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The
numbers alone tell only half the story.
The
other half—interpreting and teaching the hidden meaning
behind the numbers—is what makes the Fisher College’s
Peter Easton a man in demand, both in the business community
and in the classroom.
Easton, John J. Gerlach Chair in Accounting and professor of
accounting and management information systems (AMIS), investigates
new ways of analyzing information which reveal the hidden truths
trapped inside the world of financial statements, balance sheets
and earnings reports.
Easton’s
innovative research into performance evaluation and economic
value-added models have, in fact, been adapted in one form or
another by consulting firms to every Big 5 accounting firm in
the nation.
"And
they’re making a lot more money doing it than I am," says Easton.
It’s
that cutting-edge research that is translated directly into
his Financial Information and Valuation course (AMIS 828), one
of the more popular MBA electives at the Fisher College.
Another
set of numbers—class enrollment—displays the course’s popularity
among Fisher MBAs.
Class
size has increased considerably in the three years since Easton
developed the course outline. "We started with 28 students our
first year. Then it was 45. Last year we had 77."
Easton,
1999 recipient of the Fisher College’s Pace Setters Graduate
Teaching Award and MBA Finance Association Outstanding Teaching
Award, attributes the success of the course to one factor: content.
"To
the students, it’s all about relevancy. If what you are teaching
is perceived as beneficial, then it’s a pretty easy sell."
After
a year of core coursework, Fisher MBA students have the opportunity
to branch off into specific areas of interest, choosing from
more than 50 elective courses.
According
to Brenda Runyon (MBA ’99), a student in Easton’s spring quarter
1999 AMIS 828 class, the relevant information—immediately useful
in the job market—is the course’s main selling point. "I was
able to directly apply what I learned from Dr. Easton during
interviews for my full-time post-MBA job with corporations such
as Eli Lilly, Arthur Andersen and Ford. The class afforded me
the ability to converse with senior executives on the very important
issue of financial valuation; and to actually do it from a perspective
that few of them had previously been aware of." Runyon was hired
soon after receiving her MBA by Eli Lilly in Indianapolis.
As
Easton says, "Students come into my class with a fairly good
understanding of the basics of accounting. They have a good
understanding of the principles of finance, as well. What this
course does is marry the two in an up-to-date way." For the
future investment managers and financial analysts of the world,
it’s a tangible first exposure to the power that this knowledge
can hold.
"To
the student, it combines the allure of Wall Street with the
realization that 'this is information that I can really use’,"
says Easton.
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