Certificate of Special Studies in Administration and Management
WINTER 2003

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Thoughts on Teaching CSS E-300
Financial Accounting Principles

Dr. Leonard Kopelman speaking at a CSS reception.

Dr. Kopelman, you have been teaching CSS E-300 Financial Accounting Principles since before the founding of the CSS program in 1980. What do you try to accomplish in your course?

Accounting introduces the language of business. It shouldn't be just boring numbers and where to place them, but the realities behind them. For instance, one of the expenses on the income statement is called insurance. We take 15 minutes of class time to discuss the kinds of insurance a business needs, down to issues of product liability, terrorism, and even snow insurance. The students are forced to think about the potential problems that could seriously affect, even end their business. So, whether the students know it or not, they are learning to think like business owners, and my students really get into it as they reveal some of their own experiences.

To what extent do you stress current events?

We always start our class with an issue relating to current events. I also sprinkle the course with stories of how companies have been defrauded by employees or others. I do this because managers or accountants need to protect the assets of a company. They need to know what the criminal mind can think of and stay one step ahead in order to prevent internal or external theft or an act of terrorism.

If you were giving a speech on sound accounting practices to members of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, what practical advice would you give them?

I would tell the Chamber that once you print your financial statements, banks, other lenders, shareholders, and sometimes employees will depend on them. If you don't apply the sound acceptable approach with honesty, you will be found out eventually.

If you are found out soon, which is usually the case, you won't be trusted and you will shortly be in the unemployment line, never to get a job again where you would be in control. If you are found out later, you may take the whole company down and affect thousands of lives of both shareholders and employees, as Enron and WorldCom have shown. Jail may also await.

I have always advised people to do what President Reagan said in terms of the various treaties with Russia: "Trust but verify." Do not depend that everyone who works for you will have your level of honesty, commitment, and carefulness.

One of the points I make in class is the difference between American business people and many Asian business people. To an American time is money and the end result is a contract. The Asians, on the other hand, value time differently and the end result to them is a relationship. It is important in business that managers take the time to form relationships with their employees, their customers, and suppliers and not just sit in front of a computer and play with numbers. Forming relationships, as

Your course is consistently one of the highest enrolled in the Extension School. You normally have between 125 and 150 students per semester. What methods do you find most effective for teaching such a large group?

I find that just doing pencil-pushing exercises can be awfully boring. Our students have put in a hard day's work, have not had dinner, and come into a classroom at night. I avoid turning the lights low and doing a PowerPoint presentation. I prefer interspersing and working on various solutions with real-life stories about issues. I also try to make sure that I don't give any homeworkthat will waste their time or have minimal return for the effort expended.

Even though I teach a large class I tell my students--and I sincerely mean it--that there is no such thing as a dumb question. Although there will be some who may feel uncomfortable talking in such a large class, the vast majority do speak up and questions will be asked and answered.

Why do you return year after year to teach in the Extension School?

Toward the end of each semester I think back on the first two class meetings and how little my students knew about business and accounting, then I think about the progress they have made. They understand the balance sheet, which in shorthand I call "BS." They are able to construct an income statement and understand the basic tax laws and the interplay of taxes and accounting. They are able to do a corporate tax return, which is nothing more than an income statement. More importantly, they know what questions to ask and they understand the difference between book value and real value. This progress is my reward for teaching in the Extension School.

Having said all of this, I also believe we have to keep accounting in perspective, so I would like to close with the following poem by Robert Frost, "The Hardship of Accounting":

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