8th Observation!!

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday, Saturday April 17, 2010 I was given the opportunity to speak with Accounting undergraduate senior, Aramentha Aderly. Aramentha is a foreign exchange student from Westmoreland, Jamaica. She is a double major here at Nova which means that she will be graduating at the end of this semester with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance. Aramentha is also an active member of the accounting club here at Nova. Aramentha also serves the university as a residential advisor for the commons dormitory.

Today, she granted me with the chance to get opinion and advice for the accounting program. We are sitting in a study room on the 3rd floor of the Commons dormitory. As my previous interviews I limited the interview to 4 questions regarding the program.

1. How do you manage the stress that comes with the accounting program?

I manage my time properly and do not overload myself with responsibilities so that don't overwhelm my self. I also make sure to plan out my studying and not leave it for the last week!

2. What challenges do you face being a foreign exchange student?

Probably the biggest challenge is being so far from my family and childhood friends. Another big thing was the cultural change from Jamaica to America. I had to get used to everything from the way class is set up in school to getting around.

3. In your opinion, what would you say was the most difficult class that you have had so far?

Aside from Intermediate 1, where the class is designed to "weed out" the ones who can and those who can not be an accounting major, Federal Taxation was by far the hardest and most stressful class! I say this because the class demands you to think like a lawyer in the sense of thinking of all the possible laws and how small details may or may not qualify a case for a certain law but it also demands accounting related computational problems. The class is about 65% law based and 35% accounting formula based.

4. Briefly describe the way you study.

I study 2 weeks prior to the exam with my study group . We study Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to about 6pm. While in our group, we review notes and problems from class and try making up our on problems and consider all the variables that may change how the problem may be handled

7th observaion!!

Hello Everyone!

Today I have been granted the opportunity to interview Senior Accounting Major Kendall Ramsijew. Kendall is currently working his part time student employment position as a resident advisor for the Commons Dormitory. Kendall is the president of the Accounting club and an executive board member of Nova’s student government association. On his free time, Kendall practices soccer with his recreational partners whom strive towards a successful intramural season here at Nova. Kendall has also successfully achieved the Deans list through a GPA of 3.86 overall.

We are currently sitting in the front desk of the Commons. It is 8:00 pm on a normal Tuesday night. Due to the low traffic of student residents, Kendall took out his accounting text book and notes and is reviewing the material for his Advanced Accounting Course. Advance accounting is the last financial accounting course for the undergraduate accounting program. The course is taught by Dr. Randall Rentfro who also teaches Intermediate Accounting III. In order to avoid getting Kendall in trouble with his supervisor, I only asked the 5 questions regarding his school work and social activities which consumed about 30 minutes.

1. How often do you study for Advanced Accounting?

Well during the non exam weeks I review the material from class for about 2 hours 4 days a week.

2. What are the assignments of the course?

The course is broken down with 3 exams and 2 papers.

3. How do you study for exams?

My study group and I meet once a week, usually Saturdays around 2 pm in the business building to review the course material and class discussions. When an exam is with in 2 weeks we will meet in the business building 5 days a week for about 3 to 4 hours a meet. We often refrain from "crunching" material the last couple of days because that creates stress and mental blocks.

4. What do you find the most difficult thing about this course?

The topic of Consolidating financial statements. Consolidation is a process done by upper level accountants in order to combine financial statement when 2 companies merge. This topic is relatively difficult because of all the small details that cannot be overlooked and it requires a lot of study time and effort to fully comprehend the subject.

5. Briefly describe the environment of the classroom.

There are about 12 students in the day class which is held on Tuesday and Thursdays from 10:45-12:00 pm. Classes are held in the business building in room 2061. There is a lot of interactions between the professor and the students. Rentfro often does examples and encourages students to participate and answer questions.

Hope you guys enjoyed this observation and stay tuned for the next!

Sixth Observation!!

Today I observed Courtney Sedgwick, a fourth year accounting senior here at Nova. I conducted the observation in a study room on the 3rd floor in the Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University. The study room is very small, it is designed for about 4 people. It is a little cold and very quite. To avoid distracting her, I will only be here for about 20 minutes. Courtney has allowed me to interview her while she studies hard for Accounting Information Systems (AIS). AIS is a class specifically designed for accounting major senior that are about to graduate. It teaches them how to use the the more common accounting softwares that are used in the field. In order to get a better sense for how seniors prepare, I asked a few questions on how she studies and the set up of the class.

1. How often and how long do you study for AIS?

"I often read all the chapters before class and do my home work assignments long before they are due so that i can manage my time promptly"

2. How do you prepare for exams?

"I schedule my study time so that I can exactly know what to do on each day. On average I study for about 20 hours prior to the exam"

3. What are the assignments of the class?

"The course assignments include 2 exams, chapter home-works, and projects on Peach Tree (Accounting book keeping software)

4. What challenges arise in the course?

"Well because I have never seen or used an accounting software, Peach Tree can be very difficult to work with. I often have to go to my professor to ask questions on how to use the system with assigned projects."

