Live and Learn

El Cerro de la Silla!

I feel like I haven’t written in a long time, and I am truly sorry for that, but these past few weeks have been pretty intense. I went to an office visit with a company I loved, had a second round of midterms, and even got to go back to Monterrey for a weekend.

Anyway, today I am really excited because I can finally say that my recruiting process is over. I accepted an offer to work for an accounting firm in Houston, starting in January 2011 (right after my graduation in Mexico).

It is not that I didn’t like the recruiting process; I liked being able to network with a lot people and I think a learned A LOT. Pretty much everything was new for me, but I am sincerely grateful for all the support I received from the people in Career Services. They all helped me review my resume a thousand times, answered all my doubts, and even helped me improve my interviewing skills with a mock interview.

What I am really excited about is the opportunity to work at a great company with great people. Throughout the recruiting process everybody says that finding a job is all about finding “the perfect fit,” but to be truly honest, I don’t think I really believed that. Right now, I can only say that they really mean it and now I understand why that is true. During one interview with one manager, she suggested that I look at the people in the company and the other interviewees and imagine if I saw myself working with them. Well, now I feel I found the place I fit in and the people I want to work with.

It all started with the pre-interview dinner, when one partner approached me by name. I know that I had my name tag, but I really appreciated that he had already seen my resume, he remembered me, and he was interested enough to remember my name and ask about my background. Besides, during the dinner I met a lot of people from the staff and I enjoyed talking to each of them. The next day I talked with two partners during the interviews and I ended up even more interested in the firm. After that, going to the office visit just made me want to work there even more.

Now you can imagine how excited I was when I received the offer, and even now, when I officially accepted it. I just can’t wait to be there.

It is hard to imagine that the second run of fall exams have already come to a close. After spending many days hiding from my furry roommate during the last two exam seasons, I have visited quite a few libraries on campus (and there ARE quite a few on campus!). I know that some people prefer to study at coffee shops or in their rooms. I prefer libraries mostly because I have problems concentrating for a long period of time (yes, the secret is out), and I need to be around people who are hard at work to force myself to stay on task. Plus, I can do without another excuse to drink more caffeine. Anyway, for the people who might have the same preference as I for the same or different reasons, allow me to share my thoughts on each library that I have visited below.

1. Perry Castaneda Library (PCL)

I like the PCL mainly for its convenience, because the West Campus shuttle picks up right in front of the PCL until as late as 10:23 p.m. on weekdays, which saves some walking for me when I am already tired from studying. Also, I have checked out a locker in the library that allows me to leave my textbooks and binders there. The PCL also has very long hours that could accommodate anyone’s schedule, though I have not stayed past midnight at the PCL. Finally, PCL’s policies on food and drink in the library are lax, so it is a good place for continuous studying. However, the PCL is sometimes too cold, especially on the higher floors. It is also in serious shortage of electrical outlets during exam seasons when everyone is vying for a table close to an outlet, which is not the most helpful when I need to be on my laptop. Furthermore, some of my friends have complained that they cannot stop sneezing when they are in the PCL if they are studying among the stacks. I guess being allergic to books definitely makes studying in a library like PCL somewhat more painful.

2. Architecture Library Reading Room

The architecture building is right across from the Texas Union, and the library has a side facing the lawn in front of the Main Building. The library itself is very beautiful with dark furnishing and plenty of natural lighting. Windows are important to me because I just need to have a piece of the gorgeous late autumn weather while I am studying. It also provides large desk spaces for people who like to spread their things out like me. However, one downside to this library is similar to that of the PCL, which is an outlet shortage. Another is that its hours are more limited, especially in the evenings and on the weekends. But, overall, the architecture library reading room is one of my favorite spots on campus.

3. Law Library

To be honest, I was only in the law library once to study, though it was a ten-hour stay. The law library opens earlier than most other libraries on campus on Sundays, so I trekked over there one Sunday before the first exam season. When I said I “trekked,” I really did. The law library is located past San Jacinto Blvd. on Dean Keeton St., which is unfortunately a good twenty-plus-minute walk from my apartment. It is also far from any food places that I am familiar with. The library itself has many tables and natural lighting. It was also a treasure trove of legal documents and periodicals, which are interesting to look at during study breaks. The thing I enjoyed the most about the law library is that it is definitely in no shortage of hardworking students. Once I saw the law students with the stacks of books by their laptops, I felt comforted by the amount of studying that still awaited me. However, evidently, the inconvenience of the library’s location from my usual whereabouts has kept me from visiting it again.

