Accounting Degrees Have Great Worth
Re: Advice to Accounting Students: Smile at the Big Five But Look Elsewhere for a Job
From: W. Steve Albrecht, associate dean of the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University

I have read the editorial by Ed Ketz. These are my feelings.

I couldn't agree more with his first point. Accounting degrees do have great worth. We teach measurement better than anyone; we develop analytical skills better than anyone; we help students deal with rigor better than anyone; and we help them understand the value of information better than anyone. I am very bullish on accounting degrees and their high value.

Second, while I respect his second point about skipping the Big Five in a graduate's first job, I still believe that a Big Five experience is extremely valuable. It is still the best apprenticeship available and, while starting salaries haven't kept up, partner salaries are very good. In addition, working for a Big Five opens up many doors to other opportunities. I wish beginning salaries were higher in audit and tax, but the market economics right now don't justify higher salaries.

I couldn't agree more with his third point that students should use their electives to take broadening-types of courses. Too many accounting programs have curricula that prepare students to be too narrow; in other words, they prepare them for accounting, but not business.

His fourth point is that the Big Five will come around with a good job later on if you get good experience. In today's market, that is probably true, depending on the type of experience you have.

Finally, I disagree most with his fifth point about 150 hours. Everyone in the business and academic world believes some kind of graduate degree is necessary today -- students, business leaders and professors. We need to deliver a value-added 150-hour program, not just more of the same. The problem isn't the 150-hour program; rather, it is in what we deliver in that program. Eliminating the 150-program would result in "dummying down" the profession at a time when we need more than ever to show the world that an accounting degree has substance and credibility.

Dec. 21, 2000