In the classroom, we covered such a wide range of material, that I now feel confident and prepared for a successful career in business. I must say that the wide variety of courses that were offered by the program was one of the many pleasant surprises this year. While there were quite a few of core requirement classes, they were spaced out enough to where each student could choose their own unique electives and tailor their focus on topics that interested them. For example, I was able to take electives that focused on business law and corporate finance. Simultaneously however, some of my classmates took classes on negotiation, improvisation, and a few even took advantage of the opportunity to take project management MBA courses to diversify their experience. But no matter which electives they chose to take, I think everyone in the program learned the value of teamwork both in the classroom and out of it. I truly think we were all very lucky to have such a wonderful group in our graduating class.

I would like to advise any new students coming into the program to take full advantage of the MAC administrative staff. Their offices are located across the hall from our classrooms and their doors were always open. You can quantify their hard work by looking at our recruitment numbers, but I was also constantly impressed with their personal efforts to ensure that each and every student in our program had a wonderful experience. Remember that when going through the recruitment process, that every job is different and that the most important thing is to find a place where you believe that you can learn and develop your career.

I would also like to emphasize how very important it was for me to be involved in extracurricular activities here at school, like any of the service committees or intermural sports teams. The curriculum can be very demanding at times and having these outlets allowed me to take the occasional necessary step back from my studies. These opportunities gave me the chance to get away and come back to the material later with fresh eyes.

I learned a lot is year, including how vital it is to find a place where you can succeed. I feel lucky that UNC has been that place for me, for both my undergraduate and graduate careers, and I will always remember the bell and the well with a smile on my face. Kenan-Flagler Business School is renowned across the globe as a premier institution, but what made it special for me was that the everyone made it feel like home.

Go Heels!

Although I still have a lot to learn, the MAC program has provided me an excellent foundation to work with.  All this said, there are a few pieces of advice that I wish I had followed myself when I started the program just one year ago.  First, don’t be afraid to take MBA classes for electives. These are an excellent opportunity to take even more advantage of the world-class education offered by UNC Kenan-Flagler.  There are a number of extremely interesting courses from Social Entrepreneurship to Systems Thinking—so if any of them pique your interest, go for them!  Second, keep in mind that you ultimately want to pass the CPA exam, so try to take classes accordingly.  I know that this is not a CPA prep program (and I’m glad that it’s not!), but it is helpful to take the classes whose subjects are on the CPA exam (e.g. contract law, individual tax, etc.).   It will make CPA exam studying much easier!

Lastly, if you are an incoming student, I hope you have a great adventure this next year. And if you are just looking, I hope you decide to come and pursue a MAC degree at Carolina.  Either way, all the best!

Speaking of which, the CPA exam is coming up around the corner. I am expected to take the exam in May. I have signed up for an intensive course for preparation. As I was reviewing the flashcards for the audit portion of the exam, I noticed that I remembered a lot of the concepts. I definitely think that this is a testament to the MAC program. I feel really confident as I prepare for the exam because the program ensures that we are well equipped before taking the exam.

In our last Mod, I looking forward to learning more about auditing process and how it applies to the analyzing the financial statements. I am particularly interested in taking Professor Hand’s class on Financial Statement Analysis, so I can use my auditing skills from a financial analyst’s perspective. Ultimately, I am looking forward to finishing out the Mod strong with my classmates.

Some of my classmates went on a cruise, and some of the others took advantage of the MAC Program’s Global Immersion Elective – a class trip to Dubai. I, on the other hand, stayed here in Chapel Hill and started studying for my CPA exams. There are four parts to the exam and you sit for each section separately. The four parts include Auditing, Financial Accounting Reporting (FAR), Regulations, and Business Environment and Concepts (BEC).

I am taking the Audit section first, near the end of April, and prior to the end of the MAC Program. I was able to start studying early because we just began our last Mod, or half semester of classes, and my current class schedule is a little lighter because I took a heavier course load in the fall.

