Robert Not Bob

Debits on the left,

Credits on the right,

Stand up, sit down,

Fight, fight, fight!

If you don’t know that one, then you are probably not an accountant.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the University of Texas McCombs School of Business Department of Accounting.  I am proud to say that I was a part of that history for five of those one hundred years and that I received 2 of the  25,605 accounting degrees conferred since 1912.  In fact I even went down to the campus recently to take a picture of The Tower lit up in honor of the occasion.

While I left the accounting profession fairly early on in my career, I attribute much of my professional success to the educational foundation I received while attending the McCombs School of Business in pursuit of an accounting degree.  I call my accounting degrees from UT “my dirty little secrets” since technology professionals tend to have less than high regard for accountants.  But not very closely held secrets – since my diplomas are proudly displayed on the wall behind my desk.

Many people think that majoring in accounting means just learning the mechanics of debits and credits, memorizing all those mind numbing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and just adding and subtracting numbers.  At some schools that may be the case, but at UT the professors actually taught us about business –  not just how to keep score. They also brought in real world business leaders that brought the theoretical to life.

You may think that I am just a homer that thinks that his university has better academics than the rest of the schools in the country.  But in this case, I think it is more than just my opinion.  Just check out these facts and figures about the McCombs Accounting Department:

So Happy 100th to the best accounting program in the country, and thanks for shaping my business mind and the minds of so many others.  Hook’em!