Writer's Memo - Summative Essay

Learning About Your Field

             It has not been long since I chose a field that I want to continue learning about. The only reasons for choosing to become an accountant were stable and high wage, and its prestige. However, as I started the Disciplinary Literacies Digital Portfolio, I learned that there is still a lot to learn about accounting. As I researched and blogged about the field, one fact that I learned about accounting is that it requires high level of ethics.

             Integrity is one of the most important and basic ethics of accounting. Of course, there is almost no job that requires people to be dishonest. However, the consequence of being dishonest in the accounting field is severe. For example, Arthur Anderson, a firm that was once a member of the Big 5, was convicted of allowing the Enron Corporation to shred documents that were related to the corporation’s accounting. As a result, Arthur Anderson, a “prestigious Chicago auditing firm” ("The Fall of Andersen"), lost its reputation and bankrupted within several months. Even a huge firm like Arthur Andersen failed to rise again after being involved in a scandal. I learned how significant integrity on the job is, and how I need to be honest in order to keep myself in a desired position. Also, a senior member of MSU Accounting Club for Asians (MACA) said in her presentation about internships that interviewers of corporations look closely at the candidate’s confidence since candidates who are honest should be confident with their answers.

             Another ethic of accounting is responsibility. Accountants have to be responsible for their works which means that they should not overwhelm themselves. According to “eNotes”, “[a]ccounting professionals should only undertake tasks that they can complete with professional competence, and they must carry out their responsibilities with sufficient care and diligence” ("Ethics in Accounting"). Accountants’ work can cause huge impacts in economics of not only the country, but also the world if done wrong. If a company’s financial statement has higher profit than the actual profit due to a mistake or dishonesty of accountants, people who believed the financial statement and invested in that company can lose their money. I could see how accounting professionals are responsible for their work when I heard from Scott Bronson, an accounting professor at Michigan State University. He told me that he goes through 8 steps to write one paper. Since I am a spontaneous writer, who plans as I write, I might not be good material for accounting yet. However, after I came to the university, my writing style has changed. I do not procrastinate when writing a paper and proofread it at least twice before handing in. The high responsibility in accountant’s tasks gives the job high authority, and that is why a lot of people want to become accountants.

             The obligations of accountants are not appeals to pathos, but only appeals to ethos. Even though many corporations do not like accountants since they do not have flexibility and are not helpful for corporations’ profits, without accountants, businesses will not be healthy, and companies will not be able “to make sound business decisions” ("Why Do We Need Accounting?").

Learning about my Research/Writing

             Until I came to Michigan State University, I was having hard time choosing between marketing and accounting, and I had almost decided to go into marketing since it had more diverse paths that I can take. However, after coming to the university and thinking about which field more suits my personality, I decided to become an accounting major. Thus, it has not been long since I decided to take this path of life, which gave me very little time to get to know what accounting is all about. As a result, by recording what I learned about my field in my blog, I gained better sense of my field. In the beginning, I was thinking of becoming an accountant of a corporation or a company, but as I started researching about my field, I decided to become an auditor.

             When I became a part of the MSU Accounting Club for Asians, I was surprised that actually almost all of the members wanted to be employed by auditing firms. There were about five regular meetings with topics that are helpful for accounting majors. The topics were about accounting courses at MSU, and about internship at auditing firms. However, there was no topic about accounting at corporations.

             The reason why I decided to work for audit firms is that accountants who work for corporations do not have that much authority. According to the article, “Starbucks, Amazon and Google accused of being 'immoral'" (Ebrahimi), accountants were criticized for letting these huge companies to cheat on paying taxes. Even though their actions were not illegal, they were a violation of ethics. I realized that some of accountants who work for companies other than audit firms can violate the code of ethics if they are ordered by their superiors. However, auditors could remain objective since, if they do not, they will lose their title as an auditor.

             This blogging experience gave me a goal. One senior in MACA suggested that I prepare and try for a leadership program because I am young and have more time than other members. After learning about the existence and advantage of leadership programs offered by Big 4 audit firms, I decided to prepare myself for the leadership programs. I am going to start on writing a resume and keep my GPA high, so that I can be a capable candidate.

