview or a new job, how you look is the first impression. Now, for the accounting world, you don’t need to look like a supermodel walking down the runway, but you do need to look competent. Think about it this way, if you can’t even dress yourself (something that most of us learn at a very young age), then how is someone going to trust you with any kind of professional work. This is not to say that you can’t do the work; you may be the smartest person out of the whole start class or interview pool. I am only saying that your first impression can force you to make up ground in your interview or everyday work. In other words, you might have to work twice as hard to put yourself on the same playing field as your competitors. I think that it is safe to assume that you don’t want to do this.

To avoid fighting an uphill battle, take some time to think about how you are going to present yourself. Especially for an interview, you do not want to wear anything that is distracting. You want the interviewer to listen to what you have to say, not to stare at your neon yellow shirt.

Suits

Think: “no suit, no service.” Everyone should have one suit in their closet. Stick with a pantsuit (or the ladies could wear a skirt). Make sure that you buy your pants and jacket together! You really want to avoid having pants and a jacket that looks like they almost match. Even plain black pants and jacket purchased separately can look different (often times because of the material). People can tell, and it looks messy.

Shirts

Next you want to wear a solid or stripped shirt. If you have a dark suit, wear a light-colored shirt and vice versa. Try to not wear extremely bright colors or extremely fashionable items. Remember that what you say is more important than how stylish you are (at least when you are applying for and accounting position).

Ladies

Limit your jewelry to four pieces; each earring counts as one piece. Your make-up should be natural looking. With make-up, less is more. Pantyhose are not necessary but will not hurt. Get a nude tone that matches the color of your skin. Heels should be an appropriate height. If you would wear them past 8:00 p.m., don’t wear them to an interview. They should be closed-toe. Make sure that you can walk in them.

Gentlemen

Watches are the most appropriate item of jewelry to wear. Stay away from earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Clean-shaven is the most appropriate form of facial hair. If you just can’t live without your goatee, make sure that it is well-trimmed. Shoes should be shined. Invest in a package of black socks. Yes, people do see your socks when you’re wearing pants.

Both

Wedding bands, obviously, are also appropriate for both sexes. Visible body piercings (nose, eyebrow and cartilage) are never appropriate. It would be wise to cover up any visible tattoos. Make sure that your hair is a natural color. Even if it’s not your natural color, it’s okay. Just try to stay away from blue and green hair. Hair should also be clean and styled. It should not look like you woke up two minutes ago. Make sure that your teeth are brushed.

Tailors

One last note: you don’t need to buy high-end items, but they do need to FIT you. If you buy a $300 jacket that doesn’t fit, it will look bad. Kohl’s, Ross, H&M and even Target all have appropriate work/interview items. Find a good tailor in your area and use him/her. Clothes that are too big or too small are a huge mistake. Can’t find your size? Buy the bigger option and take it to a tailor. Tailors are your new best friend.

Can’t remember all of this? Here are a few easy tips: (1) Stay natural; (2) If you’re not sure, don’t wear it; (3) Find and use a tailor.

Blogger: Kelly McNeil

One of the most important pieces of advice that I can give is to find a mentor or someone to look up to whether in your career, school, or just life in general. Throughout grade school my mentor was my sister Kristen. She was a year ahead of me in school so she had always just completed classes that I was about to take. It was great to ask her advice and listen to her tips on which teachers to avoid. She became a psychology major in college so that’s where her mentoring ended, but even in our basic classes at college she provided a big help to me!  I think that everyone should find a person like her who you can look up to for advice and not be afraid to ask any questions to.

Finding a mentor becomes even more important when you get closer to starting your career. It is very difficult to make huge decisions on your own without anyone else’s input. Having someone who has been through the process is a great advantage as they can give you advice on what to do. If you are unsure about what path to take, mentors can let you know all of the options that you may not have thought about and give you pros and cons of each. If they have been in your shoes recently making the same decisions, they will remember what they wish they would have known at that point and can help guide you along.

Mentors don’t end when you start your career. During my internship, I was provided with two mentors: a buddy who was one level higher than me and a career advisor who was much higher. My buddy was a person who I could ask any questions without feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing. I went to her plenty of times to ask simple questions such as how to use the copier, how to file a tax return, and even the code to the bathroom. My career advisor was great to ask questions about in the long run of my career. He had a lot of experience in public accounting, as well as industry, so he gave me a perspective of what the working environment was like in both. He also gave me tips on how to do my work more efficiently and even took time out to teach me a tax concept I was having trouble with. It is good to keep relationships with your co-workers that are above you because they are also the ones who decide if you will get an offer, promotion, raise, etc.

My advice is to find someone who you can look up to. Model yourself after this person or take their advice in what you should do with your life. This person may be a family member, school mate, co-worker, or celebrity. Just make sure you aren’t afraid to ask for their advice!

Blogger: Lauren Carr

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”
― Alan Cohen

I have already written about working hard, but now it’s time to look at the other side of the coin. Working hard is imperative to be successful in anything you do, but some of us “Type A” people, tend to get consumed in work and forget the value of rest. Numerous studies have shown that people who take breaks are more productive during the day. Forbes had an article which lists eight different things to do during the day to make you more productive.

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the amount of work that we need to get done, that we forget to take these breaks and rest. During college you get to points in the semester where you have four tests, two papers, and one group project all due in the same week. Many students run on coffee or energy drinks and hardly get any sleep. We have all seen the student who breaks down crying from all of the stress (or maybe you have been that student). Everyone needs a break and a good night of sleep. My advice is to give yourself one day a week where you do nothing that is school or work related. Take a break from all of the stress in your life. Hang out with friends, read a good book, watch TV. Do whatever it is that makes you forget about all of your upcoming assignments and allows you to mentally rest and recover from the previous week. If you give yourself that break, then when it is time to buckle down again, you will be in a better mental state to get your work done.

To all of the high school seniors and college freshman who do not know what they want to do with their lives yet, let me tell you this: IT’S OK!! Despite what your teachers and career-focused friends might say, entering college with an undecided major is not the end of the world; in fact, I almost suggest it.

Starting college without a declared major does three things for you:

1. Allows you to have an open mind about your career during a time of your life when change is inevitable.
2. Gives you the opportunity to explore what your university has to offer in terms of educational programs.
3. Prevents you from spending two years in a degree plan that you end up despising (trust me on this one, I lived through it).

My first two years at UT Dallas were spent as a psychology major (a perfectly fine major for many people), and I hated it. I knew I wanted to change my major after the first year, but I had no idea what I wanted to switch to, so I just stuck it out. At the end of year two, I had had enough and walked over to the School of Management. In the advising office, my fiancée noticed a flyer for the Professional Program in Accounting. Given my lack of background in accounting, I thought I had no chance of getting into the program, but I applied anyway to appease my fiancée (remember gentlemen, a happy wife equals a happy life). Fortunately, I was accepted into the program, immediately started taking accounting courses, and school became enjoyable again! Now, here I am, three years later, finishing my masters in accounting and preparing to sit for CPA exam—a situation I never would have imagined at the beginning of my college career.

Many of my accounting friends have similar stories, some starting as biology majors, others as math majors. This made me realize that life has a funny way of working itself out. I believe Greenday said it best—“Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go.” You can’t plan the next 50 years of your life at the age of 18. You should never give up on your dreams and aspirations, but welcome change with an open mind. You never know where it could lead you.

-Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Blogger: Diane Henry

I have to raise my hand and admit that I am nowhere close to perfect on this one. It is so easy to let something “slip” out, and, when it does, the river usually doesn’t stop flowing. Everyone has something in their life that they may not agree with. When I was much younger, I used to get upset that my brother only had three hours of chores in a specific week while I had five. I didn’t think that it was fair. Instead of just doing the chores and getting on with my life, I would make sure that my parents and brother knew that it wasn’t fair. I would try and argue my point for at least an hour, trying to get my mom to even out the allocation. And you know what happened? I still had the five hours of chores. And worse than that, I was down an extra hour if you count the time I spent convincing my parents.

Everyone reading this, whether you’re going into public accounting or not, will have a moment in your life where you have too much on your plate, where you are stuck working with someone that you simply do not get along with or where you simply don’t think that life is treating you fairly. Complaining about it is not going to help—at all. In fact, in most cases, complaining will make the situation worse.  Complaining makes the task or person or situation even more unbearable than it was to begin with. And more often than not, when you are angry or frustrated, you are likely to say something that you might regret later on.

I know that sometimes you can feel like your head is about to explode. In these extreme situations, I think that it is important to find someone that you trust (maybe a best friend, parent or spouse) and let yourself vent; BUT, give yourself a time limit, maybe 10 or 15 minutes max, and once you express your frustration, stop. This shouldn’t be done every day. I would reserve these moments for when you feel like you’re just going to go crazy. When you stop, finish whatever it is you need to do and cross it off of your [imaginary] to-do list.

