Category: Cox Business School

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Academics Ambassadors Cox Business School

My Favorite Class at SMU

My name is Austin Foster, and I am a Sophomore Majoring in Finance and Political Science here at Southern Methodist University. One of the things I really love about the SMU campus is our small class sizes (average of 22 Students) and the unique personalities of each of our professors. The combination of these two truly sets apart SMU from other universities. Today I’m going to tell you a little bit about my favorite class I’ve taken on campus—ACCT 2301: Intro to Financial Accounting.

For starters, this class was great because of the amazing professor that teaches it: Liliana Hickman-Riggs. Professor Hickman-Riggs, or “LHR” as she is affectionately referred to on campus, is an eclectic woman known for her high-top sneakers, designer handbags, and chihuahuas! SMU is known for having professors who are extremely dedicated to their students and LHR is certainly no exception to this rule.

Specifically, the course has taught me to think in a new form and how to communicate using the “Language of business.” Rather than adding and subtracting, Accounting is a language of Debits and Credits. As the course progressed, we continued to build on these skills and were given the opportunity to apply them to real-world scenarios through case studies and innovative homework problems.

One of the most beneficial parts of the class for me was the asynchronous videos that the professor incorporates. These. Videos served as “guided readings” that walked us through the chapter reading, highlighting key terms and examples before we begin the lecture for the week. I found this to be extremely beneficial for me as it allowed me to master the material much easier and alleviated stress before exams.

One week of the course gave us the opportunity to meet with a partner from Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, which is one of the “Big Four” Accounting Firms. This experience was very intriguing to me as it opened my eyes to the world of accounting careers during my first accounting course. After meeting with the partner, we were divided into groups and asked to complete an analysis of Apple Inc.’s three financial statements, The Balance Sheet, The Income Statement, and The Statement of Cash Flows for “Jill,” who was considering an investment in the corporation.  This application of the skills learned in the class was extremely beneficial as it showcased the practical uses of the skills we had just learned in Financial Accounting.

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Academics Bush Library Cox Business School

A Unique Experience: A Guest Lecture by President Bush

Meeting President Bush on campus was one of the things I had on my bucket list since my freshman year at SMU. However, I never thought that the way I would meet him was through a surprise guest lecture in one of my business classes.

jun-hoI am currently taking Professor Don Vandewalle’s class on Leadership and Culture in the Cox School of Business. The course is an evidence-based study on the science of leadership, and it utilizes interdisciplinary frameworks to understand what makes leaders successful.

When class started that fateful day, everything seemed normal. Professor Vandewalle began class by outlining the objectives of the day and asking us if we had any questions.

However, about five minutes into the lecture, our class began to realize that this class period would be anything but normal. We were told to put our computers and other electronic devices below our tables. Shortly after, former President George W. Bush walked into our classroom, shook Professor Vanderwalle’s hand and sat down on a chair across from our professor, ready to talk about some of his leadership experiences during his career.

Professor Vanderwalle led the beginning of the session by asking some questions tailored to the topics that our class was currently covering through case studies and in-class discussions. Near the middle of the class period, President Bush opened the floor to questions from the class. He took the time to answer each question asked and even stayed past the allotted class time to make sure that every student who wanted to ask a question had the opportunity to do so.

I am extremely thankful for the opportunity that SMU provided to not only meet the former president, but also to hear about his unique experiences and lessons learned as a co-owner of the Rangers, as the governor of Texas, and as the President of the United States of America.

-Jun-Ho Koh

 

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Campus Life Careers Cox Business School Life Around Dallas Student Organizations

Start-Ups Start Here!

Do you have the next Big Idea? Are you an entrepreneur? Do you want to be an entrepreneur?

A picture from one of our club meetings.
A picture from one of our club meetings.

During high school, I started my own automotive accessories business and was fortunate enough to make a profit. Naturally, when I came to SMU, my first priority was to find the SMU Entrepreneurship Club. Upon membership, I met many other SMU students who also had entrepreneurial endeavors. I am so passionate about entrepreneurship that I am now, as a sophomore, the Vice President of the club. The SMU Entrepreneurship Club is one of SMU’s 200 student organizations and is one of the best resources available to get real world entrepreneurial experience. Whether you have the next billion-dollar idea, want help with an existing business, or simply want to hang out with cool people, the entrepreneurship club is for you!