             The blogging experience, also, gave me chances to have a talk with a current accounting professor vis-à-vis. He taught me new term, “Journal.” When he was answering to what he normally writes, he said that he writes research papers, memos, letters, and journals. Then he asked me if I know what journal is, and I could not answer. He told me that it is a record of transactions, also called, “account.”  According to Professor Bronson, he realized that he has natural talent in accounting which made me wondering. Since I was 20 minutes late to the interview with him, I could not ask personal questions such as how he knew that he had natural talent. If I do well in accounting classes, does that mean that I have “natural talent” in accounting? Or if I enjoy the classes and learning about accounting, does that mean that I have “natural talent”? Also, what actually is “natural talent” in accounting? I want to know when and how a person can realize his/her giftedness in this field. I believe more experience and learning will give me solution to these questions.

Work Cited

"Why Do We Need Accounting?" Why Important to Business, Study, Financial, Managerial, Basics. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2012. <http://www.moneyinstructor.com/art/needaccounting.asp>.

"The Fall of Andersen." Chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune, 1 Sept. 2002. Web. 03 Nov. 2012. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0209010315sep01,0,538751.story>.

"Ethics in Accounting." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2012. <http://www.enotes.com/ethics-accounting-reference/ethics-accounting>.

Ebrahimi, Helia. "Starbucks, Amazon and Google Accused of Being 'immoral'" The Telegraph. N.p., 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/9673358/Starbucks-Amazon-and-Google-accused-of-being-immoral.html>.

Open Blog - PhD In Accounting

Today, I read an article from "The Globe and Mail" titled, "Not Enough Accounting PhDs?" The article was published on June 15, 2012. Until now I did not think that I need to have PhD degree in order to become an accountant. Actually there is no need to have PhD degree in order to work at Big 4. People need at least 150 credits in order to be eligible to work at an audit firm (120 college credit + 30 graduate school credit). However, after reading this article, I changed my mind little bit.
The article was about how accountants are in demand, but the PhD-trained professors are actually in need, too. Due to high demand of accountants, more and more students are jumping into accounting major. However, most of them become accountants and stop their academic careers. However, if there is no one  who is getting PhD degree, there will not be enough professor to teach students who are heading into the profession. I learned that if I receive PhD degree, I can be a person who is necessary in this society.
When I talked with Professor Bronson, he told me that PhD can be a huge advantage for people who are trying to become accountants such as getting opportunity to do research. As a result, when I visit Canada during Winter break, I am going to talk seriously with my parents about getting PhD degree.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/business-education/not-enough-accounting-phds/article4267472/

Open Post - Starbucks, Amazon and Google accused of being 'immoral'

On November 12, 2012, I found a news article posted in "The Telegraph" titled, "Starbucks, Amazon and Google accused of being 'immoral'." I suddenly became interested in the article since Starbucks, Amazon and Google are quite huge companies and the problem they were facing was tax avoidance (Tax is a property of accountants).
The article was about Starbucks, Amazon, and Google were "practicing tax avoidance on an industrial scale". Firstly, Starbucks was criticized for paying small amount of tax despite the huge revenue. Starbucks refuted by saying that even thought they made high revenue, due to high royalties and other payments to offshore companies, they had no profit. Then Amazon was criticized for the same problem. "Despite having its warehouses in the Uk and employing 15,000 people, Amazon drives all of its sales through Luxembourg." Since Luxembourg has low income tax rate, Amazon drove all of its revenues to Luxembourg. Finally, Google, also, paid only 0.4% of its earning. Lord Myners, the former City minister, scolded accountants for letting all these to happen. However, the actions of these companies are not illegal. It is just immoral, which means that accountants could not just stop them.
After reading this article, I learned that huge companies like Google and Starbucks try to cheat in paying taxes. Since I want to become an accountant, I became worried that even though accountant is honest, if its client is not honest, it can cause problems to accountants.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/tax/9673358/Starbucks-Amazon-and-Google-accused-of-being-immoral.html

Open Post - Big 4

Until now, I talked a lot about Big 4 audit firms. However, I don't think that I have actually explained what Big 4 audit firms are. It is quite obvious, but while researching about them, I learned something new.
The Big 4 was radically Big 8 until 1989. The Big 8 firms were Arthur Anderson, Arthur Young & Co., Coopers & Lybrand, Ernst & Whinney, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, Peat Marwick Mitchell, Price Waterhouse, and Touche Ross.
In  1989, Ernst & Whinney merged with Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young, and Deloitte Haskins & Sells merged with Touche Ross to form Deloitte & Touche. As a result, Big 8 became Big 6.
In 1998, Big 6 became Big 5 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers.
These five firms were most prestigious firms in audit field. However in 2001, Arthur Andersen was involved in Enron scandal which was Arthur Andersen shredded Enron's documents related to audit. Due to obstruction of justice, Arthur Andersen lost its reputation and met its end.
After the collapse of Arthur Andersen, the four firms formed Big 4 and became the winners of fierce competitions of huge firms.
As a person who are hoping to join accounting field, I know how it feels honored to work in one of Big 4. Since working in one of those firms is dream of all accountants and auditors, my goal after getting my CPA degree is getting into one of Big 4.

