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!