I want to make it clear that I am not suggesting that you buy rainbow and smiley face stickers and place them on every inch of your workspace, but, instead, to remember that little rule that you learned when you were five: “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Instead of complaining, remind yourself about the people in the world that are worse off than you. You can count the items or events in your life that make you feel appreciated and/or successful. Ask for help if you need it. If you still feel yourself about to explode, take a five-minute walk outside or surf the web for ridiculously cute puppy pictures. Your last resort should be to vent to a loved one.

You don’t want to be that person that no one wants to work with or [even worse] hire, and attitude really comes into play here. You have 100% control and responsibility over whether or not you choose to complain. Don’t let it affect your success.

My first interview related to accounting came when I interviewed to become part of the PPA program that we have here at UTD. This program selects the top accounting students and prepares them for a career for in public accounting. I had no idea what public accountants do, or even if I wanted to become one. I didn’t know what kind of questions would be asked because I had never done this kind of interview before. I went in with my resume feeling slightly nervous. What do accountants even talk about in their spare time? Debits and credits, income statement items? I was relieved when they began asking questions about my current job at the time at Best Buy. I explained what I did and let them know how excited I was about accounting. Apparently the interview went well and I was admitted into the program.

The next interview I had was a mock interview with our school career center. They help prepare you for real life interviews and coach you on some of the questions you will be asked. My first interview went well, so I was not nervous for this second one. The last question I was asked was “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with ambiguity.” I really wish all of those SAT vocabulary words had come flying back into my mind to tell me what ambiguity meant! I got really nervous and stumbled out an answer, which to my luck actually had to do with ambiguity. I realized interviews weren’t going to be that easy.

The third set of interviews came when I started interviewing with firms for an internship. I was told that I needed to be ready to answer all types of questions and have my own questions to ask them. Most interviews ended within 20 minutes and they left the floor open for you to ask the questions. I wasn’t prepared at all for my first one. I accidentally told a firm I liked their location away from downtown, when they were located in downtown! Oops, I guess they weren’t going to hire me. I did a little more research before my next interviews and they went great. The firm I was really excited about went smoothly. I asked about what kinds of things the employees did outside of work to stay connected with the company. The interviewer mentioned that they form a softball team during the slow times. This sparked a conversation about how the Texas Rangers were playing at the time and we ended up casually chatting for the remainder of the interview. It is completely okay if your interviews get off topic. This shows the firm that you aren’t just a zombie coming to and from work just to make money. They want to make sure you have a personality that fits in with theirs. See Clay’s previous post about being a chameleon.

After a bad interview, don’t get down. A good interview is just around the corner. Take what you learned from the bad ones and try and get some tips to fix your errors. Ask your family members and friends to interview you to make sure you feel comfortable. Try not to be nervous, I know this is almost an impossible task, but just be yourself. After all, you don’t want to work for a company where you will be unhappy and one that may try and change you. And most importantly practice your handshake! There is nothing worse than having a weak or too aggressive handshake. I wish you luck in all of your future interviews!

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” 
― Benjamin Franklin

Just like Clay, I am burnt out on school. Ever since I came back from my full-time internship, I have found it very difficult to find the motivation to study. Part of me thinks, “I already signed my full time offer. I really just have to do enough to pass!” That statement might be true, but the reality is that the classes I am taking will be covered on the CPA exam. I could only study what will be covered on the in-class test and do the minimum to get the grade I want, but the more I learn now, the easier the CPA exam will be. I use some of the same tactics (short-term goals and small rewards) as Clay to get through some of the reading, but I also have found other ways to stay dedicated.

To stay interested in my classes, I look for the benefits I will receive from each class. I am currently taking Government and Not-For-Profit Accounting. It is easy to get bored reading about accounting, but I just keep in mind how this knowledge will help me. I am interested in politics and our government. By understanding governmental accounting and being able to read their CAFRs (Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports), I can look at different government entities and see exactly how they are spending our tax money. I can look up the city of Dallas CAFR or the Texas CAFR and determine how efficiently they are using our tax dollars. On the not-for-profit side, I can look up how an organization is spending the donations they receive. If I donate to Susan G. Komen, how much money is going to pay employees versus being spent on research, education, screening, or treatment? While some of the chapters may be pretty dry material, I just remember that it will help me in the future.

Some of you may be in undergrad having to take the core courses or a bunch of non-accounting classes. For those, I had the same attitude. When I was younger and complaining about school, my father used to tell me, “All knowledge is good knowledge,” and I would roll my eyes. Now I understand what he meant. For example, I had to take art history my senior year (yes, I put it off as long as possible). I thought to myself, “Why do I have to take this stupid class that is going to take hours of studying when it doesn’t apply to my career at all?” I am now glad that I suffered through that class. I have some friends who are interested in art, and it is nice to be able to carry on a conversation about art with them. Networking is much easier when you can find common ground with someone. Most men hope to sit next to other men during the pre-interview dinner so that they can talk about sports the whole time, but what if you are seated next to someone who has other interests besides sports? It is nice to have a little knowledge about a wide range of things so you can carry on a conversation with almost anyone.

Another way to stay engaged in class is to be inquisitive. If you have a question about something that is not mentioned in class, then don’t be afraid to ask. If you don’t want to ask during class, go to the professor’s office or send him/her an email. Many accounting classes tell you the rules about how things are done, but they do not cover every scenario. Perhaps you read an article such as “UBS whistleblower nets $104 million reward”. You could discuss whistleblowing in your ethics class to relate what you are learning to current events. You could also ask your tax professor, “Birkenfeld is going to prison for his part in UBS’s tax evasion program; how exactly did UBS help wealthy Americans hide their assets?” While the answers to those questions will not be on your next test, it will at least keep you engaged in the class, and you will still have a deeper knowledge of the subject which can only help you in the future.

Blogger: Clayton Farris

OK, I’ll admit it. I am burnt out at school. After five years, my gas tank is running on empty. Fortunately, I am in my last semester of courses. After this semester, the only thing that lies between me and test-free weeks is the CPA exam. Yes, the CPA exam is not an easy feat, but at least it is a culmination of everything I have been learning over the past five years. With my apathy towards studying at an all-time high, I have to come up with creative ways to motivate myself. Recently, my conscience has been negotiating with me—“OK, Clay, read a chapter of Corporate Taxation, and you get to watch a half hour of television. Or even better, finish your Audit case and you get an ice cream sandwich!” Yes, I have resorted to rewarding myself with frozen desserts.

I know all of this may sound like childish nonsense, but it has taught me a valuable lesson. Setting short term goals for yourself can be a valuable tool when trying to get through a task that is not very enjoyable. Accomplishing a goal, no matter how small it may be, makes you feel pretty good about yourself. I find myself having to split a one-day project into several one hour sessions, with short breaks in between each hour of work. This is something I’ve never had to do before, but it is the only way I can stay focused this semester. These short-term goals combined with my long-term goal of becoming a CPA help me get through each assignment.

At this point, I am just ready to get through school, and I am excited to start my career in public accounting. I know all of the professionals reading this blog just laughed and said, “HA! Just wait a few years, and you’ll be wishing you were back in school!” But that is not my sentiment at the moment. For now, I will keep splitting all of my course work into manageable pieces and keep enjoying my ice cream sandwiches.

Blogger: Kelly McNeil

When I first switched my major to accounting, I had no idea what kind of job I wanted to get with my degree. I knew CPA is a prestigious title to get, but I didn’t know what my career path would be. I had heard of choosing a career in public accounting as a tax accountant or an auditor, but I really didn’t know much about either of those jobs.  I’m sure those of you who are at this point in your education are just as confused.

An interesting opportunity came up when my boyfriend’s step-mother processed a reverse mortgage for a CPA. The CPA, Anne who is bedridden, has a small CPA firm and prepares tax returns. Since she had become bedridden, she could no longer work a computer and was looking for an assistant to input data and help correspond with clients. My boyfriend’s step-mom mentioned my name and that I am an accounting student and I soon was contacted for an interview. I knew that this would be an unconventional job only working one day a week, but I was interested in learning more about tax returns.

Once I started, I helped input the returns and Anne reviewed the final copies before signing them. I also help prepare Texas Workforce paperwork for a few of her clients’ businesses. This experience has given me great insight into what it is like to work with taxes and helped me decide that I want to have a career as a tax accountant.

After about a year working for Anne came the time for interviewing with accounting firms for an internship. I decided on tax over audit based on my work with Anne. During my interviews, the work experience gave me a great advantage. Hardly any other candidates that I met had prior experience in audit or tax. The interviewers were impressed, and I landed an internship with McGladrey.

Even if an accounting opportunity doesn’t come your way, don’t pass up other opportunities for any career experience. While I worked with Anne, I also had a part-time job as an assistant supervisor for Best Buy. I started out there as a cashier and worked my way up through customer service to back-up supervisor. I was hesitant at first because I was told being a back-up meant that I did harder tasks, but did not get any reward out of it. I went for it, and it gave me some great leadership experience. I was in charge of the employees during my shift and was also given power to make decisions as a manager during sales. Even though any part-time job seems like hard work at the time, the experience will surely pay off in the end and land you your dream job if you are willing to work for it!