Open Post - Internship

What is an internship?
According to Wikipedia, an internship is "a system of on-the-job training for white-collar and professional careers." Internship is typically done by college or university students. Some students do their internship after finishing or before becoming sophomores, but most do their internship when they reach junior year at college or university.

There was a regular meeting of MACA, the club that I am involved in, about internship. The graduate student in the club gave presentation to other members. The requirements for internship are well-written resume and application, decent GPA, well-prepared interview, work experience, and nice recommendations. Since a lot of members of MACA had experience of internship, they shared their experiences. A lot of them have worked in Big 4 audit firms and some of them have worked in other private companies.

After hearing and watching the presentation about internship, I was inspired. I learned that there are several ways to get internship and how it can be helpful for me to get full-time jobs. I decided to prepare for the internship processes. Firstly, I am going to try out for the leadership programs, and then try for the internship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internship

Open Blog - Accounting Software

Until now, I thought that accounting activities such as writing balance sheets are done on paper since that was what I learned from accounting book. I studied how to write balance sheets by hand and thought that it is very hard and time consuming work. While searching for what to write for a open blog post, I found out that there is actually software program that helps accountants to do their tasks easily and efficiently.
According to Wikipedia, "Accounting software is application software that records and processes accounting transactions within functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and trial balance. It functions as an accounting information system. "
I knew that since there has been a huge development in technology for last few decades, newer ways for accountants to finish their tasks have been invented, but I did not know there is something called, "accounting software." Learning about recent technology of my field was very helpful, but I think I need to get more adapted to technology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accounting_software

Open Post - Leadership Program

I did not know about leadership program offered by Big 4 audit firms until few weeks ago. When MACA, the club that I am involved in, had a regular meeting. A school senior told me that since I am young, I can try out for the leadership program next year instead of just waiting for a chance for internship. Leadership Program is a few day program in summer. Its purpose is to select top candidates for the firm's future employees and help them to get to know the firm better.

Since leadership program is like a step before the internship, the senior told me that if I get into a leadership program, I will have no problem getting an internship at that firm. Later, it would be easier to be a full-time employee.

I think learning about and having a goal in the field is great. After hearing this golden information from a senior, I set my goal. I decided to apply for all leadership programs offered in Big 4 audit firms. I am going to keep my grade up and get some working experiences, so that I am a competitive candidate. I, also, started working on my resume. I hope I get in to one of the leadership programs by the end of sophomore year.

Remixing Knowledge

I found a brochure of MGW Accounting Service in internet. MGW is "a full service accounting & business planning firm." When I visited its website, the firm looked like a newly created.


The audience of the brochure was its clients and people who are looking for accounting services because there was a list of services the firm provides such as profit analysis and costing, GAAP Compliance, new business startups, and more.
Its purpose was clear. The brochure was created to get more people to know the firm and get more clients. In the brochure, there were a lot of phrases like, "success of our clients," which was to show the people how they care about their clients.
I think the brochure was not quite successful since I could find exactly same phrases and comments at the website of this firm. It also did not have a lot of appeals to people since it was like other brochures.


http://www.mgwaccounting.com/

Recognizing Significance

Instead of reading story that just shows the importance of my field, I decided to read about a story that shows the consequence of being dishonest in the field. I believe that because the consequence of wrong action is big, the occupation's importance is also big. The story that I read is about the collapse of Arthur Anderson, once a huge audit firm.

Arthur Anderson is a prestigious Chicago auditing firm that was once a part of Big 5 auditing firms with current Big 4 (Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PWC, and KPMG). However, due to faking the financial statement of its client, Enron Corp, Arthur Andersen was convicted of obstruction of justice. Enron Corporation is "an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas." Even though it was only once, a huge and famous firm lost its reputation and met its demise not long after the scandal.