5. Where does the class take place and how many students are enrolled in the course?

"The class takes place in the Carl De Santis building on the 2nd floor. The professor lectures the course material to the class of 20 students through power point slides and in class examples of how to use Peach Tree."

Courtney is also an active member of the accounting club and is always eager to help fellow undergraduate students in the accounting program by giving them advice and tutoring on course related material. I hope every enjoyed reading and stay tuned often the next post!!

Interview Summary

Yesterday, February 16th, 2010, I was given access to the Intermediate Accounting III/Advanced Accounting professor, Dr. Randall Rentfro. The interview took place in his faculty office on the fifth floor of the De Santis building. The interview started at 2:30 and took about half an hour. I brought my laptop with the questions I conducted prior to the interview and a voice recorder so that I can recall exactly how he answered the questions.

Dr. Rentfro also serves as an administrator here at Nova. He is currently working towards getting the accounting program to be accredited by one of the highest ranked and respected accreditations for accounting schools known as the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Being that this was the first time I conducted an interview, I was very nervous. When I played back my voice recorded notes I can hear the shyness in my voice. This was quite ironic being that the interviewee is usually the one who is nervous. Aside from that the interview had a very positive outcome. I learned that the main characteristics that you need to be successful as an accountant are the minor characteristics that I overlooked about myself. Rentfro stressed that one must have strong communication, analytical, and leadership skills. That being said I now officially understand that accounting is the best field that can appreciate my personal characteristics.

AACSB. "Accreditation." Retrieved on February 18, 2010 from http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation

NYSSCPA. "Accounting Accreditation". Retrieved on February 18, 2010 from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2007/807/essentials/p69.htm

Fourth Observation!!

Today I sat in a Federal Taxation class. The class takes place on Thursday nights in the Carl De Santis Building from 6-7:55p.m. Throughout this course, students learn how to deal report taxes. The course is taught by Dr. Michael Hoffman. This week Dr. Hoffman is discussing what is included in gross income. Gross income is the amount of income a taxpayer receives in the fiscal year.

This course only has one prerequisite, which is Intermediate Accounting I. However, the majority of the students in Intermediate I are juniors so this tax class is filled with mostly senior and junior accounting majors. The class has about 20 students. One interesting thing about this class that I noticed was the lack of discussion. Throughout the hour that I sat in there was maybe 2 or 3 questions. Either everyone in the class understood the class perfectly or they are all just shy. Another behavior I noticed was the note taking utensils. Usually students in upper level accounting courses strictly use binders and notebooks for notes but there were a few students in this class who were using their laptops to take notes.

I found this class to be rather boring compared to the previous class I observed (intermediate accounting II). After the first half hour I had to force myself to keep paying attention. The professor also does not give a break within the two hours which I found quite extreme considering the difficulty of the material.

Third Observation!!

Today I was given the opportunity to sit in Dr. Judith Harris's class. The class is taking place in the second floor of the Carl De Santis Building room 2071. It is 1 pm so students are usually in their most efficient time of the day considering that they just had lunch. Dr. Harris is currently lecturing in her Intermediate Accounting II class. The objective of the course is to further express the theory of financial accounting. Today Dr. Harris is discussing bonds and how to treat them. During the lecture, she will often make comical remarks to lighten the tension of the course. They are often quite humorous and would make me chuckle.

Dr. Harris is middle aged, short in stature, and a former Boston, Massachusetts's citizen. It is quite obvious that she is very enthusiastic about accounting. She also understand the the material can be challenging so she often lectures at a slow but effective pace. She often mentions what students should know and what really isn't important. The students in the classroom seemed very attentive and were strictly focused on what she was discussing. Anyone who knows her personally or has had her for a class will confirm that she truly cares for her students. Aside from the classroom, Dr Harris volunteers a portion of her free time to the accounting club. She has been the club advisor for thirteen years now! As the advisor, she attends all meetings, provides assistance to members, and makes suggestions towards proposals made by executive board officers.

Professors such as Dr. Harris is what makes Nova so great to be apart of. Hope you all enjoyed reading and stay tuned!

Notes Summary

In the meeting I was actually quite surprised by the efforts the upper-class men put towards welcoming back the fellow members. President of the club and senior, Kendall, opened the meeting by acknowledging those who helped with the Fall semester's service projects. He awarded four lower class men with certificates of appreciation. The remaining members of the executive board handed out "goody bags" which included several useful items for class. I was quite intrigued by the bonding experience between the us (the members) and our advisor Dr. Harris, a lower and upper level accounting professor. I felt like this meeting displayed their bond as a subculture. Nothing really disturbed me about this meeting. It was actually quite interesting. I am very impressed with this subculture and their display of compassion towards each other.