Blogger:  Diane Henry

Or is it?

Okay, we’ve all done it. I know that I have on multiple (and by that I mean “all”) occasions. It usually starts with me opening my trunk and loading the bag handles up my arms. I am ecstatic when, after the 40 pounds of groceries (or at least it feels like that) are loaded up, the trunk is empty. I clumsily shut my trunk, which is not an easy feat with those bags weighing each arm down, and waddle to the door.

Once I get to the door, I fumble around for my key, which always happens to be in the most difficult place to reach, and unlock and open the door with a shaky hand. Of course I do this without putting any of the groceries down. When I finally make it inside, I basically throw the bags onto the counter and hope that nothing breaks. My arms are so tired and are covered with red indentions left by the bag handles. Success.

You would think that I would be happy with this outcome. All of the groceries have been brought in with only one trip needed. That is what I had set out to do in the beginning. However, the more I think about this, the more I begin to see the insanity of it all. Yes, maybe I saved myself a few steps; but at what expense? I could argue that I spent more energy struggling with those bags than if I had made the second or third trip. I could also argue that I didn’t save any time and certainly did not save any frustration.

I want you, and I’m speaking to myself on this one too, to take away two things from this story. One is that you need to keep your eyes open to the big picture and change your plans if you begin to realize that your original one is possibly not the most effective. And two is that there is no reason to make things harder for yourself if there is no need. The world will do that for you. Let’s face it; I think that the only other people who are affected by my grocery-carrying extravaganza are the neighbors that see me; and even then, my acts probably only provide them with either humor or confusion.

Sincerely,

The Newly-Born, Multiple-Trips-from-My-Car-to-the-House Grocery Carrier

Blogger: Lauren Carr

“My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition. ” – Indira Gandhi (1917-1984); Prime Minister Of India

(Pictured below from left to right: Stan Gershengoren, Jim Turley, Lauren Carr)

This past week, I was flown to Disney World by Ernst & Young for the International Intern Leadership Conference.  Some of the speakers during the conference included Jim Turley, Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, Steve Howe, Americas Area Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, and Rick Alden, Founder of Skullcandy.

At the end of their speeches, we had the opportunity to ask questions. One of the biggest lessons I took from this conference was to always go to work, do your best, and embrace opportunities presented to you.  Jim Turley had no idea when he interned in the Houston office that he would one day make partner, let alone be Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young. One of the speakers stated that many of the positions he has held at Ernst & Young were new positions, meaning that he was the first person with that specific title. He could not have possibly aspired to hold some of the positions he has held because they were not positions available when he joined the firm.

Many of us accountants have “Type A” personalities and want to make a career plan now. I suggest taking a step back and keeping your options open. You never know what opportunities will knock on your door. Throughout our careers we will possibly have the opportunities to move up in the firm, leave the firm, move to another city, move to another country, switch service lines, etc.

There are many uncertainties in our lives, but one thing we can be sure of is that if we go to work every day and do our best, we will greatly increase our chances of succeeding. You do not become partner in a public accounting firm by showing up to work late and slacking off. You do not become CEO of a company by doing the bare minimum to not get fired. As Vincent Lombardi put it, “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” Many of your coworkers will slack off, and it will be tempting to join them, but hard work does get noticed. Also, the more you work the more you learn. If you finish an assignment early and ask your supervisor for another task, you will inevitably be noticed and have the opportunity to work on new projects. Do not be afraid to say yes to new opportunities even if it may mean more work. Many times the knowledge gained through all of the hard work will benefit you in the future.

One speaker at the conference said that he made some lateral moves and even a demotion, but all of it led to where he is today. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” (Thomas Edison (1847-1931); Inventor, Businessman)

 Chameleons are incredible. They have the ability to change colors to match their surroundings—to adapt to any situation their environment calls for. Without this capability, chameleons would often fall prey to their carnivorous villains.

Whoa, this one looks like green leaves.

And this one looks like rocks!

This is obviously a skill that follows the “survival of the fittest” concept; a long time ago, the lizards that could not change colors were easy to spot and were dinner for a hawk, but the lizards that could adapt to their environment survived. Science proves this idea to be true…yet it is also common sense. If this idea is so simple, then why can’t we, as humans, apply it to our everyday lives? The answer is, “We can. We should…we have to!” Now, I don’t literally mean humans can and should change their skin to look like leaves on a tree so they don’t get eaten by a hawk. I am talking about how we have to be able to adapt our personalities to match certain situations in order to succeed. This applies to all areas of life. From the first day at a new job, to trying to make new friends, to trying to attract a girl/guy, to meeting that girl’s/guy’s parents, an individual must be able to properly interact with the different personalities he or she encounters.

In public accounting, we often work in teams. These teams can consist of two people or 20 people or anywhere in between. And we often spend two to eight weeks with one team, and then we  switch to a different team on a different client. Needless to say, we work very closely with a lot of different people. The dynamic changes from team to team because you work with such different personalities. The ability to properly interact with each team is vital to an individual’s success in public accounting. Some teams are very serious while they work. Others like to be goofy and keep the mood light. Some individuals in management are hard to approach. Others are very easy to talk to. I am not saying one is better than the other, I am saying we have to be able to successfully interact with both types of teams and individuals. Because if you aren’t able to do that, there will be someone waiting behind you who IS capable of doing it. And that leaves you as the hawk’s dinner…and yes, that is a metaphor for losing your job.

I do need to say one more thing. Yes, be a chameleon. Adapt to your surroundings. Blend in with the people around you, but don’t confuse “blending” with “being invisible.” You want to be memorable within the confines of what is suitable for the situation. Also, I am not saying you need to change who you are in order to “fit in” with your coworkers. Always be yourself, but know what behaviors are appropriate and inappropriate for each team you work with. If you are able to master this skill, you will undoubtedly impress any company. Or group of friends. Or your date’s parents.

Blogger: Kelly McNeil

Some might think it is funny that I am writing a blog on the importance of knowing how to use a calculator, but it is a very important task to know! A few months ago, I was used to using only scientific and business calculators. These calculators were pretty simple to learn. I didn’t know there was any other kind of different calculator. That is until I started my internship and was required to use a 10-key. I didn’t even know those still existed! I felt that it was sort of ancient to use a 10-key.

I went on my first day of my internship very prepared. I brought along with me my TA BA II Plus calculator that I have used since I started college. I figured it would be nice to use my own supplies. The first time I pulled it out to make a calculation, I heard laughter around me. I thought maybe they expect me to do the entire math in my head. My buddy who was another associate that was in charge of teaching me the ways of the company told me she would get me a 10-key the next day. I thought this was nice since I had noticed everyone else using the same brand of calculators and did not want to be laughed at again!

I arrive the next day without my trusty TI and attempted to make a calculation on the 10-key. My supervisor came to my desk and asked me to add up some deductions and then subtract them from the income. Easy enough, right? Nope. I could add up the numbers easily, but could not figure out how to subtract them. My manager stood over my shoulder watching me in desperation to simply subtract some numbers. She got frustrated and grabbed the calculator to do it herself. She got the number she needed and walked away. I was so ashamed that I couldn’t even use a calculator! I was not making a very good first impression. I wish I had learned beforehand how to use a 10-key and avoid this embarrassment.

For those of you who have not used a 10-key, the calculations are like this: For a regular calculator, to calculate 6-2=4, you would enter 6, –,  2, ENTER and receive your answer. On a 10-key, typing in those keys would result in an answer of -4. The subtraction key “-“ on a 10-key acts like a minus sign. You must type 6, +, 2, -, ENTER to get the correct result of 2. It took me a while to get a hold of the concept, but I learned how to adapt. If you plan to take a job or internship in accounting, I advise you to attempt to learn a 10-key in order to avoid the embarrassment that I had to go through!

Blogger: Diane Henry

Remember when you were in middle or high school and everyone thought that you were a troublemaker if you had to take summer school? Driving around early on a Monday morning in June, you could see the sadness in the eyes of the children that regretted throwing that paper airplane at the teacher or pinching the girl in the class that he liked. In college, however, summer school is something that the really dedicated students sign up for; and, if you are planning on or are already admitted to a public university (I can only speak for the good, ole state of Texas here), I recommend that you certainly take a summer class or two.

Public university students are required to take a handful of American History and Government, a little science, a dash of English and a pinch of arts to complete any four-year bachelor’s degree. Here’s a hint: these classes are much less expensive at a community college and will most likely transfer in with ease. Before you register and pay for these summer classes, you should check with your academic advisor to make sure that the credits will transfer. Many times, the advisor can have you fill out a document to ensure that the class that you are about to take will transfer in with a 100% guarantee. And if you want to be a super overachiever, you can take classes at your main university while taking one from a community college.

