Tag Archives: accounting

Career, Events, Feature, Melissa

And the Oscar goes to…

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Accounting firms in the public eye

Did anyone else see the PwC partners walking the Academy’s votes down the red carpet at the Oscars? There are a lot of things in the popular media that are actually done by accounting firms. The accounting nerd in me was really excited to see “PricewaterhouseCoopers” on the screen of the Oscars. So of course I snapped a quick iPhone photo, as displayed on the left. This spun me into some web research (Googling) about accounting firms in popular culture and I want to share it with you all.

PwC has been in charge of counting the ballots for the Academy Awards for 78 years, and the accountants in charge actually know the winners 48 hours ahead of the public. But even crazier is that, for all eternity, these partners know who came in second place, and are sworn to secrecy- probably because sometimes, the runner-up misses the Oscar by one vote. In the 78 years of counting ballots, there has been no security issues, leaked winners or miscounts. On the day of the awards, the two partners in charge take separate routes to Kodak Theater, with LAPD officers in tow. They both hold identical briefcases with one whole set of the winning envelopes. Also, they MEMORIZE the winners in case something happens to these briefcases. At the show, they stand in the wings and hand the envelopes to the presenters before they walk on stage. Sounds like a job I would LOVE to have!

It is interesting to note that after all the accounting scandals in the early 2000s, when the world looked down on the accounting industry, there were critics who actually raised suspicions that PwC was not to be trusted with the counting of the Academy Awards ballots. Of course, as I stated before, PwC has always handled the task with the upmost professionalism and accuracy, however, this was a reflection of the times.

Other instances of public accounting firms in popular culture:

  • E&Y counts the ballots for the Golden Globes
  • KPMG sponsors professional golfer, Phil Mickelson
  • Deloitte Sponsors the U.S. Olympic Committee
Academics, Alexandria, Feature, Student Life

MPA: My Personal Anecdote

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Why MPA?

Growing up, my “dream job” changed weekly. Like most kids, I fluctuated between  the typical dream professions (as well as some atypical ones): princess, astronaut, lawyer, doctor, marine biologist, plumber, etc. The bottom line of all my decisions was that I wanted to make a difference in someone’s life.

Funnily enough, the one thing I did not want to be was an accountant. I come from a family of government accountants, and I remember seeing the look on people’s faces when I told them what my family did for a living and who they worked for. It was not a look that indicated they thought my family was making a positive difference in the world.

It wasn’t until I attended the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP- now called DYNAMC) here at McCombs, that I began to rethink my views. It was at this camp that I realized accounting was a field that actually interested me. What especially intrigued me was a small tax seminar on filing 1040’s led by Professor Kristina Zvinakis. It was at this camp that I realized that accounting, specifically tax, was exactly the career I was looking for as it satisfied all of the qualities I wanted out of a career:

    • To have work that I find truly challenging and rewarding
    •  To be held to a higher ethical standards than most professionals are
    •  To help people by saving them money that they can use to improve their own lives or others’ lives
    •  To save people time so they can use it to do things they truly love
This here explains my reason for deciding Texas MPA: the people are awesome!

Why Texas MPA?

It was at ACAP that I was first introduced to the integrated MPA program. It seemed too good to be true: a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting in five years!

To be completely honest (and my family and high-school friends can attest to this), I never saw myself attending UT until I attended ACAP. My family is from Washington, and I was always planning on out-of-state in order to escape the heat of Texas.

But when it came time to sit down and think about where I wanted to go to school, all roads lead to Austin. Where else could I get a top-rate education in the number one accounting program at in-state tuition rates? Nowhere, that’s where.

Texas MPA was a logical choice for me. I feel it’s the logical choice for everyone when deciding on where to pursue an accounting or business education. McCombs provides so much for its students: incredible faculty, knowledgeable academic advisors, and wonderful career advisors and services. On top of McCombs’ resources, every student has the resources of the entire university and city of Austin at their disposal.

In conclusion –it’s a splendid time to be a Texas MPA!

Academics, Alexandria, Career

To be emotional, or not to be emotional? That is the question

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As you can see, not everyone appreciates tears!

