UA Culverhouse School of Accountancy

Parents and family members of accounting and potential accounting students, please join us for an open house this Friday, 9/22! Many of our faculty and staff will be there to meet you and answer questions about our programs and major. We hope to see you there, and share with anyone you think might be interested!

"Being terrified means that I made it all about me, envisioning all of the unrealistic terrible things that could happen. On the drive up [to the alumni event], I thought 'what’s the worst that could happen?' The answer was a resounding 'nothing!' The event was such a great time, it was such a pleasure to see everyone, and it totally changed my mindset.

What about 'so what?' A young man who attended said that I was talking in class a few years back about all the things we make a big deal about, which really are meaningless, and I said 'so what?' about each one. I had forgotten, but he hadn’t. He said he thinks about that every day, and it helps him a lot. I think I will too. How great is it that people remember the little things you said and did, which you may have forgotten, that mean so much to them. Based on one person’s memory of something I forgot, I do hope that it was a cheap pen I threw out the window 20 years ago."

CSOA July 29th Newsletter Wiley Accounting and Finance Student Scholarship Students starting their career journey are at the heart of tomorrow’s accounting and finance workforce. Wiley is committed to driving the evolution of these rapidly changing professions by helping a broader community of students gain equitable acce...

"Speaking of running out of gas. Here’s a story I’ve been telling for close to 40 years. Until this week, I totally missed the point. I’ve felt very tired this week and have used this story as an analogy. In 1983, I sold my Plymouth Duster (first car I ever owned) to a used car dealer for about $300. As I was driving to drop it off at a shopping center in East Nashville (way before it was cool in a hipster sort of way), I ran out of gas (I felt the car make that out-of-gas shudder) about 200 yards short of the turn. Luckily, I was able to cruise into a gas station. I put $1 of gas in (close to two gallons at that time) and dropped off the car.

I have said for years that the story would have been better (sounded funnier) had I just put a quarter’s worth of gas in. However, something occurred to me this week. How obnoxious would it have been to put a quarter’s worth of gas in? I should have put $1 in because that’d be more than was expected and it would make the buyer’s life easier, not to mention allowing me to know I took the high road.

By the way, the analogy is that I’ve been feeling as if I’d run out of gas before the end of the semester. Ha ha (which I say ironically, not to try to say it’s funny). I decided to figuratively put $1 in my tank, quit complaining about being tired, and complete the semester strong. You should too."

CSOA April 22nd Newsletter The Educational Foundation for Women in Accounting (EFWA) has awarded scholarships to women pursuing accounting degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. Link to Scholarship Applications. Wiley Accounting and Finance Student Scholarship Students starting their career journey...

"Accounting for assets. If you take full advantage of learning accounting, you’ll develop strong problem-solving skills, obtain unparalleled business knowledge, be able to deal with most situations you encounter, prepare yourself for a recession-proof career, and learn a lot about yourself.

Accounting helps you evaluate what is secured but not squared (payables), given but not requited (receivables), invested in but not put in service (prepaid expenses), and taken but not reciprocated (unearned revenue).

In the cartoon below, identify the slices that represent direct materials, direct labor, and overhead (both fixed and variable). If gross profit is too low, would / could you narrow any of the slices or would / could you raise the price? By the way, why no banana peppers?"

CSOA April 8th Newsletter The Educational Foundation for Women in Accounting (EFWA) has awarded scholarships to women pursuing accounting degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. Link to Scholarship Applications. Wiley Accounting and Finance Student Scholarship Students starting their career journey...

Creating a Gap: "I often find myself saying 'I’ll be happy once this test is over' or 'I’ll be happy if I make an A on this exam' or 'I’ll be happy when this semester is over' or 'I’ll be happy once I get this job offer' or 'I’ll be happy once I pass the CPA exam.'

What we don’t realize is that, by always looking for the next best thing, we are creating a gap between our current reality and happiness. By constantly widening this gap, happiness will always be beyond our grasp.

I encourage you to live in the moment, be present, and embrace your journey."

CSOA March 25th Newsletter The Educational Foundation for Women in Accounting (EFWA) has awarded scholarships to women pursuing accounting degrees at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels. Link to Scholarship Applications. Wiley Accounting and Finance Student Scholarship Students starting their career journey...

"What did we learn? All sorts of things. I’ll share something I learned. When we don’t know turns into now we know, it doesn’t mean we were stupid when we didn’t know—we just didn’t know. When we don’t know remains we don’t know, we would be remiss if we didn’t continue to try to know, because there’s no shame in being in the know.

Situations that wouldn’t have happened without it. Last weekend I went to the pharmacy after I hadn’t been there for two years (home delivery by mail…who knew?). The pharmacist remembered me by name, and it meant a lot to me. One of my shirts still doesn’t talk to me (and likely never will) because I brought it to the dry cleaners 'before,' said 'see you tomorrow,' and came back nine months later."

CSOA March 11th Newsletter AICPA Legacy Scholarships: Become an AICPA Legacy Scholar by applying for an AICPA Legacy Scholarship. If chosen, you'll be given funds to help pay for college and be offered exclusive professional development opportunities. Applications due March 15th. Click here to learn more and apply! The ASCPA...

