Minding their business

Susan Lightle, professor of accountancy, meets with Master of Accountancy students during a recent class. (Photo by Erin Pence)

A spring semester project at the Raj Soin College of Business is pairing Wright State University accounting students with not-for-profit groups that help needy children, teens, businesses and others.

The project — for students in the Master of Accountancy program hoping to become certified public accountants — is part of the curriculum in the Department of Accountancy.

To select projects for the semester, Susan Lightle, professor of accountancy, approached Tony Ortiz, associate vice president for Latino affairs, through Robert J. Sweeney, executive vice president for planning, to identify not-for-profits that could benefit.

“The objective of this course is to give students some practical experience working as a team, which is what they’ll be doing as CPAs in the real world,” said Lightle. “What I like about the projects this year is that they are based on not-for-profit groups. They need accounting just as much as corporations do.”

The 14 students formed teams, each of which is helping one of four Dayton not-for-profit organizations: the El Puente Learning Center, East End Community Services, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Miami Valley and the Dayton Hispanic Chamber.

During a recent organizational meeting at Rike Hall, Lightle introduced the students to representatives of the not-for-profits.

“What you are going to be doing now is actually acting as an accountant, someone who is helping a client with an accounting-related problem. I think this is going to give you great experience,” she told the students. “As you become business professionals, I encourage you to find your little niche, your area where you want to make a contribution. You have special skills, and not-for-profits need those skills.”

The student teams then met with the representatives of the organizations to understand the groups’ accounting needs and craft their approaches. One not-for-profit may need help setting up accounting software to keep the books; another group may need a long-term analysis of donors and their contributions.

El Puente Learning Center provides a bridge for Latino students from public and private schools that strengthens academic and language skills and helps the students succeed in their schoolwork. The center is staffed with Wright State students who volunteer their time to help tutor.

East End Community Services works to transform east Dayton neighborhoods through housing development, educational initiatives, after-school and summer programming, teen programs and services for parents, single adults and seniors. The group touches more than 4,000 people a year.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Miami Valley matches adult volunteers with children to create a mentoring network designed to create relationships that have a positive impact on children.

The Dayton Hispanic Chamber provides opportunities for Hispanic businesses through networking, advocacy and education that promote economic growth and social development.

“I believe this project will have an impact on improving the services these organizations provide,” said Ortiz.

Lightle said the project will teach students teamwork and documentation skills.

“Probably the most important skill that students develop in this course is the ability to work with a client to understand their need or problem and find a solution,” she said. “Interviewing a client is the scariest part for most students. They just don’t know what to expect. It’s not an easy thing to do, and yet it’s a critically important skill for an accountant.”

Lightle said she hopes the course also gives students a sense of how professionals can contribute to the community and that the students later become volunteers for the organizations they help.

“At the very least I hope the students see a model for professionals devoted to giving back to the community in the form of dedicating services to some not-for-profit organization,” she said.

Lightle is meeting with the student teams weekly to check progress. At the end of the semester, the teams will make presentations on the outcome of their projects to each other and to a panel of business professionals.

Lightle, who got her MBA degree at Wright State and Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, has been teaching at Wright State for 26 years.

“I’m very proud of our program,” she said. “We have a really strong accounting program. Our students perform very well on the CPA exam.”

To learn more about the program, contact Kevin Brown, director of the Master of Accountancy program, at 937-775-3138 or kevin.brown@wright.edu.