Category Archives: Accounting and Business Law

Accounting and Dance Major Counts Both Numbers and Beats

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Double majoring in accounting and dance isn’t usual, but that’s the business school way. Many of our students complement their business education with coursework in the arts. The ability to study both accounting and dance is what drew Maggie Howe ‘21 to the College.

Watch below as Maggie attends her business and dance courses, enjoys Charleston’s beaches, attends site visits as a part of the Schottland Scholars program and more.

“You never know where the campus ends, and the city begins,” shares the Honors College student.

Accounting Students Make Finals in AICPA’s ThisWayToCPA Video Contest

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Mikaela Fodor

ThisWayToCPA

Two accounting majors are telling the world their plans to become ready to work after graduation — and it includes earning the coveted designation as a certified public accountant (CPA). Mikaela Fodor ’20 and Kelsey Patrick ’20 are three finalists representing the College of Charleston School of Business in the ThisWayToCPA Student Video Competition sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

In videos less than two minutes long, the seniors took to webcams to share with viewers why they want to become a CPA after graduating. Earning a CPA license is a well-respected career accomplishment in the field of accounting and provides many professional benefits. According to AICPA, CPAs earn up to 15% higher salaries than their non-licensed peers.

The public voting period begins Friday, Nov. 1, 2019 at 3 p.m. EST and will end on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019 at 2:59 p.m. EST. After public voting, a panel of judges will evaluate each video for content quality. Their scores, along with the public voting results, will determine which five students will win a $500 cash prize.

Click here to vote. View Fodor’s and Patrick’s video submissions below.

Mikaela FodorMikaela Fodor

Kelsey PatrickKelsey Patrick

 

 

Accounting Students Help Five Area Families

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“Santa’s Workshop” – Various students play the role of elves in getting gifts wrapped and labeled during the first week of December 2009.

Santa’s Workshop – Various students play the role of elves in getting gifts wrapped and labeled in early December.

Undergraduate and graduate-level accounting students at the College of Charleston helped five area families enjoy the holiday season this year as part of The Palmetto Project’s Families Helping Families (FHF) Program.  Over the past several weeks, nearly 50 members and candidates of the Mu Beta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, the College’s chapter of the international accounting honor society, either made donations, purchased and wrapped presents and/or helped to transport the donated gifts to the FHF distribution center.

Caroline Kinnett, the chapter’s community service officer and a master’s of accountancy student, spent the early parts of the fall semester looking for a holiday service project that would allow her group to have as much impact for as many people as possible.  After considering several options, Kinnett noted that “the FHF program was just a perfect opportunity for us to give back to a community that has been so good to so many of us.”

Kinnett, along with fellow master’s students Lisle Friedman and Nicole Robinson, established lists of gifts to be purchased by student volunteers during the early stages of the project.  After a few weeks of receiving gifts, they planned a “wrapping party” during which other volunteers ensured that each gift was properly wrapped and labeled with the correct family member’s name.  A few days later, two SUVs were packed full of goods and driven by master’s students Brian Lehnerer and Rebecca Zawinsky to the FHF distribution center in Mt. Pleasant.

While the chapter does a variety of service projects, Kinnett noted that this one was “extra special” because of the amount of gifts students donated allowed the five families to receive above and beyond what the FHF recommended be purchased for them.  While this is only the first year that the College partnered with the FHF program, it will not be the last.  Accountant that she is, Kinnett has already prepared detailed instructions for her successor to ensure that this is one holiday tradition the College definitely continues!

Beta Alpha Psi (www.bap.org) is an honorary organization founded in 1919 for financial information students and professionals. The primary objective of Beta Alpha Psi is to encourage and give recognition to scholastic and professional excellence in the business information field. This includes promoting the study and practice of accounting, providing opportunities for self-development, service and association among members and practicing professionals, and encouraging a sense of ethical, social, and public responsibility.  The Mu Beta Chapter was installed at the College of Charleston in September 2008.

