Hello, and welcome to the Accounting department in the College of Business at the University of New Haven. My name is Candace Deal. And I serve as the Assistant Dean of the College of Business and also an Associate Professor of Accounting. So, you're interested in accounting, but you're not quite sure exactly what it entails. That's okay, I am here to help! Deal to the rescue!
Alright, so to help you out, and to make it a little bit easier for you to understand, I am going to sum it up by answering three of the most popular questions that I always get from students. You're ready? All right. Question number one, "What is Accounting?" Well, at the most basic level, accounting can be considered the language of business. I like to look at accounting as doing three things. Accountants identify, report, and communicate financial information about a company to both internal and external users of accounting information. So accountants have the critical role of providing a comprehensive picture and an overall view of the financial health of a company so that businesses can make a decision.
Question number two, "What can I do with an Accounting degree?" Anything! No, seriously, you really can do anything with an Accounting degree. Let's be more specific. I always like to tell my students that every industry, every company, every small and medium-sized business, they require the services of an accountant. So let's divide it into two types of career opportunities in the accounting field. We have public accounting, and we have private accounting. Some of our students in the past have gone on to work for accounting firms such as Price Waterhouse, Ernst and Young, and Markham. We call that public accounting. Other than public accounting, you have the option of working in private accounting. So some examples of career opportunities in private accounting-- I have known students that have gone on to work in companies such as and businesses such as Walt Disney, Walmart, ESPN, especially if you're a sports fanatic, the FDIC, you can work for the FBI. Suffice it to say the possibilities are endless in accounting.
Question number three. "Why a degree at [the] University of New Haven?" Well, hm, no. Tell you what? To answer that question. I am actually going to turn it over to some of our greatest assets that we have at the university, our students. So let's hear what they have to say about why a degree at the University of New Haven.