Many community colleges offer classes during the summer (usually split into Summer I and Summer II). There is also something called a Maymester, which lasts for the month of May. Think about this: finishing a class in one month instead of four, and it’s cheaper! I personally recommend the Maymester or Summer I class that way you will still have a break before the new school year starts. It is also very easy to find classes that are offered online, which means that you can still take that vacation that you wanted. You may not be reading the book that you wanted, but when you’re lying on the beach, there is really little to complain about.

I took all of my History and Government requirements over two summers at a community college. Let’s face it, the earlier in your college career the better for these classes. It’s not like that history book changed much from last year. You might have to read the last chapter of the book, but that’s only if you haven’t heard anything about 9/11, the 2004 voting controversy and Obama. In fact, I took one history class in three days. It was a lot like ripping a Band-Aid off: quick, but not-so-painless. I was just focused on the cost-benefit here…$120, 3 days, 3 credit hours. Done.

Taking these classes during the summer allowed me the freedom to study abroad, which is something else that I whole-heartedly recommend. Besides a study abroad, there may be a myriad of other activities that you would like to spend your time with during the fall and spring semesters: volunteering, becoming more involved in school or working (yay, for building your resume!). So in order to get the most for your money, slather on that sunscreen and get a head start on those core classes!

Everyone has heard the old saying. It sounds simple enough, until we have to figure out what job we love.  I recently read a Forbes article that addresses this issue.

I agree with many of the points made in this article. Number 2 states, “Shop around.” It is extremely important to try different things. You will never know if you love (or hate) something if you never try it. Take classes that you think will be interesting. Try to get an internship in your area of interest or volunteer. While discovering what you love, you will also be building a great resume.

Number 5 says, “Burn your plans.” Number 9 says, “Give yourself permission to change your mind.”  I have type A personality (surprise!), so I love to have a plan and execute the plan. I believe it is good to have a plan to follow, but when things change and your current path isn’t going to make you happy, make a new plan. I started out as a biology major planning on going to medical school. During my second semester as a sophomore, I finally admitted to myself that I hated my classes. It was hard to switch majors after putting in so much work towards biology, but I am extremely happy with my decision now. When I finally abandoned the pre-med plan, I immediately started talking to professors and doing research to find a new career. Once I decided on majoring in accounting, I formed a new plan which has been successful.

One reason I am very excited to start my career as an auditor in public accounting is because it gives me so many options. I am young, and I have no idea if I want to stay in public accounting for the rest of my career or not. Public accounting firms give amazing training. If you choose to leave, you can get a great job in industry. You can also teach accounting at a university. If you choose to stay, you can have a very rewarding career. I am the type of person that gets extremely bored doing the same exact thing every day. I could not have a career where I had to do the same thing for 20 years. With audit, I will see different clients and learn many different things. As I work my way up in the firm, my job will change. There is always more to learn. Public accounting is also a great place for networking. I have met an amazing amount of people in such a short time.

I have no idea what the future holds for me or what opportunities will knock on my door, but starting my career with an outstanding public accounting firm is a great place to start.

Blogger: Clayton Farris

As I progress through my college education, I find myself in a bit of a catch-22; I feel a stronger NEED to partake in my favorite leisure activities, but I have less time to do so. We all have a few passions that we go to when we need to relax and take our mind off of life’s responsibilities. I enjoy watching Rangers baseball, taking my pup to the dog park, and golfing with my buddies (no one said you had to be good for it to be fun). Soon enough, I will graduate and start my career. I know this will leave me with even less free time than I have now.

At first, this realization scared me. I often hear stories of young professionals who lose sight of their outside-of-work passions. Then, by the time they realize they are “workaholics,” 10+ years have passed, and they struggle to regain that passion. I believe individuals, including myself, have to make the conscious decision to make time for the things they love before they enter the workforce. I know this is one of those “easier said than done” situations, but it can, and should, be done. This does not mean that I will not be dedicated to my career in public accounting; I whole-heartedly will be. I simply strive to find that perfect “work-life balance” that eludes many people.

So grab a couple of friends, and go do what you enjoy soon! Whether it be traveling, boating, knitting, bowling, fishing, swimming, painting, skydiving, horseback riding, volunteering, rock climbing, pumpkin carving, building tree houses, or simply spending time with family…just do it. After all, these are the things that make life memorable. We should never forget that.

Blogger: Kelly McNeil     

When I was in high school, I really had an interest in math. Numbers and formulas were actually fun for me to figure out. When it came to choosing a college major, I felt that math wasn’t a good choice for me. Nothing against math majors, but what career choices do they really have? Being a mathematician, teaching, becoming a statistician? That’s where finance came to mind. I thought that working with businesses and analyzing the financial markets would be very interesting. So, finance it was.

I didn’t know much about accounting when I started college, but financial and managerial accounting were required courses for finance majors. Financial accounting didn’t appeal to me, but I loved managerial accounting. All of the formulas used in calculating costs and prices were fun, not to mention the great professor I had. I talked to some other finance majors who had switched to accounting and they mentioned that they liked the set rules laid out with accounting where in finance, it was all kind of guesswork based on the market. This really appealed to me to have guidelines to follow.

In one of my business classes, there was a short presentation for the Professional Program in Accounting at UTD. It is a program where you receive your master’s in accounting in five years total of college. They offer great exposure to accounting firms where there are internship opportunities. During the last year of the program, there are CPA review courses where you will sit for the CPA exam. This program sounded amazing! I couldn’t apply for it until my junior year, but I instantly went to our advising office to switch my major to accounting.

I am so glad I made this decision. I was accepted into the program, just completed an internship where I received a job offer, and have met some great friends and role models throughout the process. Sure your friends and family might grunt when they hear you are an accountant. I mean who wants to have a conversation about current accounting issues? Nonetheless, it is important to choose a career that you enjoy doing because you will potentially be doing it the rest of your life.

When I decided that I wanted to get my CPA, I was excited. I finally had a response to that question that every college student cringes at: “So what are you going to do with your life when you get out of school?” What I wasn’t anticipating was the overwhelming reaction by those people who asked me that question. When I unveiled my plan to become a CPA, it was as if I suddenly became so uninteresting that we couldn’t even continue our conversation. You could literally see the white mask of boredom wash over their faces. Sometimes I wanted to address the elephant in the room and say, “No I don’t wear glasses or have a pocket protector or have a pet name for my calculator.” (I would keep the fact that I absolutely love the abilities of Excel to myself.) But nevertheless, my mouth would stay shut. And most times they would end the topic with, “Ahhhh, I should get you to do my taxes,” (which is another post altogether).

The first few times this conversation happened, I wrote it off to coincidence. By the 15^th time, I was getting slightly depressed. Sure, a person’s profession does speak volumes about personality—I would even agree that most CPAs are “type A” and are usually comfortable with numbers—but, and this is a big “but” here, not all CPAs are boring. I would claim that the percentage of CPAs that fall into the “boring” category, assuming one can clearly define this, would not exceed the population mean of all people.

Take the CPAs-to-be that I know. Some of have been skydiving and/or bungee jumping. Some of us love to ride rollercoasters. The Titan and Mr. Freeze are my personal favorite. My entire Professional Program of Public Accounting program is extremely competitive. A few of us have done study abroad trips in places like New Zealand and Costa Rica. And unlike the quiet, soft-spoken accountant stereotype, I am quite loud and talkative. I’m not claiming that my group of CPAs-to-be is more exciting than your group of friends, but I know that the stereotypical accountant would not partake in any of these activities.

As a CPA, you can become an FBI Secret Agent or forensic accountant. How about auditing? I knew someone (with a CPA) that had the opportunity to count the NFL’s Hall of Fame votes because of his job as an auditor. Sports teams need auditors too. You can also go abroad with your work. In public accounting, there are opportunities to work in places like India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Caribbean and more.

CPAs, especially in public accounting, do not spend their days sitting in a corner with their beloved abacus. They spend their time dissecting and understanding some of the country’s and world’s most powerful companies, like ExxonMobil, Wal-Mart, Apple and the list goes on and on. I am not trying to convince you that Jonathan Goldsmith, The Most Interesting Man in the World, has his CPA, but that he probably wouldn’t mind sharing a cold drink with someone who does.

From left to right meet Kelly McNeil, Diane Henry, Lauren Carr, and Clayton Farris. You can learn a little bit about each of them on our Meet the Bloggers page.

Stay tuned for their insights as they pursue their accounting careers. Be sure to sign up for updates, give us and them your feedback, and share their posts with others who may be interested in what they have to say.

We’re looking forward to learning more from each of our new bloggers!

Thank you, Tim, Jasmine, Eric, and Tripp!

We’ll have a new crop of bloggers up soon. In the meantime, please stop by Destination CPA or contact us if you have questions about becoming a Texas CPA or a member of the Texas Society of CPAs.

Hello to our loyal readers, it looks like this my last blog post. I just wanted to write a short post today about accounting and how it has brought so much to my life beyond a valuable skill that will help propel me through the workforce and lead to a successful career. Graduating from college with my master’s degree is a bittersweet occurrence. My chosen major has given me so much opportunity to make friends, build professional relationships, and learn from my professors inside and outside of the classroom, and so much more.

