Category Archives: Student Life

extracurricular activites, UT sports and other campus events, student organizations, recreation, etc.

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!

Academics, Career, Employment, Events, MPA Council, MPAC, Recruiting, Student Life

First Impressions

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First impressions are important because they always last, and the same goes for my entrance to the MPA program. Notwithstanding a brief visit last fall and interacting with career services over the summer, my first impression of the actual MPA program began just a few weeks ago when all the new Traditional MPA students met, many for the first time. It was orientation week, and we were finally starting the journey we had been planning and anticipating for several months.

As we all gathered in the large banquet hall set aside for the first day, I was nervous about the people I would soon meet. What was everyone going to be like? Where was I going to fit in? Quickly, the fear passed to excitement as I began introducing myself to my new classmates. I’ve always enjoyed meeting new people, and there was no shortage of interesting backgrounds to discuss. Various schools, different areas of the country, and multiple nationalities were represented in the newest cohort. One thing we all had in common was our ambition to succeed and the stuff to make it happen.

Most of orientation week was centered on career services and academic planning. Vinh Nguyen spent time speaking with us about the different career paths available to MPAs. The “industry, audit, or tax” question could be a dissertation on its own, but it was something that many of us were still struggling with as we approached our first day of class. We had the chance to meet our professors at a breakfast and then hear their perspective on the “industry, audit, or tax” question. Also thrown in the mix were several events where we had to make our first impression on potential future employers: an etiquette dinner, a networking reception, and a career fair were all on the bill for the first week. We even had a chance to socialize as a class at a pizza and bowling party thrown by the MPA Council.

Back to first impressions, though. The professors are clearly passionate about what they do, and it is evident that they are proud to be a part of the MPA program. I’m sure you are aware of how big of a difference it makes when a teacher is excited about what they are teaching, and these folks have it. The career services department is top notch from their support and preparation to facilitating interaction with future employers. I ended the week with a pleasant optimism about my job prospects. The students I will be learning alongside are an extraordinarily bright and diverse group of fun people. The connections I made that week are sure to last a lifetime. Hopefully I left a good first impression on a few people, too!

Austin, Sarah, Student Life

Around Austin in 30 Days

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Like many UT students, I started making a mental bucket list of things to do in and around Austin the moment I set foot on campus as a freshman.From food trucks and swimming holes to the plethora of music opportunities, Austin is full of great things to do. Sadly, while balancing homework, exams and class, something always got in the way of whittling down my list. Now that I’m about to graduate and leave Austin for good, I decided it’s finally time to start exploring, and thus, the month of May became 30 days of experiencing Austin to its fullest.

First things first, I started out with the basics – delicious food. So far I’ve made it through Sno Beach, some food trucks, some tried and true classics like Hula Hut, Mozart’s, Madam Mam’s, and even made my way out to Lockhart for some killer barbecue. After all, you gotta eat, right?

After that I moved on to some less calorie-enriched south Texas activities – a Spurs game, swimming at Barton Springs, and climbing Mount Bonnell. Truth be told, I still have a long way to go on my list. Even if I did something Austin-y every week I don’t think I would ever run out of things to do. Now that classes and finals are out of the way, it’s time to make some progress on that list!

What Austin spots are on your bucket list?