The Palmetto Project (http://www.palmettoproject.org) is a catalyst for innovation. Through special partnerships with governments, businesses, civic groups, schools, and religious organizations, it strives to bring a fresh, entrepreneurial spirit to the challenge of building successful communities in a great state.

The Families Helping Families 2009 (FHF) program (http://www.palmettoproject.org/fhf.htm)  is a partnership directed by The Palmetto Project that brings together the generosity of local families, churches, businesses and community groups to help area families in need. In 2008, the FHF Holiday Programs helped over 2,400 families have a more joyous holiday season.

Four CofC Business Professors Contribute to Unleashing Capitalism: A Prescription for Economic Prosperity

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As key research contributors to the South Carolina Policy Council, four professors in the School of Business co-wrote what many perceive to be a blueprint for economic transformation and growth in the Palmetto state.

Unleashing Capitalism provides scholarly research to guide state policy decisions and opens the dialogue on policy reform designed to generate prosperity in South Carolina.

The report is available to state, county and local lawmakers and political leaders through the South Carolina Policy Council.  The plan is for the elected officials to review and consider its implications and recommendations in areas such as taxation, work and health incentives and education spending.

After reviewing the report, Tom Davis, S.C. State Senate Republican for District 46, commented, “The primary lesson I took away from Unleashing Capitalism was that no South Carolinian should get special treatment at the expense of another.  It’s important for us to move away from a system that encourages private sector fights for government favors.  When it becomes profitable for private parties to put time and money into lobbying politicians for public favors then that is precisely what they will do, as evidenced by the 377 lobbyists now representing 534 companies and organizations at our statehouse. We should not be encouraging such unproductive behavior.”

The report offers concrete recommendations for letting economic, social and political freedom create new opportunities for businesses and families rather than political favoritism.  Some of the report’s specific policy suggestions include:

  • Reforming the tax code
  • Creating a regulatory system that is equitable and encourages competition
  • Reducing the manufacturing property tax to one percent
  • Abandoning the economic incentives game
  • Lowering the personal income tax to three percent and fully indexing inflation
  • Providing incentives for work and wealth
  • Providing real choices to children and parents for public schools
  • Increasing the quality of education spending.

Peter T. Calcagno, associate professor of economics and director of the Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process, is the editor of the policy report.  His College of Charleston colleagues who wrote key chapters of the report include:

  • Frank Hefner, professor of economics and director of the Office of Economic Analysis
  • Douglas Walker, associate professor of economics
  • Steven J. Arsenault, associate professor of accounting and legal studies.

“I hope that readers will gain a better understanding of capitalism and its true potential to generate the long-run economic growth that will make South Carolina more prosperous,” says Dr. Calcagno.  “The report is full of specific ideas on policy reforms that could bring this to fruition within our lifetimes.”

Other authors who contributed to the report were from Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, West Virginia University, Beloit College, the University of Chicago, Indiana University and the University of Texas.

For more information and a complete copy of the report, go to www.unleashingcapitalismsc.org.

About the School of Business
College of Charleston’s School of Business offers five undergraduate programs, a master’s in accountancy and an honors program.  Approximately 1650 undergraduate and graduate students attend from as far away as China, Germany and Brazil. The faculty has research expertise in areas such as financial investment, bankruptcy, global logistics and environmental economics to business intelligence, hospitality and tourism and sustainable business practices. Visit sb.cofc.edu to learn more.

 

About the S.C. Policy Council
The South Carolina Policy Council was founded in 1986 as an independent, private, non-partisan research organization to promote the principles of limited government, free enterprise and individual liberty and responsibility in the state of South Carolina.

About the Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process
Founded in the fall of 2008, the Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process advances the understanding of the economic, political and moral foundations of a free market economy.  The Initiative for Public Choice & Market Process supports the growth and development of teaching and research at the College of Charleston School of Business while engaging students and the Charleston business community.

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