You have been strongly involved in the design and delivery of executive education programmes. Where do you see the biggest benefit for employers and individuals to continue and develop through MBA programmes?
An MBA programme gives participants a broad perspective of business management. As such with an MBA you will not only learn more about management and business science, you will also be able to envision yourself at the helm of an organization and understand how you will deal with leadership. It is more a self-learning tool intensively comprised in 2 years with specific core competencies being assessed periodically.
Accounting for Managers is one of the fundamental courses on the MBA programme. Do you think this is a “must have” set, that managers needs to understand even though they might not be directly connected to accounting?
Managerial accounting is a foundational part of the understanding of business. I am not claiming that it is the most important part of it, nor am I claiming that it is the most interesting part of business. What I am stating is that it is close to the foundations of it, and a good understanding of managerial accounting will make a business more stable, solid and efficient.
What is your ideal outcome after the MBA class is finished? What do you wish that the candidates will take out of it?
My ideal scenario for my courses is to have the students identify in their lives instances where what they learned with me was useful. This can happen in a very short term, say when they get home and tell their families and friends: “today we did this or that in class”, since this is a sign that students paid attention, thought of the benefit of learning, were entertained and want to share the interest of this recently acquired knowledge. However, much more important than this immediate effect is the long term impact. A few years down the road, if they realize that a lot of their day to day decisions are informed by the knowledge, the values and the principles acquired in the program and in my course.
What would your message to future MBA candidates be?
Come and experience an MBA. You will learn a lot, mostly about yourself!