4. Engineering Buildings

The engineering library is also another option that is easily accessible to me, since it is on the West Campus shuttle route and not too far from McCombs. The library itself is smaller than some of the other libraries on campus, but it has plenty of large tables for students to work on. However, I spent my first finals reading period in Engineering Teaching Center II (ETC) on San Jacinto Blvd. and Dean Keeton St. There is a long row of cubicles along the eastern side of the building with windows that is an ideal studying location for me. Each cubicle has more than one electrical outlet and plenty of workspace. The temperature is comfortable in the building, and it has just the right amount of white noise and diligent students to keep me on track. I think I will reconsider this location for the upcoming finals this semester.

I hope the list gives some new options to other diligent MPA students who are getting ready for finals!

Note: All the pictures of buildings in this post are taken from utexas.edu.

The Oasis

The majority of my blogs have been focused on either academic or career issues that I have encountered here at UT and have provided very little insight into the life I am able to live outside of the classroom. There is a rising joke among college students that college life is very simple and all decisions fall into one of three categories: Sleep, Studying, Social Life. The 3 S’s! But after reading into the “fine print” of the system, you discover the punch line…you can only pick two of the categories. I chose to sacrifice sleep knowing full well there is nothing a Monster Energy drink can’t fix.

 As such, when I finally get a break from school, I am able to enjoy the following ten things while I spend my time in here in A-TX!

10. Favorite Place to Run: Town Lake (now known as Ladybird Lake). It can be crowded on the weekends, but the terrain is way better than weaving through traffic in the city. Read More…

One of the great benefits to attending the University of Texas–whether for undergrad or grad school–is the sports program. At 18 years old, I placed equal importance on academics and athletics. This might be why my list of college applications looked an awful lot like the 2005 BCS standings. But only Texas had the great school-to-great sports ratio for which I was looking.

This past weekend, I attended my fourth Texas-OU game as a UT student. Being a fourth year student certainly has its perks–for one, a fantastic 25-yard line seat on the 10th row of the upper deck. (FYI- graduate students receive second priority for season tickets to football games.) Texas home games are tons of fun, but there is nothing like the annual Red River Shootout. Take the fun of a regular game and multiply it by five. Everything that happens in the game elicits an emotion. You’re either jumping up and down hugging strangers or you’re disgusted by 50,000 cheering Sooners as if they offended you, personally.

Sitting with my boyfriend and friends, waiting for the game to start.

Then there is the whole State Fair aspect to this game. Think of it as a giant tailgate with all the delicious fried food you could ever dream of (and a lot you probably couldn’t dream of–think fried butter, fried snickers, and chicken fried bacon). My state fair menu consisted of: a corn dog for breakfast, funnel cake for mid-morning snack, chicken strips for halftime snack, shredded chicken stuffed jalapenos after the game. Yummy.

Deep-fried butter. A heart attack waiting to happen, huh?

Read More…

One of the most valuable things the MPA Program has to offer is its great faculty. In every class you have an outstanding professor with great experience in the subject and a true commitment to share that experience with the students. Besides, all the professors have an open door to students (whether it is during office hours, after class, or even via e-mail), so they really give you a chance to approach them with any doubts you have. I am really grateful that I have never been neglected an opportunity to talk to one professor and clarify my doubts.

However, seeing the professor in class or during office hours might not be enough to develop a positive, constructive relationship between students and professors. As part of the MPA Faculty Lunch Series, students are invited to have lunch with their professors so that they can meet in a more relaxed atmosphere. Last Tuesday I was able to attend a lunch with Professor Mark Bradshaw, from my Introduction to Assurance class.

I think it was a very valuable experience, since it gave me the opportunity to meet my professor outside the typical class environment and with only 10 more people in the room. This allowed for a more personal conversation, where we could talk about almost everything we wanted (from the professor’s professional experience to his life outside the university to the things we like/dislike about his class).
 
Sometimes it is easy to see professors just as proficient professionals highly commited to teaching you about a certain subject. However, I think my experience in the MPA has been far more valuable after learning to see beyond the professionals standing in front of the classroom, to see them as the persons they are, with many experiences that had lead them down this road. It is even inspirational to see how someone who started probably just as you are right now, has succeeded and accomplished many things.

