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 superintendent’s 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 like 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 losing 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. c
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