ACADEMICS

CPAs Delivering the “Real World” to the Classroom

There is something about returning to the classroom after having experienced the complexities of the “real world.” There is something, too, about sharing in the learning experience, where both teacher and student learn from one another. And maybe more than anything, there is something in that wonderful opportunity to inspire someone as one day you were inspired.

Whatever the reason may be, several RISCPA members have found that returning to school is a rewarding and enriching experience.

Long-time RISCPA member Elizabeth A. Cannata is now an associate professor at Johnson & Wales University, where she teaches accounting courses in the school’s College of Business. Looking back, Cannata realizes that she chose accounting as a profession because of the powerful influence teachers had on her as a high school student at Mount Saint Charles Academy in Woonsocket.  

“I had so many phenomenal teachers and mentors,” said Cannata.

Cannata had a similar experience at Stonehill College -- more terrific instructors. And so just maybe, embedded under those lessons in cost accounting, tax accounting, and auditing were the roots of the desire to teach. Certainly, when the opportunity to return to the classroom presented itself, Cannata jumped at it.

“I thoroughly enjoyed practicing as a CPA and that experience has helped me to be a better teacher,” she said. “I hope to be a mentor to my students and help them with their career choices.”

Cannata gets a powerful return on the time she invests teaching. Each hour that she teaches comes back to her in the form of motivation. And that motivation builds within her the desire to make a difference – to influence – all of the students she encounters. It is the same influence she absorbed as a student – that so shaped her professional life. That she has spent time in the trenches, so to speak, is an added benefit. She enters the classroom armed with that credibility of having been there.

“Students absolutely love when I can relate the material in a textbook to the real world,” said Cannata. “I can share professional experiences with them and that really helps them to see the applicability of concepts learned in class.”

Cannata also finds that her experience is reciprocated, as her students bring to her their own real world lessons.

“The students at Johnson & Wales are amazing,” she said. “They come from all over the world and I have learned so much about many different cultures.“

Ed O’Donnell, Vice President of finance and corporate controller at Teknor Apex Company in Pawtucket, was also drawn back to the classroom in large part because he had such a positive experience as an undergrad.  O’Donnell cherishes the impact that Fr. Mathew Morry, a professor of business ethics, had on him during his years at Providence College in the mid-1970s. When teacher and student met again – during a Mass on campus some 30 years later – Fr. Morry asked O’Donnell to consider sharing his expertise with students. O’Donnell didn’t have to be asked twice.

In addition to teaching O’Donnell business ethics all those years ago, Fr. Morry also taught the philosophy section of O’Donnell’s Western Civilization course.

“He left an indelible impression on me,” said O’Donnell. “He always stressed respect for human dignity in all that he taught. He understood the practical challenges to living an ethical life and wanted his students to have an appreciation for what they would face when they left the classroom and entered the real world.”

That approach, concluded O’Donnell, would work for him as a guest lecturer, as well. And so it has. O’Donnell reads the text for the class ahead of time and then designs case studies based on real world encounters he has experienced.

“The students read the cases before my class so that we devote our time to discussing each from their point of view,” said O’Donnell. “Each case is based on an ethical challenge that I faced earlier in my career and typified the kinds of challenges my young students would face themselves. The cases are real, not contrived. What has surprised me the most has been how easy it has been to link these little ethical dilemmas with the theory being taught. When you read Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and see how similar things were 2,400 years ago to the way they are today, you realize that human nature being what it is, there is really nothing new – ethically or politically – under the sun.”

Tim Mahoney, a CPA who worked at several major firms, is now an associate professor in the Philosophy Department at Providence College. He has asked O’Donnell to visit his classroom as a guest lecturer on several occasions. Delivering such real world experiences to students, he said, is invaluable.

“Ed is more than a real businessman…he is a skilled teacher,” said Mahoney. “The cases he presents…are perfect vehicles for discussing the issues. He elicits good responses from students, gets the conversation going and keeps it on track. He puts just the right amount of pressure on students…to remind them that the questions and issues he is posing are things they may confront soon in their careers and they must be prepared to do so now. It is my experience that students have the most work to do on articulating moral arguments and justifying their moral judgments. Ed makes it clear that being able to articulate and defend one’s moral judgments is an essential part of business.”       

And like Cannata, O’Donnell considers himself fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from the students he teaches.

“Students are much more world-wise than I recall being at that point in my life,” he said. “I think technology, which gives them the world at their fingertips, has a lot to do with that. So I have learned from them as a teacher.”

Greg Porcaro, a principal at Otrando Porcaro & Associates, returned to Bryant University just a few years after he graduated, earned his Master’s and became a CPA. Now, having taught for more than two decades, he sees just how important a role he plays.

“I really enjoy interacting with the younger students,” said Porcaro. “You have a real opportunity to impact them.”

Of late, he has been teaching graduate courses.

“I impress upon them the need to be thorough and to be informed of everything that is going on in the profession,” said Porcaro.

And like his other CPA colleagues, Porcaro too enjoys a return on his investment of time in the classroom.

“Because of the complexities of the business world, teaching forces me to stay up on all kinds of things…I am always reading,” he said.

Reading – and learning. It is a common theme for these CPAs who have enthusiastically returned to the classroom.

Perhaps Ed O’Donnell sums it up best.

“You, as a teacher, stand to learn more than anyone else in class.”

Johnson & Wales Honors Mancini

Johnson & Wales University’s College of Business has honored Robert A. Mancini, Executive Director of the RISCPA, calling him a “mentor, leader, and resource for students.”

Johnson & Wales bestowed the honor in April, which read in part: “You have given our students an inside look into the world of public accounting. Your untiring efforts have resulted in establishing critical relationships with many accounting firms, providing opportunities for our students to gain valuable internship experiences as well as full time employment. Unselfishly supporting, recognizing and referring JWU students to colleagues, you have opened many doors that our students might not have had the opportunity to walk through.”