I would highly recommend attending one of these lunches if you are presented with the opportunity of doing so. I will certainly do it again if I can.

Above: Fufu, as he tried to yank my camera’s wrist strap - you can see the sparkle in his eyes.

My life has been in topsy-turvy for the past few months. The main reason is that I now have a furry and unruly roommate in the little studio apartment where I live. I adopted a kitten from the Austin Humane Society in July, and he has been with me for almost three months now. His name is Fufu, taken from the Chinese word fu, which means “good fortune.” As an American shorthair, Fufu is basically the run-of-the-mill stray cat that you would see digging through the neighborhood dumpster. But, to me, he is uniquely mine, and, aside from his occasionally disruptive ways, he is the best roommate I can ask for.

My family has had quite a few pets as I was growing up. My older sister, who lives in Houston, has two dogs and a cat. Although I am very used to the idea of living with animals, I have never had a pet of my own that I needed to take care of one hundred percent. Fufu is the first one, and he definitely proves me wrong when I thought that cats were easier to rear. Read More…

Hi, I’m Jaanki Jeevan, a traditional MPA student in the Financial Reporting and Assurance track. I will be graduating this December (yes..almost done). I’m an international student from Mumbai, India (the other side of the world). I’m here as a guest blogger to share my recent experiences at a summit in Orlando, FL which focused on lean accounting. The ideas presented were very interesting and thought provoking and I’m eager to share them with you! So stay tuned for more…

Professor Jim Deitrick

I still contend that Intermediate Accounting for MPAs (Not ACC 329) is the hardest class in the business school, but Advanced Accounting is no “walk in the park.”  This past week was the first exam, or as Professor Deitrick likes to call it, “the first scrimmage.”  Professor Deitrick is a phenomenal accounting teacher considering he was a math major and he uses a repetition based technique that drives his core points into memory rather effectively. He did a great job preparing us, especially with the use of a course packet with detailed examples and practice problems.

My technique was a little different than Natalie’s (see previous post) but my circumstances were different. Coming off an ITAC exam, TX/OU ticket draw, and continuous homework in all of my classes, it was difficult to start preparing a week in advance.  I had kept up on all of my reading (each chapter twice), all the practice problems, and I never missed a class so I was able to minimize the need for playing catch-up.

The three days before the exam I really began to study hard-core for it, with problem after problem of practice.  Is it weird to say that I find business combination accounting to be REALLY COOL?!?!?! Read More…

I am so happy, thankful, and somewhat surprised that I’ve made it to this Saturday, still alive and well. Several times over the past couple of weeks I have wondered whether that’d be the case. You see, Thursday night was my first Intermediate Accounting midterm, and I’ve heard horror stories about this class, not only from other recent MPA students, but also from my father, an ’82 graduate of the McCombs accounting program.

But as it turns out, it wasn’t so bad. For maybe the second or third time in my college career, I can truthfully say I didn’t procrastinate when it came to studying for this test. I started last Sunday, and tackled a different topic each day, doing practice problem after practice problem after practice problem. On the night before the midterm, I timed myself as I took the 2008 midterm 1. I felt pretty comfortable with it at 10:30 p.m. and decided the best thing I could do at that point was get plenty of sleep. If there was one important thing I realized by doing all the practice problems, it was that an all-nighter before one of these exams would be a terrible idea. Solving these problems certainly takes an alert mind!

The test was long. It was during dinnertime. And it was tough. But it wasn’t impossible, and I felt well-prepared.

My professor, Dr. Shuping Chen, has done a terrific job at preparing in-depth answers and explanations to ALL of our practice problems, and this really helped me study well. And because she gave us the first exam from last year, I was prepared for the format and level of difficulty of the exam. One of the things that motivated me to keep studying hour after hour was the level of detail that Dr. Chen put in to the solutions manual. If she was going to spend THAT much time and effort on answers to optional problems, then it must be important and I had better keep studying. Time and time again, I am thankful and appreciative of the professors in this program. There is a reason the MPA program is ranked No. 1! It’s very tough but also very well-taught.

So maybe ACC 380k.1 isn’t as terrible as everyone makes it out to be. Or maybe they make the first midterm easier so that we don’t all suffer anxiety attacks. Who knows! I’ll have my answer by October 29, the date of our second midterm.