The stereotype that accountants have is probably furthest from the truth of any stereotype that I am aware of.  Accountants are very team-oriented, and it shows through well-developed social skills.  I am proud to be graduating with my fellow bloggers and peers from the University of Texas at Dallas. I plan to show just how grateful I am by showing how well-prepared this school makes its students for their upcoming careers and how they have helped me accomplish my goals. If you are reading this and are on the fence about becoming an accountant you should highly consider it, as I believe it is one of the best decisions I have made in my life.

Everyone enjoy their summer and keep reading this blog! A whole new set of people will be writing in the upcoming semester and they will share with you their insights on a number of topics that involve accounting. Thank you to anyone and everyone who has kept up with us this past year.

Blogger: Tim Ellis

I would like to just briefly touch on some of the things that I feel are important when preparing for the CPA exam.  I think that this advice can be used no matter which review course or materials you are using.  I am certainly not implying that one course is better than another!  I just feel that in studying for the exam the last few months, these items have helped me out.

Number one, consistency is the key.  I don’t feel that the CPA exam is something that you can expect to do well on by cramming it all in during the last few days before you sit (this is probably pretty obvious, but some people do this).  Depending on how much time you have to study for each section, find out how long you need to study each day and stick to that plan.  I would definitely budget in your review time as well (which I will talk about in a moment).  I really feel that this will help you from feeling overwhelmed as you go through the material.  Especially in sections such as FAR, you need to keep your sanity and tackle the concepts a little at a time.  Doing this also gives you a sense of moving forward and productivity.

During your initial pass through the study material, you will invariably come across concepts and problems that will give you fits.  Most of us are perfectionists in this regard, but it may truly be more beneficial to give yourself a drop dead time and move on.  I found that once I saw the problems again on the review I knew it much better than the first time around.  When you are first studying, most review courses will give you many options on how to tackle the information, such as videos or reading lessons.  Whichever way you learn, be sure that you focus your energy on the past test questions!  These are accurate representations of what you will see when you sit, and a lot of the courses give you these in the identical format you will see on the exam.  Believe me, even a little bit of familiarity and muscle memory can go quite a ways on the exam.  Be sure to also do all the Task Based Simulation questions, these are a huge part of your score in some sections.

Once you have climbed the mountain the first time, you get to start all the way back at the beginning!  Not really, but you should give yourself enough time to at least review all of the material again in passing, while focusing on the areas that you expect to really be hit hard on.  My opinion is that a week is a good amount for most of the sections.  FAR is a little different, there is so much to cover, but your review course should give you some guidance on the areas that have historically been tested heavily.  The bottom line is this test is doable, but time consuming.  However, as long as you cover all of the material, stay consistent, and get a good final review in, you should be fine.  As far as the daily commitment, depending on how long you have before your test date, around four hours a day seems to be the consensus.  Good luck!

By Tripp Smitham

Regardless of whether or not you plan to be an auditor, you will have to take the audit portion of the CPA exam.  In studying for audit, you will become very familiar with the two concepts behind auditor independence; that is, independence in fact andindependence in appearance.

Obviously, it is important for an auditor to be independent in fact, but it is just as important that they appear to be independent to outside observers as well.  Even if you are, in fact, the most ethical, upstanding person in the world people will still pass judgment based on what your actions portray.  I’m not looking to start an argument on whether people judging you by what they see is right, but they will, so why give them a reason to think poorly of you?  The important point here is that people are judged on two separate criteria in almost all areas of life, and because appearance is much easier for others to evaluate, it can almost be more important than the actual facts.

This idea can easily be extrapolated into other areas of day-to-day life.  For students, you should be aware that professors and potential employers are going to make assumptions based on your appearance.  Again you may, in fact, be a great student, always getting all of your assignments done and studying for hours every day outside of the classroom.  The problem is, your professor doesn’t see what you do out of the classroom.  So when you do show up for class and don’t pay attention, sit there texting on your phone, talking to people, doodling, the professor will probably make the assumption you don’t really care about their class.

You may be thinking, “So what?  I still get the work done and make good grades.”  Yeah for now, but what happens when you mess up on something, or what if the professor is one of those crazy types who actually bases some of your grade on class participation?  Your professor might even be the one making recommendations to future employers. Wouldn’t you want him or her to know you as a punctual, outgoing student who takes their work seriously?

We all know what our actual intentions are, and I would imagine most of us believe we have pretty good intentions, but it’s hard to convince someone you had only the best intentions when what they observed says otherwise.  So, think about how others will perceive your actions in all of your daily activities.  You want people to automatically assume that you are a very professional, reliable person based on what they have seen.

Truthfully, I do mean to scare you to some degree.  We are all being judged by everyone we see every day.  However, that doesn’t need to be a negative thing, because knowing you are being judged will make you more concerned about making the right impression.  Being judged doesn’t have to be negative; you can also be judged positively.  So make sure your actions ensure you are judged favorably.

Blogger: Jasmine Hernandez

I am not planning to retire anytime soon, and I know this blog title seems really strange for someone just at the beginning of their career.  Truth is I am not really talking about retirement in the normal sense, but what you may like to do later in your career.  I was talking to one of the other TAs not long ago about how being a professor is an interesting possibility for our future careers.  Many of the accounting professors here at UTD are former public accountants and lots of them didn’t plan on being teachers when they first started their careers.

During our conversation he brought up how going into tax can also create other possible options later in your career.  Many former tax accountants from public accounting firms still do some tax work on the side (mostly for individuals) after they have “retired” from public accounting.  Seeing how I always have to defend my choice in picking tax instead of audit, it was really cool that he realized that was a potential benefit of being a tax accountant.

Regardless of if you are interested in tax or audit, many of us who get into public accounting have the kind of personality that enjoys solving new problems and facing new challenges.  Because of this, it isn’t surprising that many people don’t fully retire even when they leave public accounting.  I personally think this is a great benefit of accounting, knowing that just because you decide one day in the distant future you are ready to leave public accounting doesn’t mean you can’t still use all the knowledge and skills you’ve developed in some other way.  None of us really know where we’re going to end up, so it’s nice to know there are still plenty of possibilities.

Blogger: Eric Rivetna

A lot of people seem to be confused about how to prepare for the CPA exam. If you do a Google search on CPA exam preparation you will see a wide array of people struggling with how much time they should allot to study for each part. The AICPA suggests that for FAR you should study 132 hours, for REG 112 hours, for AUD 96 hours and for BEC 76 hours. These are merely suggestions designated by the AICPA, and you may find yourself needing more or less time depending on which part of the exam you are studying for.

It is my suggestion that you take these as a baseline and map out your study time well before you go through the process of scheduling an exam date. Be sure to think about the time you must allot for work, family obligations, rest, exercise, and meals. All these things are important when you are going through the process of becoming a CPA.

As for me, I need to get back to studying myself! So, good luck to everyone who has the intent of becoming a CPA. It’s a tough road, but definitely worth it.

Blogger:  Tripp Smitham

Every student out there at some point or another has questioned why they have to take certain classes.  I have heard many accounting students complain about Production Management in particular but you can replace that with any number of classes, Strategic Management, Economics, Management Information Systems, and the list goes on.  We have already addressed in previous posts what classes outside of business and accounting we found the most useful or interesting, now I want to take a minute to talk about why all of the other “business” classes are important for accounting students.

You have probably heard that “accounting is the language of business,” and I would argue that is a very true statement.  What that catchy saying is trying to impart is that accounting is the means by which people communicate ideas and results within the business world.  So then if accountants are supposed to be experts on how to communicate business wouldn’t it be reasonable for accountants to understand the “big picture” ideas they are relaying from one user to another?  This is where all those general business classes come into play.

A good accountant obviously knows how to record transactions and prepare financial statements.  They also have to know the story behind those transactions and whether or not the amounts being recorded and presented are consistent with the overall objective of the business.  The truth of the matter is, accounting might be the language of business but it’s not how most businesses make money.  Expecting to only understand debits and credits and not understand any of the reasoning and objective behind those debits and credits would not prepare a student to enter the business world.

I would imagine that most accounting students are hoping to do more than data entry the rest of their lives.  Because of this, students should enjoy studying various business concepts and strategies.  Knowing and understanding more about how businesses operate can only help you be a more successful and valuable accountant.

Blogger:  Tim Ellis

In my college career, I feel that I have taken many useful classes that are paying off for me as I finish up my degree and sit for the CPA exam.  Some of these courses are the required core classes, such as finance and operations management, while others are completely off the business map.

Any college class is going to give you some takeaways, such as time-management skills and the pride of finishing a class.  I have really enjoyed taking classes outside of the business/accounting world, as they give you a chance to take a breather from equations and word problems.  Also, I had a very good experience at the community college where I took all of my core classes.  Subjects such as biology and humanities give you a better worldview, which I feel gives you a better mindset as you move forward in your college studies.

