With aspirations to get into banking, my goal in joining the MMS program at Fuqua was to expand my career opportunities and tap into a strong network of alumni. Despite being born into a family of accountants, accounting is my not favorite subject, but I know it is essential if you want to get into the business world.

My mother is an accountant and has her own accounting firm in China. I have known how to do bookkeeping since high school. I thought it was so dull. You have to do the same procedure every month, semi-annually, and annually for the same company. If the asset doesn’t balance the liability and stakeholder’s equity, it will drive you crazy, and it may take a day for you just to figure out why it doesn’t balance.

In the MMS program, each student must take accounting. I didn’t expect the class to be fun, but after completing it, I now understand the value of accounting. Rather than learning how to become a preparer in accounting, Professor Kevin Chen teaches you how to evaluate and become a user of financial statements. This is totally different from what I learned in my mom’s firm.

I already miss my class time with Professor Kevin. He is so lovely, and his class is easy to follow and well-structured, even for someone like me who has a background in accounting but is not especially passionate about it. In class, we sometimes watched Shark Tank and learned how accounting is essential to startups when they need the shark’s investment. As an investor, you have to understand the financial statement before making your investment. A financial statement is like the heart of a business operation because it tells you how much cash flow your business has and how many debts you owe to others.  

I had so much fun in the class; we all love Kevin. This class definitely made me love accounting again. While I do not think I will follow my mom’s path in becoming an accountant, I will rely on this foundation as I pursue a career in the financial industry.