"The expression 'assume that people are doing the best they can' implicitly suggests that no one’s perfect, and that their intentions are good. Perhaps the point of the podcast was that everyone was doing the best they could, no one meant any harm, and that we should not be as cynical or suspicious when considering others’ intentions. We need to at least entertain the idea that it’s not always about us and that we seldom know what’s really going on in other peoples’ lives. Such a shift in thinking could preserve a lot of friendships, as well as avert unnecessary hurt feelings and self-doubt. Although we often think we are, we typically are not the stars in the movies that are other peoples’ lives."

CSOA March 4th Newsletter AICPA Legacy Scholarships: Become an AICPA Legacy Scholar by applying for an AICPA Legacy Scholarship. If chosen, you'll be given funds to help pay for college and be offered exclusive professional development opportunities. Applications due March 15th. Click here to learn more and apply! The ASCPA...

"Did you ever notice that,* as you get older, it takes more found money to generate excitement? When I was in elementary and middle school, a nickel or a dime would do it, and a quarter constituted the Mother Lode (a solid Loggins and Messina album). As the years went by, it had to be paper money. My first day in Bloomington, in 1985, I found a $20 bill in front of the Indiana Memorial Union (on the steps in the picture below). I used it to buy pimento cheese and Fritos (eight years before Scoops were invented), and White Castles may also have been involved.

*If you identified either reference (Monty Python or Andy Rooney), you will find a heads-up penny; if you identified both, you will find a smug look in the mirror."

CSOA February 25th Newsletter AICPA Legacy Scholarships: Become an AICPA Legacy Scholar by applying for an AICPA Legacy Scholarship. If chosen, you'll be given funds to help pay for college and be offered exclusive professional development opportunities. Applications due March 15th. Click here to learn more and apply! The ASCPA...

"Why would you start your first job wondering when you should leave? Instead, start it with an open mind and an open-ended time horizon. You’ll have a more optimistic mindset, and almost certainly feel more invested in your job than you would if your focus is the exit plan.

Solving the puzzle of 'Can I have a life outside of work?' is a bit more complicated than thinking 'life good, work bad.' If you love your job, the puzzle becomes allocating your time across good things, rather than hatching schemes to escape one to do another. You may not love your first job, which makes finding the one you do even more satisfying. Remember, it’s not about how many hours you work when you love what you do, because it won’t seem like work and time will fly.

Your first job may not be 'the one.' That’s OK. Learn, socialize, and observe. What do you like? What don’t you like? What are the 'must haves' in your next job? Be as objective as you can. If you think it’s time for you to leave, are you incorrectly defining 'too many bad days' or becoming yet another victim of the 'Grass is Greener Syndrome?'"

CSOA February 18th Newsletter AICPA Legacy Scholarships: Become an AICPA Legacy Scholar by applying for an AICPA Legacy Scholarship. If chosen, you'll be given funds to help pay for college and be offered exclusive professional development opportunities. Click here to learn more and apply! The ASCPA Educational Foundation is now...

"The Taxi Problem. This week someone said to me that “it’s difficult to find the middle ground between too much and nothing,” which I refer to as “The Taxi Problem” (you’ll see why later). Middle ground may sound dull but, to use a bowling analogy, you can’t get a strike without staying in your lane. Think of the lane as the middle ground."

CSOA February 4th Newsletter AICPA Legacy Scholarships: Become an AICPA Legacy Scholar by applying for an AICPA Legacy Scholarship. If chosen, you'll be given funds to help pay for college and be offered exclusive professional development opportunities. Click here to learn more and apply! The ASCPA Educational Foundation is now...

"A student from my Fall class emailed me this Thursday: 'You would be happy (Or sad? Or guilty? You decide.) to hear that I thought of you on Tuesday. Specifically, I was washing my hands in the restroom and threw the paper towels at the trash; I missed. Then, your ghost appeared and stared at me until I felt bad and picked them up and put them back in the trash. This happened again a second time later that day. In both cases, there was no one (physically) there to watch. So, the question I want to pose to you is this: is your 'paper-towel-test' still valid if the ghost of your old professor is watching you? I’m not sure if this means that my integrity is permanently compromised, but I can’t discern if I would have thrown away the paper towels on my own accord, without the influence of your apparition.'

Rich: Strive to have a positive influence on peoples’ actions. Be Jasper, The Guidance Ghost. Sometimes 'old' means former, not ancient. And his use of plural for paper towels suggests that he used multiple paper towels instead of one long piece. To each his own."

CSOA January 28th Newsletter Applications, which include uploading a video and short statement, are due Monday, Feb 28th. Visit rsmus.com for more information on the program, including full eligibility requirements and instructions to apply. Wiley Accounting and Finance Student Scholarship Students starting their career jo...

"The job search comes at you quickly, doesn’t it? Audit vs. tax vs. consulting, where do you want to go, what are your goals, describe a time when you______? Think about these questions so you’re ready to talk about them, and own what’s on your resume. Read your resume carefully to make sure it describes everything you’ve done as effectively as possible. For example, for your jobs and activities, can the reader see what you learned, when you took initiative, when you managed or led people, and when you helped change a process? If you don’t highlight your achievements, who will?"

CSOA January 21st Newsletter Applications, which include uploading a video and short statement, are due Monday, Feb 28th. Visit rsmus.com for more information on the program, including full eligibility requirements and instructions to apply. Wiley Accounting and Finance Student Scholarship Students starting their career jo...