Career, Paul, Student Life

Recruiting Series: III. The Attitude

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This segment is almost as embarrassing for me to write as it may be for you to read. It is imperative that although public accounting firms recruit Texas heavily, we are not by any means entitled to any sort of job or internship. As my usual custom though, let’s start with some tidbits since my last installment.

Artillery Fire Between North and South Korea

After North Korea warned South Korea not to participate in military drills near their sea border, South Korea responded by firing artillery, albeit away from North Korean shores. North Korea retaliated by shelling Yeonpyeong. The skirmish lasted an hour. For more, read here.

Former Player of the Year Kevin Durant (35) and Coach Rick Barnes; Barnes earned his 500th victory last night over Sam Houston State.

Congratulations to Coach Rick Barnes

Coach Barnes earned his 500th victory last night with Texas’ win over Sam Houston State. Barnes (500-250) is the 12th active coach to achieve the milestone and only the 50th in NCAA history. Congratulations, and I look forward to supporting the team this Saturday against Rice.

BA 324…Again…

I was going through the New York Times site earlier today, and I stumbled upon an article called Numbers in the News. This post shows how the New York Times style manual would handle certain sentences and their syntax. This is BA 324 heaven from probably the most renowned periodical in the country. Oh, and there are previous articles in this post also, so feel free to read older posts as well. (You know you want to…) Anyways, this serves as a good refresher, especially if you are GMATting, LSATting, or writing any sort of publication within the next couple of months.

Anyway, on to topic.

The Attitude

This episode is going to be short, mostly because there aren’t any sorts of steps or tips to make, other than to ensure that you enter recruiting with the correct mindset. Make no mistake about it—you are applying for a job. So yes, while you have the array of bright lights and glamorous recruiting events, at the end of the night, you better remember you are going to work with your recruiters and you better be able to account!

Be a Pro!

I know it’s weird trying to be cool while also being professional—at the outermost layer, these two almost seem to contradict each other. How can you do it? Continue reading Recruiting Series: III. The Attitude →

Academics, Karen, Student Life

Tax Research and Texas Rangers: What’s the Connection?

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Josh Hamilton
Josh Hamilton (Keith Allison photo)

If you want to become an instant millionaire, try catching Josh Hamilton’s homerun baseball. It seems that easy, right? Well, not until you consider the tax consequences of catching such.  It took me a total of maybe 40 hours, 8 cups of caffeine, and a hundred surges of migraine to look for and analyze these consequences and to write a six-page, single-spaced memo on my analysis.

Welcome to Tax Research.

Tax Research teaches students how to identify and use relevant tax laws and sources in answering tax questions and how to communicate these research analyses and conclusions effectively.  The course is comprised of two exams and case assignments derived from real-world situations. It has been one of the most challenging courses I’ve taken, and ironically enough, I’ve been enjoying the class.

 What makes it so challenging?

Professor Zvinakis has taught the course for six years, ever since she began teaching at UT.

She said that what makes the class difficult is that “a clear-cut answer doesn’t always exist [in tax] and the tax law is more often gray than black and white…There could be more than one answer to a particular question, depending on how the relevant tax law is interpreted.”

While I was working on the baseball case, I thought I had the answers to the questions already. However, after continuing with my reseasrch, I found more relevant tax laws and cases that could seriously refute my previous arguments. What was I to do? Work like a recharged research machine! Continue reading Tax Research and Texas Rangers: What’s the Connection? →

Academics, Career, Paul, Student Life

Recruiting Series: II. How do I study during Recruiting Season?

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This past week, I spoke to the ACC 151 classes about recruiting (i.e. the things I did well, the mistakes I made, etc.). This question came up that I feel needs extra attention. As my usual blog format though, first I’ll talk about some of the tidbits of the week!

Could you really use a wish right now?

Well stop looking for airplanes, silly! The annual Leonid Meteor Shower started on Wednesday. The shooting starts you’ll see are the remnants of a comet (Tempel-Tuttle) that passes through the system. When I was eleven, a couple of friends and I drove out to the middle of desert outside El Paso to see it, and it was awesome! I’m not sure where I’d drive here in Austin, but if you have a chance to see it, do it.

Giunta received the Medal of Honor Tuesday.

Congratulations to Salvatore A. Giunta

The staff sergeant received the Medal of Honor from President Obama this past week. Giunta “placed himself in the line of fire…to try to save his fellow squad-mates and to protect and comfort a dying American soldier.” Giunta was serving in Afghanistan. We thank you and commend you on your bravery!

New World Record

This is kind of off-topic, but I thought it was cool. A new world record was set this past week for the tallest married couple. Check it out.

Anyway, onto topic!

How do I study during recruiting season?