Keri Ledezma, MPA admissions manager extraordinaire, e-mailed me a few days ago to see if I was still planning to blog from afar now that I’ve graduated and moved to Boston. It was REALLY good to hear from her! It seems like forever since my wife, Janssen, and I packed our things and moved across the country. In reality, it has been less than two months, but I’m not ashamed to say that I miss Texas! I miss Texas friends, Texas football, Texas teachers and staff and Texas weather!

So it was good to hear from Keri, and I assured her that I’d be checking in every so often to blog about my post-MPA life as a new associate auditor at one of the ‘Big 4′ accounting firms in downtown Boston.

Life as an Auditor

I’ve been really happy with life as an auditor so far (the photo above is taken from a conference room I was working in last week). My coworkers are all smart, interesting people, and there’s no end to the learning resources that my firm provides. After a good amount of training, we’ve all been deployed on various engagement teams working in and outside of Boston.

My first auditing experience was actually in Wisconsin, and coincidentally, Janssen’s dad is originally from Beloit, Wisconsin. So instead of flying me home for the weekend, the firm paid to fly Janssen out to visit. What a great policy that is! It saved the firm money (J’s flight out and back was less than mine would have been), and allowed us to have a vacation sort of weekend (there’s a link there because Janssen posted a bunch of photos from the trip on her blog a couple of weeks ago).

The client was great to work with, my team was awesome, and besides the fact that I ate less healthily than usual–going out to dinner every night–it was an ideal beginning to my auditing career. Each of my team members, including myself, even brought home some genuine Wisconsin cheese to our respective significant others and family members.

Two other things I should mention before letting you go:

1) I recently learned that my summer CPA studying paid off when I received my passing score for the fourth and final section of the CPA exam! What a relief that is! Now I just need to rack up 1000 auditing hours to become a licensed CPA in the state of Massachusetts.

BTW, I highly recommend taking the CPA exam before you start working full time if you can. Why? You won’t want to study after a full day’s work. It’s unbelievably nice to have it out of the way up front so I can focus on what is already a steep learning curve becoming an auditor.

and

2) Another unbelievably nice thing? Making money again. Also highly recommended.

As I look back on everything that has happened to me during the past months, I can only remember what Jim Franklin, director of the MPA program, said at orientation: Even though “What starts here changes the world” might seem only a good marketing slogan, in this class there are 95 people who hopefully will have leading positions at important companies and this definitely can make a difference.”

Almost three months have gone by since I started this experience, and it all seems to have happened yesterday. I started my MPA during the second summer session, so I’ve been in Texas since the first days of July. My summer classes (Fraud Examination and Legal Environment of Business) went by as fast as lightning. It seems like it was yesterday when I was learning to use the UT shuttle and looking for my classrooms. During this time I believe I have checked my resume 15 times – seriously.

Today, I am planning my schedule for the next week and I am really nervous because I’ll have my first Intermediate exam and two interviews (my first ones here). I have been thinking about preparing for interviews since I got here, but even with that, it doesn’t seem real that in a couple of days I’ll be sitting right in front of an interviewer.

Last Friday, I went to a MPA International Connection (MIC) meeting, where we talked about interview tips, and at the beginning someone asked us how we were. A friend and I agreed that so much is happening and we feel that we can’t even “process” something when another thing comes up. Right now, I am starting to think that writing here will really help me reflect upon what I am doing.

To me, everything is happening so fast. The good thing is, I am enjoying every second of it. After all, what started here is really changing my world.

There are many ways to learn accounting.  There are many ways to learn just about anything for that matter, but to keep it close to home, I am referring to the academic foundation of the MPA program here at McCombs.  There are classrooms, lectures, case competitions, group projects, etc. … and all of these methods teach us something new.  It wasn’t until recently though, that I have found a newfound respect for another method: guest speakers!

Now, I dare to say that most people love guest speakers because it means that class that day is going to be easy.  No quiz, no homework, no notes need to be taken…just sit back and relax, it is going to be an all-around easy day. It is these easy days that I have found to be rather enlightening along my path of accounting studies.

The ACC 152 Lyceum course is rumored to be just a late-night class that comes to be an inconvenience to peoples’ eating habits and provides little knowledge and understanding of accounting.  Nothing could be further from the truth. It is true, they don’t sit up there and ask what the debit and credit entries are, or even ask what type of consolidation method we should be using, but they do provide insight into the real world.  I have found that these professionals, some with 20, 30 and even 40 years of experience behind them, are the most brilliant minds of our day.  They speak to us on such a personal level, touching base on real-world accounting issues ranging from career possibilities all the way to a lesson on trust.