When I read about this event, I realized how being honest is important as an accountant. One mistake in accounting can cause a huge company to shut down. I believe that since accountant's roles are important, the responsibility of being an accountant is very high.

"The Fall of Andersen." Chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune, 1 Sept. 2002. Web. 03 Nov. 2012. <http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0209010315sep01,0,538751.story>.

 "Enron." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron>.

Practicing Your Knowledge

After graduating from the secondary school and before coming to Michigan, I bought a textbook about accounting. However, since it was free time and I did not want to study, I did not really start reading the book. So, I started reading the book this week.

Since I need to write about a hands-on experience that will allow me to learn about accounting for this blog post, I tried to look for basic skills of accounting. One of the basic skills of accounting is writing balance sheets.

As a result, I started solving balance sheet questions and created balance sheets with the data given in the textbook. I actually had hard time understanding the theory and method of writing balance sheet by just reading the textbook. However, when I started writing out the balance sheets by myself, I soon realized how things worked. For example, the total liabilities and the total equity should equal. It was surprising at the first time how it comes out to be same and I was curious if same thing happens with the balance sheets of huge companies where the values are large.

Open Blog Post - Answers to Exploring Writing Process

I was going to ask Professor Bronson. However, I could not get any of her contact information. As a result, I asked the president of MSU Accounting Club for Asians for an accounting professor's email address. Then he gave me a contact information for Professor .
I sent him an email, and he told me to visit his office on Friday morning. So these are the answers for the questions.


1) What do you write?

 - He normally writes research papers, memos, letters, and journals (records of transactions).

2) How do you write? (The process of writing)

 - 1. He asks what the purpose of the writing is.
   2. He gets a big idea like a theme.
   3. Then he sketches out an outline.
   4. He writes paragraphs with one idea in each paragraph with neat transition.
   5. He writes first draft and cut out unnecessary parts.
   6. He edits the essay trying to be concise as possible.
   7. He lets it sit for few days.
   8. Finally, he reviews it with fresh eyes.

3) How long have you been teaching accounting?

 - He has been teaching accounting for 10 years.

4) What is advantage of having Ph.D when becoming an accountant?

 - Ph. D can teach people how to research and gives people authority to teach in big schools like Michigan State University.

5) Why did you choose this field?

 - He firstly went in general program and experienced several fields of study. Then he realized that he has natural talent in accounting, and he enjoyed learning it. As a result, he received degree in accounting in MSU in 1987.

 He taught me new word "Journal," and I learned a lot about the profession. It has been a great experience and I hope I meet him when I get into Eli Broad College of Business. Also, on the day of interview, since I am not familiar with the business building, I had hard time finding his office. As a result, I was almost 20 minutes late. I hope he did not have bad first impression about me.

Contemplating Controversy

I read a source about the problem about management accounting.
It is an article titled, "What's Wrong With Management Accounting?" and is based on Van der Merwe's philosophy, "Management accounting philosophy I: Gaping holes in our foundation."

There are many problems the management accounting is encountering with.

"1) it holds management accounting in a state of ambiguity, confusion, and frustration,
2) if there is no truth, there is no basis for evaluating the various theories and approaches to management accounting,
3) frequent bias by those with vested interest in a particular approach causes arguments that range from factual
    statements to character assassination,
4) if there is no truth, there is no lie,
5) real progress is difficult since there is no underlying basis for critical thinking,
6) no common frame of reference makes it difficult to communicate with managers and others looking in from
    the outside (e.g., students and prospective students),
7) no convincing case can be made for the value of management accounting to the enterprise."

In order to solve these problems, two solutions were suggested. They are law of non-contradiction and the law of rational inference.However, there are drawbacks for both solutions.
Why do people need management accounting despite of all these problems?
It is because organizations need to operate in the most efficient and proficient way, all available resources must be chosen, organized and managed appropriately to accomplish the organizations goals and objectives.



Martin, James R. "What's Wrong with Management Accounting?" What's Wrong with Management Accounting? N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://maaw.info/ArticleSummaries/ArtSumVanderMerwe07(1).htm>.

Evaluating Sources

I read a scholarly Article, "ACCOUNTING CHANGE BEHAVIOR: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EARNINGS ADJUSTMENT AND FIRM-SPECIFIC EXPLANATORY FACTORS. AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS."

