Category Archives: Academics

classes, degree planning, academic workshops, CPA exam planning and preparation

Academics, Paul, Student Life

Summer Review III

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Welcome back to school! Congratulations to a new class of about 350 Traditional and Integrated MPA Students! I’m sure that you all will have a great time in this program.

The question that probably remains is why am I blogging about summer review even though school has started. Three reasons: (1) You can still take a look at these blogs as you study for your classes;  (2) Another summer will come for which to review by (seeing as the blogs are archived, they’ll be accessible for a couple years); and (3) We’re still in the triple-digits, so by my standards, it’s still summer.

First, some thoughts for this week. Continue reading Summer Review III →

Academics, Career, Paul

Summer Review I

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We all know that championships are won during the off-season. It is this additional preparation that gives contenders an advantage months down the road. Thus, this column will conclude with an accounting concept every week for the next several installments or so. Whether you are just entering the program, a fourth-year student about to take on Intermediate Accounting, or about to finish up, the concepts to be presented should help enforce (or even set) the foundation for what you will see in the next couple of months.

As usual, though, I will begin with some interesting news bits from this past week.

The Sixth Sense?

Researchers from the UMass Medical School say they may have detected a gene that allows people to detect magnetic fields via the retina. Although research is early, they say that this extra sense would be mostly involved in sensing spatial orientation. Read more from the New York Times.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, et al (2011)

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that a case brought before them could not be tried as a class action lawsuit. A woman accusing Wal-Mart of sexual discrimination tried to file a class action lawsuit with about 1.5 million other women. The Court, however, threw the case out because of a lack of commonality. Justice Scalia, who delivered the opinion of the court, wrote “A regional pay disparity, for example, may be attributable to only a small set of Wal-Mart stores, and cannot by itself establish the uniform, store-by-store disparity upon which the plaintiffs’ theory of commonality depends…[R]espondents have identified no ‘specific employment practice’—much less one that ties all 1.5 million claims together.”

Commonality is “the rule requiring a plaintiff to show that ‘there are questions of law or fact common to the class’” and requires the plaintiff to “demonstrate that the class members ‘have suffered the same injury.’” The Supreme Court did not actually rule on the Title VII violation accusation (which actually caused some dissent amongst the justices because of the timing of the dismissal along which this decision sets a precedent), but, rather, it may have established what is necessary in order to file a class action lawsuit in the first place. The New York Times article may be found here.

 

Summer Review: SFAS No. 5

It is my intention to go over what I would consider the Ten Essential FASes this summer. SFAS No. 5 is a classic.  This statement is known for its ambiguity because it is so overarching; however, it is because it covers so much—especially in principle—that makes it essential for understanding the nature of accounting. Continue reading Summer Review I →

Academics, Career, Karen

Ten-Weeks of the Life of a Tax Accountant

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After 10 weeks of waking up at 5:30 a.m., driving for an hour in rush-hour traffic, and staring at spreadsheets in a conference room with no windows for eight hours or more everyday, my internship has come to a close. And I would have to say that I will miss it!

The internship definitely gave me a good overview of what tax accountants do on a daily basis. Surely, most days were repetitive, some were a bit dry, but there was always a new tax law to analyze or a new type of expense to capitalize. My biggest takeaways from this experience were:

1) There was always something to learn.

Having had no prior knowledge in international tax made my tasks a little challenging. There were several things that I was trying to grasp all at once: teaching myself international tax accounting, understanding how prior years’ transactions affect this year’s tax liability, and navigating the tax accounting software. Passing my accounting classes was no guarantee that I was fully prepared for work. Getting my feet wet in the real world was like going to pre-school for the first time. Be ready to learn, and by that I meant be very ready to learn – A LOT!

2) Technology could be disappointing sometimes.

I had three different laptops issued to me during the internship. The first two did not cooperate long enough with me. I realized that having the e-mail application, instant messaging software, and seven workbooks open at the same time would take a toll on one’s computer. I had to drive back and forth from the client site to the office to resolve my technology issues. Although I like visiting the office from time to time, having technology problems close to your deadline and not being able to accomplish anything could be a little frustrating.

3) There was always something to work on or help with.

My team engagement seniors from India mostly reviewed the returns I prepared. Due to time differences, I did not receive reviews from them until the next day. Instead of sitting in the room, doing nothing after finishing my assigned entities, I would constantly ask my team members if they have anything I can help them with. Also, after my managers have reviewed the workbooks and returns my seniors and I have prepared, instead of waiting for my seniors to tell me what to do, I took the initiative to clear the review comments my managers had.

In case you are not familiar with how the review process works in public accounting, the staff prepares the workbooks and the returns, which will then be reviewed by the senior. Continue reading Ten-Weeks of the Life of a Tax Accountant →

Academics, Jonathan

Around the corner…

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Classes are ending this week.  In four days’ time I will retreat to my cave and start cramming for my four final exams.  This is going to be a tough week. Unlike last semester, where the bulk of my schoolwork was completed long before the end of classes, this time around I will be completing projects, assignments and presentations right up to the bitter end. This will leave me precious little time, just a few days, to finish my readings and start preparing for finals.

The spring is nearly over, but I am a long way away from being finished. This June, the first summer session, my last semester at UT, will begin. It will be only five weeks of classes, but if last summer was any indication, it will feel much longer. But, even when I finish my summer classes in July, I will be done with the MPA program but not done with school. To meet the requirements  for the CPA exam in Texas, I am still on the hook for six to nine business-related credits.  

Texas is one of strictest states in terms of CPA exam requirements. I came into the MPA program having taken no business classes outside of the MPA pre-enrollment requirements. This year, my schedule has been completely jammed with core accounting courses, and I never had the chance to mop up the rest of the business classes I needed to meet Texas’s 24 credit hour requirement. So, after my classes at UT are done this summer, I’ll be on the computer completing my last couple of business classes by correspondence. 

When that’s over, the CPA exam will be up next. I am planning to have all of my classes done and my paperwork completed by August so that I can sneak in one section of the exam before by job begins. After that, I will try to have two more sections done by the end of October, my first month of work. Here is a list of CPA exam dates. As you can see, the exam is offered on a two-months-on, one-month-off schedule.  Unfortunately, the best month for me, September, is an off month for the exam. When the CPA exam is completely done–by December perhaps–I may try my luck with one more certification before I allow myself to pop the champagne cork. 

Clearly, I have a lot to look forward to. When I finish my master’s degree this summer, it will be just one more leap forward on my way to the finish line. 

Wish me luck!