These last few weeks have been a lot of fun for me and I am so grateful that McCombs is able to attract such talent.  Our reputation not only brings in the best students, but it brings in the best professors and best speakers of the profession, and each and every one of us can learn from these brilliant people. Don’t believe me? Take one lap around the CBA 4M floor, the door-tag credentials and the mountain of published excerpts will speak for themselves. Still don’t believe me? Look at the message boards on all of the floors and you will see that Fortune 500 CEOs are at this school at least once a week.

We are all so lucky to be given this opportunity to learn from the best. Thank you, McCombs!

The first week of classes has come and gone. Honestly, since I have been taking summer classes both sessions, I really did not feel the anxiety of starting classes again in the fall. The only aspect of the new semester that I still need some getting used to is not seeing some of familiar MPAs’ faces in classes anymore. Many of my classmates from the class of 2009 have graduated during the summer and moved on to conquering Corporate America, and I will miss them dearly. However, their absence reminds me that I should truly enjoy Austin while I am still here, especially while some ‘09 MPAs are staying until December. We have grand (and not-so-grand, but fun regardless) plans in the making, so I am looking forward to the next few months.

The new semester also means new faces. Since I missed some of my core courses in the MPA program due to the spring internship, I am now in classes with many new traditional MPAs. It is definitely exciting to meet new people and to feel the enthusiasm of the new academic year. I am sure that it will be another successful MPA class. Hello! MPA Class of 2010, and I hope you are up for the challenge ☺

Some pictures from our end-of-summer-school Vegas trip:

Good bye and good luck, Jie, Fiona, and Kan!

As I have progressed into my fifth and final year here at McCombs, I find myself wanting more from my education. Academically, the MPA program continues to be a challenge at every twist and turn of this path I am on, but I feel that this program could serve as much more. Within the B-School, we are a dominate group. We are respected, honored, and often even admired for our hard work and dedication. Collectively, we are four groups of 250± students that are all striving for one common purpose; graduation from the finest MPA program in the country. While each of is in a different part of our degree program, ranging from third-years in the integrated approach all the way up to the fifth-years and traditional, we have much more in common than one might think.

It is this link that I wish to call on to build unity. Instead of being divided by class year, let us mingle together. Instead of acting segregated because one side is Tax and the other Audit, let us cross our academic paths. Instead of being divided by Big 4 firm or mid-cap, let us join as the greater group of future professionals.

When I set out to write this, I had every intention of comparing what I have been asking for to Harry Potter. This may sound silly but it is not a stretch of the imagination to assume that the majority of us know a little bit about HP. The famous book series uses a four house system to spur competition and comaraderie, to build connections and friendships, and to provide comfort for those searching for a place to belong. I know, this sounds like exchanging one sense of segregation for another, but in its truest sense; these “houses” are only a starting point for building unity and at no point are meant for segregation.  Just like in HP, these “MPA Houses” would contain students from all of the tracks, from each of the different class years, and from each of the firms! Read More…

Last year at this time I was halfway through my first term as an MPA student at The University of Texas. It’s a little unreal to see some of the incoming MPA class in that same situation now. Next month they’ll have their first career fair. It all happens so fast and is, in my opinion, quite a fun ride. For any of them reading, good luck!

It’s even more unreal to me that in less than three weeks I’ll be done with my master’s degree in accounting, I’ll have taken (and hopefully passed) all four sections of the CPA exam (finished the last Becker video lecture just this morning!), and I’ll have just arrived with Janssen in Boston to move into the great little apartment she found for us. And when I say “little,” I mean it. We have to get rid of several pieces of furniture just to fit in there.

Taking classes during the summer is great, by the way. It’s hot and beautiful outside, and really cool inside (I’ve resorted to packing a sweater in my bag–no kidding). And somehow, despite the fast pace of the classes, summer feels more laid back than other semesters. That might also have something to do with my only taking 9 credits Summer compared with 13 and 15 during Fall and Spring. Not to mention the demands of recruiting season during Fall semester.

In other news, I’ve been asked to continue blogging after graduation to give students an idea of what the first year as an auditor is like for me. It’ll be fun to stay in touch with UT that way and to blog of my experiences in Boston. As always, feel free to leave comments with questions, thoughts, etc. I’ll update every month or two. Until next time!