I accepted a position with a public accounting firm in November, and most of the firms have designed their start dates to give their new hires like me time to go ahead and get their CPA exams out of the way before starting work. Even though I am currently balancing my exam preparation with my class load, I will have much less time to study once I start working full-time this coming fall. Some firms will also pay for your exam study materials and online preparation resources, which is a huge bonus as these materials can be very expensive.

I have to admit though, I was okay with not taking a fun trip over spring break and getting a jump start on studying for the CPA. I have been extremely motivated to to finish early as I have planned one last road trip around the United States before I begin my new career. We have mapped out a 6,000 mile loop that will take us through Chicago, Montana, Utah, and Arizona, before heading back to North Carolina through Oklahoma and Tennessee. I could not be more excited about having the opportunity to take this trip, and these days it is serving as a great motivator to complete the online CPA lectures!

It is hard to believe that my time here at the MAC Program is coming to a close. I have truly enjoyed my experience here and I will always look back on my time here with fond memories and gratitude for the opportunities I’ve been given by the faculty and staff.

The GIE trip was none other than fabulous.  Not only did we learn, but we had fun, too.  We rode camels, went on a yacht ride (oh yes, a legitimate yacht), and even got a tour of the royal suite of the only 7-star hotel in the world.  And most importantly, I got to share this experience with fantastic people.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world, and highly recommend doing the GIE next year!

Speaking of good causes, another community service opportunity available to MAC students is Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA), which is sponsored in collaboration with UNC School of Law. VITA provides free tax assistance for low to middle-income taxpayers in the Chapel Hill area. Two Saturdays ago we completed our IRS certification exam, so now we are officially certified to provide assistance in income tax preparation. Training for VITA has been fun because it combines tax and accounting knowledge in effort to help the community. I am looking forward to helping those that need help with tax preparation.

The bottom line is that MAC students are committed to giving back to the community. Whether it is being part of the Community Service Committee, participating in VITA, there are many opportunities to give back to the community.

I currently serve on both the Social and Community Service Committees, and this year these two groups teamed up for a Toys for Tots drive prior to our Winter Break. We held our Holiday Party at a local restaurant here in town called The Standard, and asked on the invitation that each guest bring an unwrapped toy for underprivileged kids here in Orange and Durham Counties. Because of the generosity of my fellow classmates, our program collected and donated two huge boxes of toys for the community.

I am proud to say that we have also been involved with Habitat for Humanity. Usually, the MBA Program at UNC completes a Habitat home in their own, but this year the students of the MAC Program have made a huge effort to help them. The home we are working on is being built for the family of a man who works in maintenance at the Dean Dome – home to UNC men’s basketball team – which is located beside the business school. The MAC Program had a dedicated work day this past December, and a group of around 18 of us spent the day painting the whole interior of the family’s home. In addition to lending a helping hand with the labor, our class is also planning a charity golf tournament this coming April at a local course where all the proceeds will go to the Habitat project. There are several reasons why this project has been rewarding – but our collaboration with the MBAs has also had the unintended and happy result of bringing our two programs closer together as well.

There are also opportunities to help out the program individually – I enjoy serving as one of the MAC Program’s ambassadors. In this role, whenever a prospective student comes to Kenan-Flagler to interview, they are given option to have lunch with an ambassador, and go with us to a class and meet the faculty. I took full advantage of this when I interviewed, and speak from experience when I say that this networking is so valuable – not just for the incoming students, but also for those of us who are ambassadors and looking forward to coming back to campus next year to answer questions about recruiting.

Besides the busy academic start, a lot of students have just started to study for the CPA exam in order to get a few parts done before summer.  Personally, I started the audit section last week.  Although it’s strenuous, it has been a great way to reinforce what I have learned and am learning in my audit classes. Hopefully I’ll be able to take two sections before summer so that I can have some quality free time over summer before starting my job!

