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Chair's Welcome
Welcome to the Department of Accounting! If you like working with people, problem
solving and working as a team player, accounting is definitely the career for you. Set
aside any stereotypes you may have of accountants sitting alone at their desks, merely
crunching numbers . . . the days of green eyeshades, pocket protectors and calculators are
history! Nowadays, nothing could be further from the truth.
Today, accountants are much more than “bean-counters.” They generate and evaluate
financial information and serve as trusted business advisors to a variety of clients. They
serve consulting roles in many business decisions, including capital or investment
decisions, financial information system design and implementation, and tax planning. You
may have even heard the reference to accounting as “the language of business.” Today’s
accountants need to be skilled “translators” of accounting information as they work closely
with others to solve problems and to meet the challenges of the contemporary business
world.
Accounting majors are currently in short supply, which leads to some
very exciting
opportunities for you. Recruiters from "Big 4" accounting firms, Fortune
500 companies
and many other businesses with a need for this
expertise are coming to campus with a
willingness to make job offers early and to offer
incentives, such as signing bonuses, to
qualified accounting majors. Last year, more
than 20 recruiters came to campus searching
for accounting majors, for both internships and
full-time positions—more recruiters than
for all other business disciplines combined!
And, choosing accounting as a major along
with another business major (or minor) may allow
you to select from among the best
offers!
If you would like to learn more about the accounting curriculum, our
laptop initiative,
or opportunities in accounting as a career, I
encourage you to talk with any of our
accounting faculty or upper-division accounting
students. Or you may want to attend a
meeting of the Accounting Club as way to learn
more
about accounting careers and the kinds of skills
so highly desired by employers.
If you would like to meet with me, please feel free to stop by my office. My door is
always open (at least figuratively). I am also available by telephone at 726-8550 or
E-mail at aroline@d.umn.edu.
Sincerely,
Alan C. Roline, Chair
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