As for the core business classes, I feel that every single one has been very important to my accounting aspirations.  For one, just about all of the business classes you must take may show up in some way or form on the CPA exam.  For another, these subjects teach you concepts that you are expected to know as a business professional.  I cannot honestly say that I have a favorite, but I did enjoy marketing and strategic management.  From a practical standpoint, I think that economics and finance are very important, as a lot of these concepts relate back to capital markets and how to make accounting valuations.  I have to say though that the math classes I took probably went over my head, and I’m not too terribly concerned about having to do any calculus problems by hand during my career.

I suppose that the long and the short of this blog is that non-business classes can be fun and a distraction from your major, while business courses can be difficult but are needed for your career and to obtain your needed degree of certification.  I have been happy taking both kinds during college.

Blogger: Tripp Smitham

Despite the doom and gloom sound, having the outlook that things can always get worse is actually meant to offer encouragement.  I know it sounds about as sensible as one of Troy McClure’s self-help videos like “Smoke Yourself Thin” and “Get Some Confidence, Stupid” (Sorry for using a Simpsons reference).  However, if you will stick with me for a minute I will explain why this fatalistic sounding approach is actually a very positive one.

I personally adopted this philosophy (I use the term philosophy lightly) when I was a sophomore in college.  It was during spring semester with finals fast approaching.  As most students are around that point in the semester I was almost completely convinced no one in history had ever had a more difficult schedule than me.  Having two papers due and four exams all within one week seemed like an almost insurmountable obstacle. No one in history had ever been faced with such a challenge. Not The Constitutional Congress, Edison inventing the light bulb, or Great Brittan in the Battle of Brittan. None of this could have compared to multiple choice exams in business law and biology.

After the end of yet another week comparing my suffering to Gandhi, I sat down to watch a movie one Friday night (hopefully you can see by this point that I wasn’t really as busy as I thought). The movie I picked was Braveheart, so clearly I had four hours to kill in my incredibly busy schedule.  Little did I know watching that movie would be the most important moment in the whole semester.  Sitting there watching the same movie for the third or fourth time I started to really think about what the Scottish were facing.  If anyone had the right to sit around and sulk about how unfair their life was it was them.  It wasn’t long before I started to feel rather foolish for thinking my situation was so dire.

Seeing real tribulation was only part of the revelation however.  If the Scotts had given up and just sat there wallowing in their misery about how unfair life was, they would have still been a million times more justified than I was.  The fact is they didn’t just sit there; they got up and did something about it, just like all people history remembers fondly.  I felt rather stupid to have wasted so much time and energy in self pity.  The stupidity was only compounded by the fact that I live in Texas. I mean come on, we love a story about people brushing off challenges like it’s just another day at the office.  We don’t like the guy who turns and runs when things get tough. We’re the home of the “one ranger, one riot” frame of mind.

The next day I decided I was going to start looking at things in a new way.  I still had two papers and four exams, but that’s all I had.  I could have had 10 papers and 10 exams, no car to get to school, working two jobs to afford food, and endless other trials.  So that’s what I focused on, that it could have been worse. The irony of the whole situation is, when you start thinking about how your situation could always get worse things actually get better.  You stop wasting energy and creating stress which makes you much more efficient.  Now maybe you don’t have to be as dark and gloomy as myself to be positive, but if more people started seeing the glass as half full we would all have a better time.

Blogger:  Jasmine Hernandez

When I started the recruiting process I really didn’t know if I wanted to be in tax or audit.  To me tax sounded interesting so that’s what I put as my preference.  Once recruiting got started it seemed like most people thought audit was the obvious choice, and even some of the professors acted like tax was just way too boring.  I got the feeling everyone else was picking audit, and I really didn’t know why they all thought it was so much better than tax.  Before I really had a chance to meet people who worked in tax at the firms, I couldn’t stop wondering if I had made the wrong choice. That changed once I started to meet more tax people.

During recruiting I met so many awesome people in tax and found it really easy to talk to them about why they picked tax over audit.  Most of them mentioned several of the same reasons that I had picked tax for, like the fact they like having a set office to go to every day, how the work requires you to be really self-motivated and solve a lot of problems on your own, and how you are really working for your client and not there to judge them.  Both tax and audit have their own pros and cons, but to me the pros for tax seemed better.

Some of the things I enjoyed most about my internship matched the reasons I chose tax.  It was so nice to be able to come in and know exactly what work I had to do that day.  There were times when it was difficult to balance the work for all the clients I had, but knowing what I had to get done each day made it easy for me to allocate my time.  Working at my own pace was also nice if I wanted to change things up a little from day to day.  I know a lot of my friends who picked audit talked about how they would have to basically follow the schedule of their senior every day, like going to lunch as a group and not necessarily when they wanted.  It sounds silly but being able to decide for myself when to take lunch was a nice way to balance out my workdays.

For me picking tax was definitely the right choice.  I still get teased by some of my friends (and especially the other TA’s who all picked audit), but I enjoy tax.  For some people the pros for audit might be better, and both tax and audit can be really rewarding.  Tax and audit can also both be difficult at times so it is important that you really enjoy the work.  You can’t let other people make you change your mind when you know you are making the right choice for you.

Blogger: Eric Rivetna

When you’re studying for the CPA exam a lot of students begin to ask questions about what CPA review course they should take. The answer to that question is that it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re taking a CPA review course that is structured and covers the material that will be on each part of the exam, then you should be able to perform well on the actual test. The review materials all contain the same information; it is up to the student to study those materials and to learn the material for their upcoming section.

The really important part of studying for the exam is time management. You need to let your family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers know how busy you will be for the next few months. Though, as Tripp mentioned before, you also have to pace yourself. Studying for 15 hours a day will give you diminishing returns and you’ll decrease your chances of understanding the material and increase your chances of frustration (which will happen regardless, but it passes).

It is quite the journey to get to the point where you’re eligible to sit for the CPA exam. Think of it as fighting many battles to finally win the war. You will win, as long as you put forth the effort. Remember, your chances for success all depend on you.

Blogger: Tim Ellis

I’m not sure off the top of my head the statistics concerning how many college students change majors throughout their undergraduate careers.  I would bet it’s a pretty high number.  Whatever the stats say I definitely fall into the numbers of those who have, for whatever reason, changed majors.

My path through UT Dallas did not start as a freshman.  I started my college days at North Lake Community College in Irving, TX (a great institution by the way).  As a CC student I did not feel the pressure that a student at a four-year university may have felt to pick a major.  For a student such as me, who was planning to go on and get a bachelor’s degree, the name of the game is to just finish your core classes and move on to a university.  I did however know that I wanted to get a degree in business management.  The thought of specializing did not really occur to me at that point.  So in the fall of 2004 I began at North Lake looking to get a field of study degree in general business to transfer to a four-year school.

My first “change of major” was not a true one.  At the time I was working as a personal trainer at a fitness club in Bedford, TX.  As you may be able to understand I got this crazy idea to start taking classes that I would need for a kinesiology.  The long and the short of this great decision is that I got sidetracked and I started to take classes off of my plan, which set me back quite a bit.  Once I got my head cleared and the path righted I took my first intro to accounting class in fall 2006.  This was sort of a book mark moment for me, I knew that I could viably choose this path as a major, but life events would change this.

After taking my first two accounting courses at community college, I had to take a year off from my studies (Semper Fidelis).  This all ended up with me finally transferring to UT Dallas in the fall of 2009.  When I first got accepted to UTD I picked an operations management major.  However, within a few months of this (in the interim period before the semester started) I realized that accounting would be a better fit for me.  My uncle, an accounting graduate, had told me way back when I was learning that A = L + OE that if I understand debits and credits I may want to major in the subject.  Well, that is kind of precisely what happened (my wife takes credit for my change of major, and she did help push me in that direction).

I suppose that all of the above paragraphs are my long-winded way of saying that life events and various factors all contribute to why students change their minds about what to study.  I think that this is an issue that ultimately will take care of itself for most people.  I’m glad I stuck with business, and even as my life is on pause for CPA studying ( I’m not asking for sympathy), I am pretty satisfied that the last seven years and flavor of the week classes have led me to this point.  If you happen to be a student reading this post, it’s probably because events have rightly led you to this point, too.

Blogger: Tripp Smitham

Life and sports are full of sayings supposedly full of good advice that must sound much better in a person’s head than when you actually hear them.  Baseball seems to be a perfect environment for such thoughtless pearls of wisdom to flourish.  I remember plenty of gems overzealous coaches and dads would shout during my at bats in high school.  Some almost seemed to have some trail of logic behind them like “set the table!”… I remember thinking “all right well I’m batting so I’m at home plate so maybe they’re associating plate with place settings and setting with getting ready for dinner like maybe the pitch is dinner coming to the table…” yeah not sure what they’re getting at.  Then there were the ones that only seemed to display a complete lack of understanding for the fundamental rules of baseball such as “make him pitch to you!”… Ok well I’m the batter and it’s really the most basic principle of the game that the pitcher pitches the ball to the batter hence the name “pitcher.”  There were plenty of other ones out there that offered a similar amount of good advice.