"What factors influence the choice of firms' accounting systems?" This is the key question of this journal. There are two different types of views to this question. First is "economic" view. This view is management belief that the cashflow influences the change in accounting behavior. In this view , factors related to the exposure of the firm to political costs, the firm's lending agreements, bonus compensation contracts, and the percentage of stock ownership held by management is assumed as relevant in explaining change in accounting behavior.
Second view is a "naive" view. This view is, also, management's belief in naive capital markets. This view assumes that the change in behavior is influenced by the earnings measurement. In this view, factors related to the firm's past and current earnings realizations are assumed in explaining change in accounting behaviors.

I think that the "economic" view is more reliable and trustworthy. The reason is that there are more factors that can explain the answer. However, since the two views are related closely. I think it would be better if the two views are combined.



Moses, Orrin Douglas. "Accounting Change Behavior: The Relationship between Earnings Adjustment and Firm-Specific Explanatory Factors. an Empirical Analysis." University of California, Los Angeles, 1983. United States -- California:ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT); ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Web. 10 Oct. 2012.

Open Blog Post - AACSB

I suddenly got curious about what it takes a business school to be official. So, I did a research on it, and I learned that official business schools were accredited by AACSB. AACSB (an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) was established in 1916 as a membership organization for business schools. Currently, Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University is officially accredited school by AACSB.
In order to gain accreditation by AACSB, "first, a school must be a member of AACSB International and offer degree-granting programs in business or management. Next, a school may apply for AACSB accreditation. The school’s application is carefully reviewed to ensure it is eligible to pursue AACSB Accreditation. Once it is determined that a school has the potential to be accredited, it works with mentors, committees, and AACSB staff to develop a Standards Alignment Plan. Once a school follows through with its alignment plan and meets the AACSB standards, review committees and the AACSB Board of Directors decide whether or not a school should be accredited. In its entirety, the AACSB accreditation process is rigorous and requires a significant amount of work to achieve."
However, it does not mean that once accredited school is accredited forever. Schools can lose their accreditation. School undergo a thorough review that is focused on the delivery of high-quality education, continuous improvement, market relevance, and currency.

Defining Ethics

     Code of ethics is extremely important in accounting field. It is because a lot of people who need a help from accountants have confusion or problems with their financial statement, so they need someone who is reliable, competent, and honest. According to eNotes.com, “[a]ccounting professionals should only undertake tasks that they can complete with professional competence, and they must carry out their responsibilities with sufficient care and diligence, usually referred to as due professional care or due care.”

My belief of the accounting field corresponds with the statement. I believe that accountants should deal with works that they are capable of and should be responsible for those works.

As a college student, I am trying to prepare for the work in my field by doing three things:

1)     I try to be as honest as possible. Lying is totally unacceptable in accounting field.

2)     I do not take too many courses at one semester since I won’t be able to handle them.

3)     I am responsible for my possession and work.

"Ethics in Accounting." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2012. <http://www.enotes.com/ethics-accounting-reference/ethics-accounting>

Observing Community

For this special post, I decided to write about the club that I am already taking part in. It is MACA!!
MACA (MSU Accounting Club for Asian) is an officially registered student organization in Michigan State University. There are about twenty members in this club. During the power point presentation for the club introduction, the president of the club told us that this club has the closest connection between enrolled students and graduated students. The activities that this club offers are seminars about accounting, resume critiques, mock interviews, and, of course, regular meetings. Few weeks ago, our club went Membership Training (MT) to close lake in Lansing for three days. Last Thursday, I participated in the first regular meeting. The executive members gave us presentation on the basic information about accounting such as course description of ACC 201, ACC 301, and more.

Being a part of this club, I noticed one common value and belief in every single members of this club. It is connection. During the first meeting, the current president told us that the previous president has called him and asked if there is any member who is planning on graduating this year, so that he can recommend him or her at Deloitte interview. Deloitte is one of the Big 4 auditing firm. Getting a job at Deloitte is very hard, but since there are  MACA members who still communicate with current student member, members can obtain chances to work at huge companies.

As a business major, I think connection with other people is very important in business world and MACA is providing the connection, so I think this club will be extremely helpful for my future.

Open Post - CPA vs. CA

Since I am an international student from Canada, I have a lot of friends who goes to Canadian universities and few friends who are majoring in accounting. Unlike in the United States where accounting majors are working toward CPA (Certified Public Accountant), Canada accounting major students are studying in order to become CA (Chartered Accountant). So, I decided to do an open post on the differences between those two titles.

