Tag Archives: Texas MPA

Academics, Alexandria, Student Life, Study Abroad

Czech it Out- Guided Weekend Excursion

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This past summer, the Paris and Prague MPA Summer Programs offered a UT led cultural excursion for the first weekend of the program. The one we went on for the Prague program was fantastic, and it included visiting the following places:

(Warning, this blog post is mostly pictures, because they do such a better job at describing the places we got to visit)

Karlštejn Castle- This was the castle of Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor that brought Prague to cultural prominence under his reign. The castle was beautiful and located in the beautiful Czech country side

 

 

 
Pilsner Urquell Factory- Pilser Urquell is the preeminent beer of the Czech Republic, which is saying something because beer is a huge part of the Czech culture. From a manufacturing perspective, this factory was fascinating because only 23 people worked in the factory and they were able to produce enough beer to satisfy a nation of frequent beer consumers.

 

 

Plzen- This town is where US troops came to expel German troops from in WWII. In fact, there is a street called “Amerika” and a monument on the street saying “Thank you USA!” that thanks the US troops and General Patton for what they did for their country.
 

 

Graphite Mine- After spending the night in Plzen, we suited up and headed into the depths of a graphite mine. This was something we will never have the opportunity to see again. The saddest part is we probably will never get to see the equipment again either, which is a little devastating.

 

 

 

Czesky Krumlov- This town was the last stop on our weekend excursion, and was absolutely stunning, The weather was perfect, and the views superb. I could have stayed here all day and still not enjoyed enough of its beauty.

 

 

 

 

Return next week for Part 4 of Ally’s Czech It Out series!

Academics, Student Life

In High Gear

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Note: Not the actual class. We’re better looking.

Days turn to weeks and weeks turn to months. It is hard to believe that it’s been almost three months since I started the MPA program. From orientation to recruiting workshops, company info sessions, and of course, the classes and group projects, one can understand how quickly time flies. I like saying that the program is in high gear. Although, looking back now, I wonder if it ever was in any other gear. All joking aside, if you are looking for a rigorous program that is bent on educating and training future accountants committed to excellence, this is it.

One thing I love about the program is the drive and motivation that my peers have. It is contagious and encouraging at the same time. In spite of the whirlwind of events happening right now, everyone is as eager and passionate about what they do.

A good example of this is a class I have on late afternoons on Mondays and Wednesdays, which is typically the sluggish time for most people. Now, I did not pick the class section because of that, it was the only one available by the time I registered. I was disappointed because I thought this class would be such a drag. But a few weeks into the semester now, my previous assumption could not be further from the truth. I look around the classroom and everyone is engaged and focused on the professor. I think I sometimes even see actual wheels spinning on their heads. There is a lively discussion of ideas and free flow of thoughtful questions. At times, we don’t even finish the slides because of the discussion.

As much as the program is in high gear, the students are as well. I could not have asked for a better set of cohorts than the MPA Class of 2014 because they encourage and remind me of why I’m here. In an intense program like what we have, it is good to be surrounded by friends who do not accept mediocrity. That is special. So even though our journey has only begun, I am convinced that these are relationships that would go beyond the weeks and months we have in our MPA experience.

Academics, Alexandria, Student Life, Study Abroad

Czech it Out – UT Classes Abroad

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Visiting the Skoda manufacturing floor in our Safety Gear

As I said in my earlier blog, the MPA summer programs allow you to take two accounting elective courses in a foreign country: one led by UT faculty, and one led by faculty at the host university.

I’ve already discussed the Czech faculty I had the privilege of taking classes with, so now it’s time to talk about my UT faculty led course.

The course was split up between UT Professors Kamas and Koonce. Before I dive into the subject matter they taught, I would like to point out that these courses aren’t like any MPA courses you can take in Austin. Not only are they in a foreign country, but the faculty get to set their own curricula. This means that they get to lecture on whatever they are passionate about, and their passion definitely comes across in their teaching.

Professor Kamas led the first half of the course, and focused on managerial accounting and financial statement analysis. We discussed what considerations international firms take into account in order to manage their profits and strategy effectively. The course material really hit home because Professor Kamas used cases of international firms and brought in his own copious experience of running a business. Professor Kamas had a Big 4 partner come to the classroom and discuss the challenges of moving from the US to a foreign country with our class. We also enjoyed the luxury of seeing what we were learning in the classroom applied to an actual multinational company. We went on a company visit of Skoda (the largest car manufacturer in the Czech Republic), and learned about accounting and the strategy challenges of trying to expand internationally.

The second half of the course was led by Professor Koonce. To give you some background on her course material, Professor Koonce is the top experimental researcher in financial reporting according to the most recent BYU rankings of accounting research (go Professor Koonce!). She introduced us to experimental research in accounting by lecturing on the basics of judgment and decision making and how the concepts overlapped with accounting. This was probably the most fascinating class I have taken in my time in the MPA Program. We are lucky to have such wonderful faculty teaching us, but teaching is such a small part of some of their jobs. So much of their time is dedicated to research, and we really have no idea what is involved in this. Hearing about the basics of what our faculty are up to when they are not in the classroom was an unbelievable experience.

