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.