Accounting

If I had to choose one word to describe Accounting professor Stewart Hamilton, it would be "curmudgeonly." He's a crotchety old Scot who is very emphatic that we should not question the "why" of accounting practices; we should just accept them. He has already yelled at me in class because I applauded him. I can't help it; his stodginess is hilarious.

So far our accounting education conjures up images of dusty old books and quill-written ledgers. As a software guy, that's a little hard to stomach. IMD is very clear that we are not here to learn to be accountants. We are here to learn to be better general managers--the best general managers--so the intent of this course is to educate us just enough to be dangerous.

Our major takeaways from this course have been centered around how to analyze balance sheets, income statements and cashflow statements to support investment decisions. I've had plenty of exposure to these reports before in a software context so it's interesting to see them applied to manufacturing, services organizations, etc. I'm also hoping to benefit from Stewart's knowledge of fine Scotch whiskey.

I'll leave you with a quote from Stewart: "You know you're due it so you have to accrue it!" Imagine it with a thick Scottish accent.

Happy Mardi Gras!