Of course, to achieve either one of these two titles, people have to take a CA exam or a CPA exam. However, in order to be qualified to write the exam, people need to meet some requirements and the requirements for CA exam and CPA exam are different.

Firstly, in order to take the CA exam, people need "51 credit-hour" including courses such as Financial Accounting, Cost and Management Accounting, Auditing, and etc. and the exams are mostly written and essays. For CPA exam, people need "24 semester units in business-related subjects".

Also, CPA is quite flexible in work experience. While CA requires people to have at least of one full year of work experience, only some states in US requires people to have work experience for CPA.

After learning about CPA and CA, I came up with a conclusion. Due to higher difficulty, CA sounds more prestigious than CPA. However, CPA do not really have drawbacks when they start working.

Citation: 

"Quick Links." Academic Qualification Requirements. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.icao.on.ca/Admissions/QualificationProcess/AcademicRequirements/1014page1141.aspx>.

"CPA Requirements." CPA Requirements. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.calcpa.org/Content/licensure/requirements.aspx>.

Exploring Writing Process

For this post, I am thinking of emailing one of MSU accounting professors to ask how he/she writes.
While looking through the MSU professors in koofers.com, I found out that Professor Bronson had the best rating.
As a result, I decided to email her.
I want to ask:
1) What do you write?

2) How do you write? (The process of writing)

3) How long have you been teaching accounting?

4) What is advantage of having Ph.D when becoming an accountant?

5) Why did you choose this field?

I am going to post the replies from her in the open blog post later.

Open Post - MACA

On September 1^st, I went to this event called, “Korean Rush.” This event is created in the purpose of introducing Korean clubs in the school for the Korean freshman. There was a club called, “MACA.” MACA stands for MSU Accounting Club for Asians. The president of this club said in his presentation that there are about twenty members in this club, and this club has the most connection between enrolled students and graduated students. Since I am interested in accounting, I joined the club. What this club does are seminars about accounting, resume critiques, mock interviews, and, of course, regular meetings. Last weekend, our club went Membership Training (MT) to close house in Lansing for three days. I did not know until I went to the MT that I am the youngest in the club. Thus, everyone in the club is kind and nice to me. I am thinking of widening my knowledge and understanding of accounting by being continuously involved in this club.

Considering Delivery and Style

I have read one scholarly article written by professional, a blog, and a trade journal about accounting. In those writings, I could find number of differences in their deliveries and styles. First of all, scholarly article was more formal than the trade journal, and the trade journal was more formal than the blog. For me, blog was easiest to understand because it was using easier terms. While searching for appropriate blog, scholarly article and trade journal for this comparison, I saw a lot of other blogs, articles, and journals. Even though, all blogs were accessible in internet, some of the articles and journals were in paper form, and some were, also, in pdf form. Unlike blogs that seek only one way of delivery, scholarly articles and trade journals seemed to pursue various ways of delivery. Also, I thought that these three different of writings were targeted toward diverse types of audience. The blog was mostly for students and people without accounting backgrounds, the scholarly article was written for professional accountants or highly educated people, and the trade journal was for all audiences who were mentioned previously.

           As a student, I thought scholarly article was solid and unemotional while blog and trade journal were friendly and easily accessible. In addition, blog seemed to address its audience often. For example, in the blog I read, the writer says, “You may be suffering from pre-busy season anxiety!” Furthermore, most of the blog posts were shorter than the trade journal and scholarly article.

In my opinion, the purpose of blog is to give people who have little or no knowledge of the field basic concepts and ideas about it, and the purpose of trade journal is to give people who are interested in the field most up-to-date news about the field. Lastly, the purpose of the scholarly articles is to provide people who are familiar with the field more detailed and clear information.

Blog: "Tips for surviving busy season « The Anonymous Accountant."The Anonymous Accountant. Web. <http://audit.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/tips-for-surviving-busy-season/#more-133>.

Trade Journal: Sawyers, Andrew. " hedge accounting IAS 39 IASB IFRS derivatives 80-125 test hedge effectiveness." CFO.com - News and Insight for Financial Executives. CFO, 12 Sep 2012. Web. <http://www3.cfo.com/article/2012/9/gaap-ifrs_hedge-accounting-ias-39-iasb-ifrs-derivatives-80-125-test-hedge-effectiveness>.

