Live and Learn

So, you know you’re a 3rd year MPA student when, while out shopping the after-Thanksgiving Black Friday sales, you find yourself thinking about the effects of the advertised sales, warranties, and other great deals on the stores’ financial statements. Or maybe you know it when you start considering the tax implications of actually winning that “free” VW bug at Pier 1.

Recently, I’ve also woken up and realized I was dreaming about accounting. Not test anxiety or anything like that. But literally dreaming about journal entries. Weird, huh?

I guess MPA courses really are taking over my life, both conscious and unconscious. It’s been a good semester, but I will be thankful when December 16 arrives and I get a chance to catch my breath!

I wrote in my post a few weeks ago that I would talk about what led me to choose the MPA program. So here goes:

Prior to this year, I was a finance major at McCombs. I knew that I was interested in markets and in the economy, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do in finance. I decided to test the investment banking route. This past summer, I interned with an investment banking firm in Dallas. I was one of two interns, so I was kept very busy (thankfully)! My tasks usually involved doing research on clients’ companies and on their competitors, then creating basic financial models or contributing to more complex ones. It was a fascinating internship, and it’s been fun keeping up with those companies in the news and knowing that I played a part (albeit a very small part) in some of those M&A transactions. I learned more from that internship than I ever could have learned in a classroom. And one of the biggest things I learned was that it is so crucial to have a very thorough understanding of accounting to be successful in finance.

After realizing this, and after discussing it with my bosses, I decided that a major in accounting would be most valuable to me. Furthermore, I had the chance to be in the No. 1 program in the country, so I almost felt like I wouldn’t be taking advantage of the opportunity I’d been given if I didn’t choose accounting.

Given that so many people in Fortune 500 companies’ upper management are CPAs and accounting majors, I believe that financial competency is something can be learned through real-world experience (and maybe through an MBA in finance down the road). On the other hand, I feel like comprehensive accounting knowledge is something that is best learned in the classroom. Weighing these two beliefs made the decision easy for me: I chose the MPA program because it doesn’t eliminate any opportunities and it gives me the best education possible.

Seeing the economy the way it is now, and given that the term “investment bank” is now extinct, I’m no longer considering i-banking when I graduate. After taking ACC 356 and the Accounting Careers seminar, I’m now interested in doing advisory or audit at a Big 4 accounting firm. Advisory is especially appealing because I feel that it still involves a lot of finance. Working directly in finance may be in my distant future, but I sure am glad I didn’t choose to major in it because I’m simply not convinced that those job opportunities will exist one year from now. Conversely, even Circuit City needs accountants to help them with bancruptcy!

And now, just for fun…A few other business terms that’ve taken on new meanings:

CEO –Chief Embezzlement Officer.

CFO– Corporate Fraud Officer.

BULL MARKET — A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.

BEAR MARKET — A 6- to 18-month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry

VALUE INVESTING — The art of buying low and selling lower.

P/E RATIO — The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.

BROKER — What my investing has made me.

STANDARD & POOR — Your life in a nutshell.

FINANCIAL PLANNER — A person whose phone has been disconnected.

MARKET CORRECTION — The day after you buy stocks.

CASH FLOW– The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.

WINDOWS — What you jump out of when you’re the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR — Past week investor who’s now locked up.

PROFIT — An archaic word no longer in use.

(Compliments of a witty e-mail I received a few weeks ago)