Depending on where your respective office is located, the firm will fly you up to the office for a pre-night event with members of the firm. During the pre-night you will talk with associates usually over dinner. Some of the associates are new hires, so it is a great opportunity to ask them questions about the job and what it is like to work with the firm because they were in the same situation you are currently in a year ago. Overall, the pre-night is a great way to ease the anxiety before the office visit the following morning. The next morning, depending on the firm, you will interview with a senior manager, a partner, and then you will have a panel discussion headed by the recruiter for the office. Although the interviews seem like they would be intense, the office does a great job of making you feel like you are at home, and overall it is more of a casual conversation rather than an interview. The best advice during the interview process at the office visit is to just be yourself. The firm is looking to see if you will be a good fit for the firm, so it is best to be authentic. Following the interviews at the office, you well mostly likely conclude with a wrap up ceremony by having lunch with some of the associates. This is a great time to ask any last minute questions to associates and reflect on whether or not you could see yourself working at the firm. It is important to feel comfortable around the associates because most likely you will be working with them on an audit team for long hours. Therefore, the office visit is a chance to visualize yourself with the firm to see whether or not you will want to work there. If you created a positive impression amongst the associates, and the firm feels like you will be a good fit, then most likely you will hear back from the firm as to whether or not they are going to extend you an offer.

Overall, the office visit experience was a blast. It is fun to meet all of your potential co-workers and learn from their experiences.

Do I want to focus on Audit or Tax?

Do I want to pursue a career in Public Accounting or a Corporate Position?

What types of industries and clients does each firm focus on?

Which firm has the culture that is the best fit for me?

This year, after the panels, the MAC Program’s Recruiting Coordinators set up several “Meet the Firms” events in the brand new Loudermilk Center for Excellence at Kenan Stadium here in Chapel Hill. After five firms attended each event, and our class was divided up into groups that would rotate around to each separate room to meet more members of each firm. Most firms brought partners and associates from several different office locations and who worked in audit, tax, and advisory positions. It was great to meet people who were specifically from our target cities and who worked in our desired fields.

Then, at the beginning of our first Module, the majority of the firms held social events on different nights, allowing us to further network and meet more associates before we applied for positions. There is no set limit or specific number of firms any one applicant should apply to, but my experience has been that most students have a better idea of the type of firm or company they would like to work for by this point. I personally applied to to eight positions, which is a little high, but I would say most of our class applied to an average of around six.

The next step is the On-Campus interview. Each night before your interview, the firms or companies will hold one final social event to give you an opportunity to meet the person that will be interviewing you the next day and network a little more with some different associates. These social events provide a great avenue for answering questions and developing knowledge of the firm that you can use in your interviews the next day.

The final step in the MAC Program recruitment process is the office visit. If you do well in your on-campus interviews and your interviewer believes you would be a good fit for their firm, then you will receive an office visit invitation. An office visit is a two day commitment – the in-office visit itself on a workday, and a dinner the evening prior. All of my office visits were in Raleigh, only a short drive east from Chapel Hill. Therefore, I only spent one night in a hotel room, but if your target city is farther away, the firms will provide lodging and reimburse you for travel. The most important thing to remember on an office visit is that this is your opportunity to really see the culture of a given firm. It is a difficult thing to explain in a blog entry, but each firm is distinctly different and you really will find your “fit” once you start walking around the perspective offices. On the day of your visit, you will be interviewed by anywhere from two to five more associates or partners. These interviews were generally more casual and only lasted about thirty minutes each. At this point in the process, each associates’s goal is just to try and answer your questions, differentiate themselves from other firms, and see whether or not BOTH parties could see you working there in the future. At the end of the visit, a few of the firms had presentations describing the benefits they offered. I really appreciated these because benefit questions are always difficult to ask before you have an offer, but can be major factors in your decision.

I know it seems like a long process (and it is!), but it’s absolutely worth it when it’s all said and done. Each of these events is in place to give the firms as many opportunities as possible to be impressed by you and answer your questions. Don’t forget, the MAC Program at UNC places around 98% of its students into full-time jobs before graduation, so as long as you work hard and stay true to yourself in your interviews, you will be just fine in the long run. Also, most importantly, don’t overlook the importance of working with your recruitment coordinators here at Kenan-Flagler. They work extremely hard for every student in our program, and can be an invaluable asset to have in your corner as your figure out your future.