Click here to continue to Part 3 of Ally’s Czech It Out Adventures!

Academics, Student Life, Study Abroad

Czech It Out- Classes in a Different Country

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A group of Texas MPAs overlooking scenic Prague

This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in the MPA Summer Program in Prague. This is the first of my many installments called “Czech It Out” where I document my experience abroad.

For those of you unfamiliar with the MPA summer programs, students go abroad for 5 weeks and take 2 accounting elective courses. 1 course is taught by UT professors, and the other by professors at the host university.

Students that venture to Prague attend VSE, the economics school, and take a class on European Accounting in Europe taught by a combination of 3 professors from Prague.

As to be expected there were several cultural differences that students noticed in the classroom. The first of which is that the Czech style of teaching is much more lecture based than the classes of their UT counterparts. They did not really ask for student participation and seemed thrown off when students raised their hands in the middle of lectures.

They also did not “hold our hands” at all. For example, when we asked Professor Zarova what she wanted to see in the group presentation and paper she assigned, she replied “Oh, whatever you feel is important.” Most of us MPAs didn’t know what to do after being provided very descriptive rubrics for each of our projects in Austin.

From the perspective of enhancing your accounting education, I could not recommend a better thing to do. First of all, Czech classes were fascinating in that the country is still recovering from 40 years of communism. I had no idea what an influence communism still played on the Prague culture and economy today. It really hit home when our professors told us that in 1991, when the Soviet Block fell, all their degrees lost all of their value because the only masters and doctorate degrees they could receive were in Leninism and Stalinism. Once communism fell, they had to go to the US and UK to reacquire their credentials in capitalism and learn how the capitalist system worked.

It was also fascinating hearing about US GAAP and IFRS convergence efforts from a European perspective. I never understood why it would be so hard to find a compromise, but after learning the stark cultural and business differences amongst European countries, I have a much better understanding of the complexities that arise with convergence efforts.

Click here to continue to Part 2 of Ally’s Czech It Out Adventures!

Internships, Melissa, Student Life

Melissa Takes Boston: Part 3

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Hi again!

I have yet another week at the client under my belt and I am still learning every day. The idea for this blog came to me after an intense conversation about the reality vs. entertainment value of the Kardashians empire.  (I’m sure, considering the title of my blog series, you can tell that I am a fan.)  After working for four weeks, I wanted to take the time to dispel some of the rumors that I heard about interning; a “fact vs. fiction” piece, if you will. I understand my intern experience is unique to me; however I still believe that this is applicable to those of you who will be interning in the future.

RUMOR  1: “You will work on one client the whole time and only on cash.”

REALITY: FACT/FICTION. This was something that I consistently heard spoken with a negative connotation as I went through recruiting. Although I wasn’t even 100% sure what it meant, I was convinced that it was definitely something I didn’t want. However, I have been on the same client for four weeks now, and I have loved every minute of it. Being on one client for so long has allowed me to get comfortable with the client and with my team. I understand the work that is being done and my team has been able to give me projects that allow me to see a large piece of the audit and even build on my previous work. If I was switching around clients, I doubt I would have this luxury. As far as the ‘working on only cash’ piece of this rumor is concerned, that certainly hasn’t been the case for me, and even the projects that I have done that relate to cash have all been so different and each one was a brand new learning experience. I guess I can’t say this rumor is completely fact or completely fiction, but I do want to dispel the negative connotation that accompanies the idea of working on a client, or within a specific area of the audit, for an extended period of time.

 

RUMOR 2: “You will work CRAZY long hours.”

REALITY: FACT. After talking with my friends who are also interning right now, we have all been on slightly different schedules, but overall, you shouldn’t expect to leave work at 5:30 every day. We are lucky enough to intern during busy season, the time of the year where there is the most work to be done, and this means we will be working a lot. This being said, the day will fly by – at least it has for me. I have left work anywhere from 8:30-11:30PM but even my longest days haven’t dragged on in the slightest. The great thing about there being a lot of work to be done is that you will constantly be busy; no sitting around waiting for something to do.

 

RUMOR 3: “Clients HATE auditors.”

REALITY: FICTION. As a person who likes to be liked (don’t we all?) this particular rumor really made me nervous. I have had quite a few interactions with the client thus far and I can’t say all of them have been 100% pleasant, but there has never been a time where I felt personally victimized by the client. Even though being audited is a government requirement for accounting firms’ clients, the clients still do appreciate the work we are doing.

These are three rumors I can almost guarantee that you will hear before embarking on your internship and I hope that my experience can help you to understand them a little bit more.

Happy interning to my fellow interns and happy studying to those of you taking classes!

Click here to read Part 4 of Melissa Takes Boston!