The club prepares students for pitch competitions around the country and hosts guest speakers and pitch training events. One of my favorite events we do as a club is Shark Tank analysis. Shark Tank is a popular TV show in which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of notable investors, such as Dallas local and billionaire Mark Cuban. In fact, a few SMU students have pitched their businesses on the show. The club plays the recorded pitches and collectively analyzes the pitcher’s strategy and techniques. The event is both educational and a lot of fun.

Entrepreneurial spirit on campus does not stop outside the club. SMU is one of the most entrepreneurial universities in the country. SMU is ranked #14 on Forbes’ list of “Start-up Schools: America’s Most Entrepreneurial Universities 2015.” This can be attributed to our very social, involved, and entrepreneurial student body, and also to the fact that Dallas provides the perfect incubator for starting businesses. Forbes ranked Dallas, TX #7 for the “Best Cities to Start a Business.”

If you answered “No” to all three of my initial questions, congratulations for reading this far. SMU offers 199 other student organizations; at least one will surely make you feel at home. My advice to you: get involved as soon as you step foot on campus.

Pony up!

-David Zimmer

 

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Academics Cox Business School

My Experience in the Cox School of Business

           I study marketing within the Cox School of Business along with an advertising minor from the Meadows School of the Arts. I’m really enjoying the business curriculum! Now I am starting to focus more on my Marketing degree. I am taking really interesting classes in which I am learning more and more about my field. It really helps to have fantastic professors who take the time to ensure that I understand everything they are teaching to us.
          In one of my favorite classes, I am learning about how pricing affects the consumer’s opinion of a product or brand. It is incredibly important for companies to be able to calculate the right price to sell a product or service. If you don’t do this correctly, then the product might be considered under or overvalued by consumers. I am also learning how to use marketing surveys which can help figure out what consumers desire. This can be very helpful to companies because they can then use this information to predict the needs of the consumers and adjust their business plans accordingly.
          All of these classes that I am taking within the Cox School of Business has given me the tools that I need to ensure that I will be successful with the companies I work for. I have just received an offer to intern with Strop Insights this summer which is just down the road from SMU! I’m incredibly excited to work for such a fast growing company within Dallas. I know that the lessons that my marketing professors have taught to me will be extremely useful while working in my internship this summer. I will be working under other SMU graduates and with current SMU students who happen to be some of my really good friends. It should be an amazing summer!
-Alex Porter
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Academics Careers Cox Business School

The Life of an SMU Accounting Major

Although finance is the most popular major within Cox, as well as the most popular major on campus, I personally believe majoring in accounting is the way to go. Let me explain.

Recruiting season for accounting majors in Texas begins at the start of second semester for all juniors who wish to go through formal accounting recruitment. About a dozen public accounting firms, ranging in size from the “Big Four” to middle market and smaller firms, come to campus to start recruiting all interested juniors majoring in accounting. After many information sessions, interviews, dinners, etc., most, if not all, accounting majors walk away with an internship for the spring semester of their senior year.

For those who know they are interested in accounting by the spring of their sophomore year, they can apply to the summer leadership conferences that the public accounting firms offer between the summer of one’s sophomore year and the start of junior year. These all expense paid, two to three day conferences, can and often result in an internship offer for one’s senior year. This way, students can avoid the formal recruitment process.

For those interested in the audit track, the internship starts in January and goes until the end of March, with two accelerated accounting courses taking place during the month of April. For those interested in the tax track, the accelerated accounting courses happen in the month of January and the internship subsequently begins in February and runs until the end of April. Both internships fall within the “busy season” of their respective fields, thus keeping the interns quite busy as the name suggests!

The “Big Four” accounting firms even have a global rotational program as an option for one’s internship. Thus you can apply to spend half of your internship abroad. This all expense paid opportunity not only gives you global work experience before you have even graduated college, but it also gives you an opportunity to get exposure to a different culture. This opportunity is unique to the accounting industry and something I am currently in the process of applying for.

Upon successful completion of the internship, it is likely you could walk away with a full-time offer. Students who accept this offer and go on to work where they have interned love knowing their environment and colleagues before they begin work on their first official day.

This spring I will be interning with KPMG here in Dallas in their Audit Department. I am looking forward to applying the outstanding education SMU has afforded me to real life experiences, as well as learning even more from working full-time in a professional setting for over ten weeks. SMU’s Accounting Department has provided me and my classmates such unique and amazing opportunities!

-Maggie Poxon