This is a very good question. As I told the ACE classes, the workload you undertake is a choice that you need to make based on your own personal characteristics. I would recommend that this is not the semester that you want to try to take more classes than usual. Here’s a quick background on the justification for my recommendations:

The Suzuki Method

If you didn’t know before, you’ll hear it now. I’ve studied the violin for more than19 years under this method. This method was started by Shin’ichi Suzuki of Japan; his rationale was that if a skill was nurtured for a period of time, then a student could learn a skill the same way one learns to speak a new language. (No, I’m not going to get into nature versus nurture.) Suzuki recommended repetition, to a degree, until the student gained “intuition” of the skill he was trying to accomplish; this type of learning is a process, and learning the nuances of a skill does not occur overnight. (There are, of course, many other factors involved in the Suzuki Method, but I will focus mainly on those I feel are apropos to helping MPA students.) For further reading on the philosophy, read Suzuki’s book Nurtured by Love or check out this synopsis.

Are you basically going to introduce us to the Suzuki Method…of Accounting?! Continue reading Recruiting Series: II. How do I study during Recruiting Season? →

Academics, Jonathan

Teamwork!

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Group projects are a significant part of this program.  Just about every accounting class at UT assigns group work, though the format, weight, and intensity of the projects vary greatly from class to class. In some classes, you’ll have one or two projects that barely carry any weight. In others, the projects will become a significant part of your grade. My Cost Accounting class, for example, has a total of three cases, one big one and two little ones, that in total comprise 20% of the course grade.  These cases are generally problem-solving based (“determine why company A is losing money”), and they can be pretty involved. The big project of the semester requires a five-page write-up and a 15-minute group presentation accompanied by PowerPoint slides and in business casual dress. The smaller cases are just two-page executive summaries.

In Intermediate Accounting, the cases tend to be more analysis based (“how would this item be classified on the balance sheet in light of FASB codification and industry practice”).  The write-ups in Intermediate are short, just three double-spaced pages, but the stakes are much higher. The three projects make up 18% of the course grade, and for me, this is a critical 18%.

Grading tends to run from liberal (a completion grade) to competitive. In Intermediate Accounting, the grading is relative to the rest of the class. Groups are essentially pitted against each other. This means that receiving an A on a group project depends in large part upon how well or how poorly the other groups perform. This is the Texas MPA program after all, and you can imagine that with a dozen talented and motivated groups to contend with, the competition is stiff and the intensity is high. Continue reading Teamwork! →

Jarrett, Student Life

Food? Yes, please!

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french friesI usually write my blog posts during lunch every Tuesday. So what better time to introduce the food choices located around the business school? You will be spending a lot of time in the School of Business and in the University Teaching Center (UTC, where many of your classes will be held) across the street. So mapping out the dining options is a must. I thought I might just make a list of the options that I frequent a lot.

  1. O’s Campus Café in The McCombs School Atrium: If you like quick and convenient, then O’s is for you. It is located on the third floor of the business school. Everyday you can order sandwiches, fruit and potato salads, hamburgers, soups and regular salads from the salad bar. You can even choose between regular French fires and sweet potato fries! There is a soda fountain (Pepsi products) and coffee dispensers available. Additionally, there is usually a lunch special each day. Today’s special is chicken enchiladas with rice and beans.
  2. Wendy’s in Jester: The Wendy’s in Jester is a great place to meet your friends before an evening exam. It has all the menu options of a regular Wendy’s restaurant, but it just happens to be located across the street from the business school. Additionally, I should note that the background music playing in this Wendy’s is “rockin!” You will hear everything from top 40 to 80s rock and R&B. Every time my friends and I walk in, we are pleasantly surprised with the music choice.
  3. Asian Food Cart in front of Littlefield fountain: Everyday around lunchtime there is an Asian food cart parked in front of Littlefield fountain. You can order egg rolls, fried or white rice, and other common Asian dishes. Most meals there cost less than $6 and you can use credit/debit cards there, too.
  4. Prufrock’s Java City in the Perry-Castañeda Library: When I first saw the sign for this café in the PCL, I was immediately taken back to my high school senior English class when we studied “The Love of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot. I would recommend you read it if you have 20 minutes. Back to the topic at hand: FOOD! I am not a coffee drinker, but I know many of my fellow MPAers stop by this café to pick up a cup o’ joe before class. It services coffee, soda, sandwiches, salads and assorted pastries.
  5. Texas Union: If you are in for a five-minute walk, head over to the Texas Union (located just West of the Tower). You will find Bene Pizzeria, Chick-Fil-A, Quizno’s, Starbucks, Taco Bell and another on-campus Wendy’s. You can also bowl or shoot pool on the bottom floor of the Union.

I haven’t written about the two unlimited dining halls (Kinsolving and J2) located on campus, because I don’t eat there. And I don’t know of any MPAs that do. But whatever you decide to do for breakfast, lunch or dinner on campus, there are plenty of options.

MPA Student Life Blog