Now as bad as most of these catchy sayings are some really do offer sound advice though you might not understand them the first time.  When I played catcher one of the things my coach used to tell me was “give the pitcher a target.”  What he meant was put your glove right where the pitcher needs to place the ball in the strike zone.  Now that may seem worthless enough but try throwing a ball at a certain spot in midair and you probably won’t be able to hit it.  However, if you try hitting a solid target in the same spot the brain can focus in and the target and coordinate the muscles resulting in a more accurate throw.  So giving the pitcher a target actually has a measurable benefit.

The same is true when you hear a professor tell you “studying for the CPA is a marathon not a sprint.”  Now what exactly are they telling you?  Well ok a marathon is long… it’s going to take a long time to study for the exam.  That seems pretty obvious and not very helpful.  What are some other differences between a marathon and a sprint though?  When a runner starts a marathon they don’t take off full speed from the starting line. They have to pace themselves.  In a sprint, there’s no time to pace yourself, you just have to get to the finish as fast as possible.  That strategy will win a sprint but if you try that strategy in a marathon you’ll find yourself exhausted with miles left to the finish line.  The person who wins the marathon is the one who can distribute their effort most effectively over the entire course of the race.

The same strategy that wins a marathon is what it takes to study for the CPA.  You can’t just blast through it; you have to distribute your effort over the whole course.  This means breaking up your studying into manageable portions.  When you try and power through too much at a time you get tired, and when you get tired you start making silly mistakes.  Once you start making silly mistakes you start getting frustrated and if you’re frustrated you can’t be effective while studying.  You have to take breaks between study sessions and give your mind a rest.  Get up and move around.  Go get a coffee or lunch and don’t think about studying for an hour.  This lets your brain rest so it can be at full strength for your next session.

If you try and go straight through all your studying and never take any breaks you’re going to reach the end exhausted and well behind where you hoped.  Don’t be afraid to take some breaks because you need to study as effectively as possible not as much as possible.  Remember, the marathoner doesn’t think of himself as slower than the sprinter… he just knows he has farther to go.

Blogger:  Jasmine Hernandez

Throughout my undergraduate I always studied the same way, finding a quiet secluded place where I could focus on the material without any distractions.  I spent many long nights nestled away in the back corner of the library or locked away in my room.  This method worked very well for me, but sometimes I found the complete isolation to be tedious and just the thought of studying would make me feel worn out.  While I performed well utilizing this method there were downsides that needed to be addressed.

It was not until grad school that I started to experiment with my study habits to try and find ways that would not leave me feeling so drained.  Several of my friends spent most of their time studying in more crowded places like coffee shops or the student union.  At first I assumed all the background noise would be really distracting but it was worth a try.  Surprisingly having all the activity going on in the background was not a disruption and it actually canceled itself out.  When listening to music or having the TV on I would always pay attention to the song or what was going on in the show.  Whereas, having a number of conversations and music in the background all blending together made it easy to stay focused on my work.  Being in more active surroundings also helped me avoid feeling tired so easily because we all know textbooks are great substitutes for sleeping pills.  Changing up my routine also made staying motivated for studying easier.  Let’s face it no matter how motivated you are, or how much you enjoy something, doing the same thing over and over gets old.

Now I’m not saying that you need to completely change how you study tomorrow, but don’t be afraid of mixing it up a little.  Try studying at a different time of day, a different location, or with different people.  You have to try different ways to find the one that works best for you.

Lots of students have questions about what extracurricular activities they should pursue.  More often than not they are concerned with which activities will benefit them the most when it comes to their education and future career.  This is why many students assume the only productive organizations for business majors to join are things like professional fraternities or finance/accounting clubs.  These can be great organizations and many students do enjoy being a part of them, but that doesn’t mean they are right for every student.

So how should a student pick which extracurricular activities are best for them?  Simple, they should pick the activities they enjoy most and the ones they find most interesting.  If you make your decision based on what organization will look the best on a resume and not what you personally want to be a part of it will be much harder to be fully engaged in the organization.  The biggest benefit of extracurricular activities is they give you a chance to be self-motivated because you are the one who decided to participate. 

The other major benefit of extracurricular activities is they give an opportunity to break up the monotony of studying the same subjects all day every day.  This is another reason why you should pick an extracurricular you find interesting, it should be something you look forward to and something that helps you feel renewed and motivated afterward.  Students should not feel limited in what extracurricular activities they can engage.  Pick something just because you enjoy it and you won’t have to worry about it becoming just another chore.  Furthermore if you find something you are really passionate about do not feel like you have to give it up as soon as you graduate. Extracurricular activities can last a lifetime; they just call them hobbies after school.  If you think about the activity as something you would like to do the rest of your life you will be much more likely to pick the best one for you personally.  Life cannot be all work and no play, so make sure you enjoy the play also.

Blogger: Tripp Smitham

It’s January and that means many students have already started winter internships in public accounting or are going to start within the next couple of weeks.  Internships are a very exciting and rewarding experience, but they can also be quite intimidating.  Every student has some amount of anxiety going into their internship, but lots of them are wasting valuable time and energy worrying about items they can’t change.  I have heard many students worrying about what kind of client they will get, what their senior will be like, or even simple things like is it going to be raining on my first day?  Yes, we all want certain clients and we all hope our seniors are easy to work with, and yes rain can make a mess of things but it affects everyone.  The point is that worrying about things you can’t change is only going to cause anxiety.  Instead you should devote that time and energy to the things you can control.           

What are the things you can control?  Attitude should be top of that list.  No matter how many hours you’ve been working or how lousy the weather is outside you can always control your attitude.  A positive attitude will not only make your day go better but it will also make you a much better worker, and that’s important since the firm is trying to decide which workers they want to hire. 

Attitude also has a lot to do with professionalism, and I don’t just mean walking the walk and acting like a big shot.  The kind of professionalism that will make you stand out is punctuality, being willing to help with any task that needs to be done, and staying off of Facebook when there’s work to be done (yes that does happen).  You probably won’t have much control over what time you leave at night but you certainly can control whether or not you get to work on time.  I say that and I know many of you are instantly going to think “what about traffic” or “what if I get a flat tire.” That’s going back to worrying about things you can’t control.  Instead focus on “am I giving myself enough time to get ready in the morning” or “do I have everything ready to take to the office tomorrow?”

I know a lot of this sounds like a no brainer and it is, but it’s still easy to forget that when you find yourself under a lot of stress.  Just enjoy your internship and focus on being the best employee you can be, not on all the possible things that could go wrong.  Not only will you come off better to your employer but you will enjoy your work much more.

Oh, and one last bit of advice… just because there’s free food doesn’t mean you have to eat it.

In high school, I played around with the idea of working in the medical field. It just seemed practical. As a junior in high school, I took a course in which I got the chance to shadow a variety of nurses and see what it was like to work in a hospital. I quickly realized that it was not the type of work environment I was looking for (I don’t look good in scrubs). Upon graduating, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do and the thought of making that decision at 18 was overwhelming.

My mom was always convinced I would work in business…and she was very persistent about it. To make her happy (and keep her from pestering me), I declared Business Administration as a major, but decided to keep my options open. My first semester of college, I took some mandatory core classes, along with Psychology and Business and Public Law. Psychology seemed fascinating to me and I figured why not? Business Law sounded like a drag, but it was required of my major.

I LOVED my Business Law class and greatly disliked my Psychology class. From then on, I decided to focus on business. It was very broad, which I didn’t like, but I wasn’t sure what area of business would spark my fancy. My best friend was majoring in accounting and tried convincing me to switch majors. The thought just sounded lame to be honest. Accountants are introverted, numbers-crunching, glasses-wearing nerds right?

It wasn’t until I took my first accounting course that I considered it as a major. First, while everyone in class hated life at the time, I seemed to be one of the few students that both understood the subject and found it interesting. Also, I started learning more about the accounting profession. It’s practical, people-oriented, challenging, fast-paced, competitive, I don’t have to wear scrubs—the advantages are endless.

And so, here I am: BS in Accounting, working on my MS in Accounting. I completed a tax internship and loved it. I will sit for the CPA exam next Spring and I have a full-time position waiting for me when I graduate!

Blogger: Tim Ellis

The decision to put your eggs in the Big 4 or midmarket firm basket is one we must make as aspiring public accountants.  Each has advantages and disadvantages, and you must weigh these along with your personality traits and preferences in order to make the decision that is the best for you.

