The most recent decision I have made was personal, returning to school
to complete the courses I have left to earn my accounting degree. This
decision steamed from a particular problem. Over the last year I have
applied for several positions within my current and other school
districts that would be equivalent to a CFO position in the business
world, Assistant Superintendent of Finance. I would get called in to
interview but ultimately I was told multiple times, while my resume and
educational credentials were impressive and I interviewed well, I did
not have the accounting/finance background the districts were looking
for. I was told that these districts wanted more than a superintendent's
certification. I did my research, and the research indicates that more
and more public school districts are hiring accountants for their CFO
position. This is a shift in the state of Texas. The CFO position has
traditionally been held by someone with a superintendents
certification without a degree in accounting. Research indicates that
this shift is due to mismanagement of funds that has occurred in some
districts over the last 5-7 years (TASBO, 2022). With this knowledge I
researched what it would take for me to complete my accounting
degree, and I research online university programs. That's when I
decided to finish my degree and SNHU was the place to make that
happen. I would say my decision making model was similar to the one
presented by Datar & Rajan (2018) in Exhibit 11-1.
The opportunity cost for my decision to return to school where both
large and small. The quantitative factors involved in my decision:
relevant costs like, the cost of paying for classes (incremental cost), the
hours spent working on homework, the hours of sleep lost due to the
extra work load, and the amount of time lost with family; and relevant
revenues like, the increase in my salary once a CFO position is gained
(incremental revenue). The qualitative factors involved in my decision:
the feeling of accomplishment when the degree is finished, missing
events or relaxation to complete homework, the exhaustion from
loosing sleep, and the stress of working full time and going to school.
The quantitative factors outweighed the qualitative factors and I am
working to finish my degree. I do not believe that any change in the
factors would have changed my decision to pursue my accounting
degree.
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