The Best MBA Programs In Accounting

GOING FROM A ‘SAGE ON THE STAGE’ TO A ‘GUIDE ON THE SIDE’

While McCombs’ philosophy has remained consistent, the school hasn’t rested on its laurels. Instead, the delivery has evolved to enhance teaching and take advantage of new technology and resources.

For example, Hirst previously taught using a “sage on the stage” model.  “I lectured and probably had a thousand [PowerPoint] slides,” Hirst confesses. “The last few years, we’ve moved to a model where there is a lot more pre-work and class preparation on the part of the students. So the vast majority of class time is spent in dynamic student-centered active learning that takes place in groups.”

Popularly known as ‘flipping the classroom,’ this model has changed everyone’s role in the process. For example, McCombs requires a core course in financial accounting for all MBA candidates. Here, Hirst has transitioned into being a ‘guide on the side.’ Working in concert with accountants in the classroom, Hirst orchestrates activities and learning, navigating between groups to learn what’s going well and what isn’t – and keeping everyone on track.

EVERYONE TAKES ACCOUNTING CLASSES…EVEN CPAs

Based on the returns, Hirst believes this approach is a far more enjoyable experience for students. “It’s a tremendous way for them to share their knowledge. If I’m speaking at the students for an hour-and-a-half, there’s precious little time for students to be sharing their considerable knowledge of the challenges they’ve faced in practice.”

One distinguishing feature of McCombs’ MBA curriculum: CPAs can’t clep out of the core accounting and finance courses.  And that provides two major benefits to students. To start, first years share a common experience in the first seven weeks at McCombs. No matter their background, Mabley shares, “they each have an opportunity to share their expertise. Everyone shares the same beginning foundations. It really sets the tone that we’re all in this together and really builds the team environment.”

Even more, completing these core courses give CPAs a different perspective on their craft. McCombs has refined these courses so the real value comes from examining and debating finance and accounting issues from a big picture standpoint. “The majority [have] come to me at the class break to tell me, ‘I never really thought about the problems in that light,’” says Hirst. “In many cases, as an undergrad, they were so focused on the debits and credits. We use those words in class, but it’s not for the purpose of journalizing something. It’s for the purpose of ‘what economic events are we representing here?’ ‘What does this mean about risk, profitability, and liquidity?’ They just eat that up. For some, this is the first time they’ve stepped back from their profession and asked why are putting this together like this in the first place.”

AN INTIMATE PROGRAM WITH BIG RESOURCES BEHIND IT

Intimacy is another trademark of the McCombs program according to Hirst. “Our biggest strength is that we’re an intimate program, in that we bring in 275 students per year and have really, really big outside resources behind us.”

How big? “If we manage this as a portfolio – with our working professionals and executive program – we have 1300 students in the pipeline at any given time,” Hirst points out. That doesn’t include the 4,000 undergraduate students at McCombs – or faculty that teach across programs. And this size – coupled by McCombs’ varied offerings and strong reputation – attracts scores of employers, who can recruit from both the BBA and MBA ranks.

“We’re one of the largest universities in the country and we really try to leverage that in terms of giving people opportunities both inside and outside the business school to customize their program,” adds Hirst. “You have the talent and diversity of the students, with a wide, wide range of backgrounds that they bring into the program with the wide range of things they want to do – and you put them into an intimate program where they really can share ideas very efficiently. When you give them the opportunity to go to a public policy, law, pharmacy or architecture course, you’re really adding a lot more than your typical business school experience.”

Best of all, the school is based in Austin, an entrepreneurship and technology hub which ranked third in Forbes’ list of the best places to launch a startup in 2014. “There are very few business schools built into the city like McCombs is built into Austin,” says Mabley. “There is a great symbiotic relationship with the city and the school – and a great way to send students out into incubators.” The city’s moderate size also makes faculty very accessible, adds Hirst. “Because we’re not a massive city, faculty comes in here to go to work. When you want to get a hold of someone, they are more than likely to be in. Whereas, some of my colleagues at very high quality programs in large cities work at home more often than not. So there’s sort of a different vibe within the building due to the city we’re in.”

Like everything else in Texas, McCombs’ alumni network is pretty big too. We have 22,000-23,000 MBA alums and 450,000 Texas-exes,” Mabley adds. “That’s a pretty powerful network when you need someone to give you a hand.”