Not to state the obvious, but the Big 4 could give you great opportunities down the road, especially if you are looking for experience and plan on making a career change in the future.  Big 4 may give you the most access to Fortune 500 firms, which may allow you to join a firm that you have been auditing at some point.  Further, the Big 4 probably is the best place to try to go if you have aspirations of working overseas.  The prestige and name recognition of the Big 4 firms is something that you cannot underestimate either.  All of these factors make this path a very viable and desirable choice.  The downside would for the most part be the very intense hours that are required of auditors working for these firms.  I also believe that your age when you start is a big factor in which type of firm to pursue.  I think that to a lot of people, the Big 4 is a young-person’s game (speaking from an entry level position).  If you are a bit older and have family commitments, a smaller firm with more flexible “work-life balance” may be a better fit.

This leads me on to the midmarket firms.  While you may not have the same opportunities as far as international travel and large public company exposure, you will still have advantages that are worth considering.  For one, the hours may not be quite as bad as Big 4 (this could be a negligible consideration; the reality is that the hours will be bad regardless).  The other big factor for my money is that a smaller firm may give you a chance to be promoted faster and take on more responsibility earlier in your career.  The smaller offices and less hectic cultures of midmarket may also appeal to some individuals. 

Getting a job in public accounting is not quite as easy as just deciding which type of firm you would like to work for.  The good news is that the accounting pie is big enough for different kinds of firms to have their share and be successful.  Knowing where you stand and what may make you happiest is something to think about as you ponder your job opportunities down the road.

Blogger: Tripp Smitham

Accounting is a very challenging and rewarding profession but to really be the best accountant you have to be more than an accountant.  I know that sounds strange and I know I used accountant a lot in that sentence, but I really am trying to make a point.  Many accounting students only want to study accounting and anything that does not relate to accounting they consider a waste of time.  We all have met people who never seem to turn off the accounting talk. Yes, it’s great they are dedicated to their studies, but to be a professional a person needs to be more than just a one-trick pony.

Now I am not recommending that accounting students need to take more courses in social sciences and arts, but they should definitely pay attention in the ones they do take.  Too many students act like they don’t care about courses that are not in their major beyond getting the grade.  Honestly there were several non-accounting classes that I would rank among the most interesting classes I have taken.  Not to sound like I am just taking the side of school administration, but these core classes that every student has to take really are there to make you a better-rounded individual. 

No matter what you think, there will be a point in your life where you have to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about something other than accounting.  Yes, it’s impressive that you know all the proper jargon and can keep up with anyone on business-related conversations.  Though what happens one day when your coworker or perhaps a client wants to talk about something other than accounting?   Maybe you will find yourself working on a not-for-profit client like an art museum.  Wouldn’t it be nice to at least of heard the names Rembrandt and Monet?  Will knowing about them make you a better accountant?  No.  Will knowing about them make you look better to your client?  Yes.  Let’s not forget after all that accountants are business people and people like doing business with people who share their interests.

My advice would be to spend at least a little time each week learning about something other than accounting.  Maybe this will be the time you spend finishing up that last history credit you have to have for graduation.  I would even recommend using at least one of your free electives to take a class that has nothing to do with accounting just because it sounds interesting to you.  For instance, I took criminology one semester to have enough hours to qualify for my scholarship.  Sure I could have taken another accounting course but I was already taking four of those and it was nice to learn about something new.  Even if you are not taking a class, spend a little time reading about something new and different.  At the very least don’t feel bad about taking a break from studying to watch that history channel special.  All of these things can teach you useful information and provide a much needed change of pace from your normal studies.  Give it a try.  It sure isn’t going to hurt you.

Blogger: Eric Rivetna

Hey guys, this has been a busy week for me. So I am going to keep this blog short and sweet. These past few weeks I’ve been preparing to sit for the CPA exam here in Texas. It has been quite the lengthy process. My advice in this week’s blog is to get all your ducks in a row as soon as possible. To get started one must start here at the TSBPA website: http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/. There you can find a tab called “Exam/Qualifications” run down the list to “Applications” then to “Application of intent.” This is where the fun begins. There are a whole slew of items you must check off before you send this packet out to Austin, TX.

Here are some things you will need before you even start filling out the actual application. Start getting these things together as soon as possible:

• Copies of official transcripts from every college you attended.
• Scanned and notarized copies of your Social Security card and your photo ID
• Release form notarized
• A check for $50

All these things can be found here: http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/forms/individuals-wo-uniform.html

After these things are completed, I then suggest filling out the actual application. This way there is nothing stopping you from throwing it all in an envelope and sending it on its merry way. You want to send it out as soon as possible so you can get your letter of deficiency back and review it for accuracy on both your side and their side. This particular week I had an experience myself where the board had looked over a class I had taken, which was actually my fault because I listed the wrong school where I took it. Human errors happen, and you want enough time to rectify them when they occur. Hope this helps you guys, and good luck!

Blogger: Jasmine Hernandez

I’m sure by now it’s no big shocker that networking is an imperative skill to master. But do you really understand what that means? It’s so important to understand that it’s not about sucking up to partners at recruiting events. It’s about how you interact with people on a day-to-day basis.

It sounds cheesy, but being nice to people around you goes a long way. Always be respectful and be aware of the type of impression you’re making. Get to know different people in your classes. You never know where you may see those people again. That one guy in all your classes may one day be your co-worker…or maybe even your interviewer! Take advantage of the different opportunities to meet new people. For example, while working on group projects is always a major pain, working that closely with other people makes it easy to get to know them. I’ve had some not-so-great experiences working in groups, but I’ve also met some pretty cool people while doing so. The same thing goes for professors. They are a great resource, whether for a letter of recommendation or even a job recommendation. My favorite thing about being a teaching assistant is forming great relationships with professors. I love interacting with professors on a daily basis and getting to know them in a different setting. Most of my professors have experience in the corporate world and can provide great advice and guidance. That’s the best part of networking, getting to know new people whop are different from you and learning about their experiences.

Which brings me to my next point, it’s not just about how many people you know but the type of relationships you make. There’s no benefit in knowing a ton of people if those people don’t necessarily know you. Take the time to genuinely get to know someone. Say hi to people in the hallway. Stop and have a conversation. You may actually form great friendships that could prove beneficial in the future.

Blogger: Tim Ellis

For this post, I just want to quickly touch on something that is relevant to every accounting student:  Intermediate Accounting.  There is no getting around the fact that to receive your undergraduate degree, you must complete two semesters of the subject.  The course is considered the “capstone” of an accounting bachelor’s degree.  In addition, there are unfortunately very few public accounting firms that will hire you if you do not have a good grade in your intermediate courses.  As a teaching assistant for an intermediate accounting professor, I just want to give a few tips that may help you out when you are taking this difficult subject.

The best way to set yourself up for success in intermediate is to keep a positive attitude and realize that the course is difficult and very time-consuming.  You should take this as a challenge. If accounting classes were easy, more people would be getting a degree in the discipline.  As basic as it sounds, just going to class is obviously very important.  This is not the class to blow off and then only show up on test day.  Try your best to keep up with the material, falling behind can be very stressful and will make it more difficult for you to succeed.  Doing all the required homework is a must, this class can lull you into a false sense of security, but you have to get the mechanical repetition of the problems down.  I know from experience that many students underestimate how difficult this class really can be.  By doing all the homework, you will increase your confidence by a good amount when it’s test time.

Intermediate accounting also introduces quite a few conceptual ideas that can be quite confusing.  One way to overcome this is to try to look at the big picture and to come up with some of your own real-world scenarios that apply these concepts.  Also, don’t worry if there are rules that don’t make any sense to you. Those could just be the result of special interest legislation, but don’t read too much into them.  Finally, if you are having trouble, use the resources that you have, such as your teacher and tutoring center.  If you are committed to excelling in the course, there is nothing to stop you from achieving your goals.

Blogger: Tripp Smitham

Many college students work part-time jobs that are far less glamorous than the careers they plan on having after graduation. Most students view these jobs as nothing more than a source of income to help pay for school.  Yes, it would be nice to have a job working in the same field as your major, but that does not mean your part-time job can only provide pocket change.  The trick is to make sure you take advantage of all the opportunities for self-improvement the job offers.

During college I worked part time in retail for a little over three years and yes the primary motivation was the paycheck (modest as it was), but it also helped develop many important skills that were not learned in the classroom. Most obvious is that having a part-time job helps students develop time management skills and more importantly learn how to create their own work/life balance. Having an employer who is not concerned with your education can be difficult, but it does force a student to learn how to be efficient with their time. There are more direct lessons that can be learned from part-time jobs as well.

Retail and service related jobs are especially beneficial when it comes to perfecting soft skills.  As we have mentioned in previous posts, soft skills are vital when it comes getting an internship and ultimately a job offer. Part time jobs are great opportunities to fine tune your soft skills both in dealing with customers and coworkers. The large variety of customers you get to interact with are especially useful for practicing the communication styles that help people succeed in the business world. This is especially true when it comes to public accounting because of the diversity between clients. Knowing how to communicate professionally and effectively with various personalities is a skill that can only be developed through real world practice.

The important thing to remember is that no matter where you find yourself during college you need to focus on how to get the most out of the situation. Every job can teach you something, you just have to be willing to look for the lessons.