Boehner Gets Weepy on 60 Minutes

In my organizational behavior class, we discussed the above video showing Representative John Boehner’s use of tears in public speaking. The majority of my class expressed negative opinions about this practice, saying that it showed weakness and didn’t really have a place in politics. One classmate compared crying in politics to crying in business, saying that it would be inappropriate to cry in the boardroom.

After leaving class, this question couldn’t leave my mind: Is the use of emotions appropriate in politics and the business world?

The first way I approached this question was in the field of politics. I first watched this video in my business communications class last semester, and I thought Boehner’s blatant showing of emotions lost him credibility. However, upon seeing this video a second time, I’m starting to see where Boehner is coming from. Although I am not necessarily a fan of tears or politicians proponing tears when trying to appeal to their audience; I do appreciated the showing of Boehner’s seemingly genuine emotion. With responsibilities such as passing legislation regarding abortion and stem cell research, declaring war and dispatching our soldiers, isn’t it nice that our leaders are taking their decisions to heart? If my congressman was discussing these issues in an objective, non-emotional tone, I would interpret the decision as cold and calculating with little regard of the consequences to constituents. Continue reading To be emotional, or not to be emotional? That is the question →

Academics, Employment, Melissa

Spotlight on MIS

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Imagine doing all your accounting on this paper!

Last week was the deadline for resume submissions for Spring MPA internships. It was a stressful process and it is such a relief to be done! That being said, I do not have much recruiting-wise to talk about in this week’s blog.

Instead, I am going to talk a little bit about another discipline that I believe is becoming increasingly important in the accounting industry. Management Information Systems, or MIS as it is known around McCombs, is essentially a technology/business hybrid. MIS focuses on bridging the gap between the business world and the computer science world, which is every so important as the distinction between those two fields begins to blur. If you are interested in MIS, you should definitely consider it as your minor.

If you saw the picture above, there is a good chance you didn’t know what that is. That’s ledger paper. Accountants use to use it to report journal entries and reconcile accounts. My Audit professor likes to show it to us occasionally to remind us how important technology is to the accounting profession today.

I stumbled upon a crazy article on Forbes.com this morning about how Target uses data mining in its operations. Data mining is “process of analyzing data from different perspectives and summarizing it into useful information – information that can be used to increase revenue, cuts costs, or both.” Target uses data-mining to discover which coupons/promotions are most appropriate for each customer. By analyzing customer’s purchases over time, Target professionals see patterns that they can then use to interpret buying habits of each customer. The Forbes article describes a situation where Target discovered, based on buying patterns, that a young girl was pregnant and thus, sent her coupons for diapers, cribs, etc. Her father was infuriated and insulted until he realized that his daughter actually was pregnant. Target is definitely not the only company using data mining- so be aware! I think data mining is so interesting, but there are certainly some critics who believe that we are heading towards a Big Brother situation with all of this personal data being stored by different companies.

Speaking of Big Brother, I love this 1984 Apple computer commercial.

Academics, Events, Feature, Melissa, Recruiting

Surviving my first week of career events

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Recruiting is all about finding your perfect fit among the firms.

It is the point in the semester where all of the firms hold “Career Nights” for the third-year MPAs. Essentially, it is a less formal information session paired with a networking reception. To mirror my blog about mock interviews, I will tell you a few things I learned this week.

1. You really will start to discover the firm where you will fit best. Originally, I approached that notion with skepticism, thinking there was going to be a consistency between the firms. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. By no means are there “good” vs. “bad” firms, but moreso you will start to see where your personality fits in.

2. Know what makes you fun/unique. Of course it is important to know what year you are, what track you are pursuing, where you want to intern, etc. But how long do you think you can talk about that in a networking setting? Not very long. It is great when you talk about where you studied abroad, your favorite hobby, or your favorite food in Austin. And when you connect with someone who also lived in Paris, or also loves P. Terry’s, it makes the conversation more memorable and personal.

3. Get business cards and send thank you emails. But, do this because you WANT to, not because you think it something you have to do. The professionals can tell if your email is genuine or if it is forced. Make it personal. Do not have a shell email with which you “fill-in-the-blank” for firm and professional’s name.

These are just a few tips- but hopefully you get an idea for what Career Nights are really about, and I hope that my advice helps you in the future.