As SMU School of Accountancy (SOA) student Vicki You nears her graduation, she decided to pen down a note to her professors to express her appreciation for the guidance and knowledge she’s gained, especially from her second major in Accounting Data and Analytics. We reproduce her letter with permission below.
By Vicki You Ruo Qi, Undergraduate, SMU School of Accountancy
Dear SoA Professors,
I would like to share that one of my life-changing moments in SMU was to take on the Accounting Data and Analytics (ADA) second major. I first chanced upon the major through one of the information sessions.
As I had no prior experience in data and analytics, I was initially uncomfortable with taking the risk of learning something new. However, I soon discovered that the major is thoughtfully planned to equip students without any analytics background.
When the ADA major was first introduced two years ago, my peers and I questioned if the major would enhance our employability. Some thought that (1) the ADA major will not make us on par with our School of Information Systems peers in the area of data and analytics, and (2) some believed that an employer looking to hire people for such roles would not find ADA students proficient enough.
While these arguments may have been compelling, I have actually found through my job search experience that the knowledge gained from ADA is a valuable add-on to the SMU Bachelor of Accountancy degree. My fellow peers in the major have shared the same sentiments, and frequently highlight that interviewers are interested to know how the major has enhanced our skillsets. Furthermore, several job positions requiring a multidisciplinary skillset have emerged, where accounting background and some experience with programming and/or data and analytics is preferred.
One of my best memories in the major was the Accounting Analytics Capstone project. The Capstone was enriching as my group had the opportunity to work with an actual company to solve business problems with accounting data and analytics. The project allowed me to apply the knowledge gained from different modules under the ADA major, enabling me to fully appreciate the materials taught during the course!
Vicki (pictured centre) with her Accounting Analytics Capstone course project group
Overall, it was an amazing experience for me despite initially having no interest in data and analytics. As a bonus, I managed to expose myself to several new tools and paid platforms (like Datacamp, Tableau) that we got to use for free!
Thank you to all the professors who have contributed to making the ADA major possible!
Regards,
Vicki