Scholarly Article: Ray, Ball, and Philip Brown. "An Empirical Evaluation of Accounting Income Numbers." Journal of Accounting Research.No. 2. Vol. 6. Wiley-Blackwell, 1968. 159. Web. < http://www.jstor.org/stable/2490232 >.

Asking Questions and Developing a Basic Knowledge

1.      What degrees do I need to become an accountant?

Most employers require a candidate to have a bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field. Certification within a specific field of accounting improves job prospects. For example, "many accountants become Certified Public Accountants (CPA)."

2.      What is the typical starting salary for accountant?

The typical starting salary for accountant is $50,000.

3.      Why do people need accountants?

According to moneyinstructor.com "[Accounting] is the only way for business to grow and flourish." The books and records kept by an accountant give us a snapshot of the financial health of a business, allowing us to make sound business decisions."

4.      What is the difference between good accountant and bad accountant?

Good accountants are honest. If accountants let people to receive large tax returns over and over without stopping the pattern, they cannot be good accountants.

5.      What kinds of jobs are related to accounting?

Accountant, auditor, bookkeeper, controller, etc. are jobs related to accounting.

6.      How much do accountants work?

Accountants generally work a standard 40 hour per week, but some work 50 hours a week or more.

7.      Is majoring accounting in university the only way to become an accountant?

If a person has not majored accounting in university, he/she can go for a Masters in Accounting. He/she can gain working experience as a candidate for a Masters in Accounting.

8.      What are some big companies in this field?

There are four firms that are largest international professional services networks in accountancy and professional services called “Big Four.” The “Big Four” includes PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG.

9.      How is the future outlook for this field?

Fortunately, there is a positive outlook for most types of accounting careers. According to PayScale.com, "the demand for professionals with accounting degrees is only expected to grow as more accountants reach retirement age, and as companies seek to improve the accuracy of their financial reporting due to increased governmental standards."

10.  What kind of people are in this field?

People in this field are generally detail oriented, honest, good with numbers, and analytical. 

Citation:
"Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2012. <http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Business-and-Financial/Accountants-and-auditors.htm>.

"Why Do We Need Accounting?" Why Important to Business, Study, Financial, Managerial, Basics. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2012. <http://www.moneyinstructor.com/art/needaccounting.asp>.

"What Is the Future Employment Outlook for Those with Accounting Careers?" What Is the Future Employment Outlook for Those with Accounting Careers? N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2012. <http://askville.amazon.com/future-employment-outlook-accounting-careers/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=15654983>.

About Me!

My name is Jong Won Lee, and I am a freshman at Michigan State University. In this blog post, I will tell you about me and why I am me. I was a boy who always procrastinated. I started studying the night before the tests and wrote essays a day before their due dates. Thus, my English tutor often criticized me for not giving him enough time to correct my essays. When I came to the university, I promised to myself that I will not dilly dally anymore. However, I still tend to be a spontaneous writer; I think or plan as I write. I actually do not have many strengths when I write. They are that I try to think of unique ideas, and to compose candid and attractive writings. My weaknesses are that I take a long time to learn even basic grammar, and even though I am thoughtful and thorough with my writing, I still make many mistakes However, when another chance is given to me, I try as hard as I can to bring up the quality of work to the fullest.

I do have few other strengths as a student. From the time when I was at elementary school, I kept repeating to myself that I am not visually attractive and not smart and not good at sports, so I at least need to have nice personality. I do not get angry easily. Also, I always try to fit in, in other words, I do not complain a lot. My friends in my high school actually picked me as a friend with the best personality. My weakness is that I am a shy boy when I meet new people, and it takes quite long time for me to get close with them.

             When I watched a movie called, “Pursuit of Happyness” (Nope, I did not misspell it), I wanted to become a businessman since it is a stable job, and they can also earn a lot of money. At first, I wanted to become a sport marketer since I had a lot of interest in sports. However, being a shy boy did not help me to become a material for marketing. As a result, I decided to become an accountant. Many people recommended me to become an accountant. My math tutor told me that since I have done well in math classes, and I have the patience and thoroughness to do the boring but important tasks, I can think about becoming an accountant.

             This blog is for people who want to become an accountant or want to jump into accounting field but absolutely know nothing about accounting. Everyone who has interest in accounting is welcome. Since I am a freshman at a university, I still have a lot to learn. So, when I learn new things, I will share them here, so that I can be helpful to all those people who have same dream as me.