McCombs School in the News
November 2003

McCombs Repeats Triple Crown in Accounting
Public Accounting Report, Nov. 30, 2003
For the second year in a row, Public Accounting Report (PAR) has accorded the McCombs School the #1 rankings in accounting at all three degree levels—undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral. This also marks the tenth year in a row that PAR has rated UT Austin’s graduate programs in accounting #1 in the country. PAR and its sister publication, CPA Personnel Report, are leading trade publications for the profession. They base the rankings on the largest national survey of accounting academics.

Study on Credit Scoring Lingers in Policy Discussions
Austin American-Statesman, Nov. 14, 2003
Implementing new state law, Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor this week adopted rules that regulate how auto and home insurers can use a person's credit record in calculating his or her premiums. But Montemayor put off the most critical question: whether to limit the surcharge or discount to a premium in connection with a person's credit rating. “A University of Texas Bureau of Business Research study concluded early this year that there is a statistically significant relationship between a person's credit rating and the chances he or she will file a claim,” noted the Statesman. “But it didn't study why that relationship exists, or how credit scoring might affect people of different races, ethnicity, income or other variables.” (Complete article at Statesman Archives requires subscription.)

McCombs School Hall of Fame Inducts New Alumni
Austin Business Journal, Nov. 13, 2003
The latest inductees into the McCombs School Hall of Fame are Kenneth Jastrow, II, chairman and CEO of Temple-Inland Inc., Ernest Cockrell, chairman of Cockrell Interests Inc., and Charles Tate, chairman and CEO of Capital Royalty LLC. The Austin Business Journal highlighted Jastrow’s career, which has included stints as chairman of the McCombs School’s Advisory Council and the development board of The University of Texas at Austin. He presently serves as chairman of the University’s Commission of 125, a group of national leaders convened to help President Larry Faulkner chart the University’s future. (Read complete article at the Austin Business Journal.)

Cultural Divide Narrows in Wake of Offshoring
Austin Business Journal, Nov. 10, 2003
“Offshoring is the buzzword dominating business headlines in recent months,” wrote Remi Bello, “[s]o much so, that The University of Texas McCombs School of Business hosted a four-day forum last month for academic, industry, and government leaders to discuss ways to stay competitive in an increasingly global marketplace.” Bello described an “unusual mix of rival corporate leaders, chatting amicably about global business strategies, [including] executives from Dell Inc., Motorola Inc., and Bank of America NA.” The execs joined McCombs MBAs for discussions on distance management during a four-day “Business Across Borders” seminar organized by Dr. Leslie Jarmon for the McCombs MBA Plus program. The article profiled the experience of McCombs MBA Kai Qu, a Chinese native who has advised Dell executives on their Asian operations. “There is an ancient Chinese saying—try to say something important, not obvious,” Qu said. “So, Asians take longer to process information than do Americans.” (Read complete article at the Austin Business Journal.)

Edelman Makes Plea for Children’s  Health Coverage During Conference
Austin American-Statesman, Nov. 10, 2003
Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund and champion of children’s welfare, spoke to students as part of the national Net Impact Conference at the McCombs School. Edelman stressed the need for increased children’s health insurance at a time when the Texas legislature has cut funding for it. “Many small businesses have canceled or limited health coverage due to insurance premiums that have been increasing by double digits every year,” she said. “Insurance has just become too expensive for [many] families.” (Complete article at Statesman Archives requires subscription.)

Business Can Be Ideal Career for Women, Assistant Dean Says
Oasis radio show on KOAI-FM Dallas, Nov. 5, 2003
A common misperception among women is that business is not a flexible enough field, said Elissa Ellis, assistant dean of the McCombs School MBA program. According to Ellis, business can be an ideal career for women because it allows them to pursue different kinds of career paths. Many women with MBAs say their degrees “have given them more flexibility in their career and the ability to do creative types of things like own their own business, do part-time consulting or step out of their career for a couple of years and re-enter fairly easily, because of that MBA that they have next to their name.”  (Read transcript of the interview on the McCombs Website.) 

McCombs Undergrads Win Business Strategy Competition
Austin Business Journal, Nov. 4, 2003
A team of students from the McCombs School won first place in the first Citigroup International Case Competition in Hong Kong. Students were given 32 hours to establish a business strategy for the expansion of Circle K convenience stores in China. The event, hosted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, was the first international case competition in Asia. The McCombs team won first place, beating 16 teams from around the world. (Read complete article at the Austin Business Journal.)

Treating Stock Options as Expenses Detrimental, Dell Says
Austin American-Statesman, Nov. 3, 2003
As part of the CEO Leadership forum that the McCombs School jointly sponsored with BusinessWeek Oct. 29 – 30, Michael Dell talked to the select audience of corporate executives about the difficulties of treating stock options as an expense, a rule proposed by the accounting industry’s governing body. “Expensing stock options means less stock options” for employees, Dell said. He said ultimately it will harm the ability of young companies to attract talent. “You can’t afford to give stock options to every middle manager in the company,” Dell said. (Complete article at Statesman Archives requires subscription.)

Law School Dean Speaks Candidly about Enron
Yahoo! News, BusinessWeek Online, Oct. 31-Nov. 3, 2003
William Powers Jr, dean of the University of Texas School of Law and head of a committee that investigated Enron’s downfall, spoke as part of the BusinessWeek CEO Leadership Forum at the McCombs School. As part of the one-day forum Powers talked with Business Week’s Andrew Park about Enron’s collapse, as well as the effects of increased corporate legislation on businesses. He stressed the importance of management teams understanding how important their role is. “It’s saying, ‘Remember, you have an awesome responsibility here,’” Powers said. “Get a corporate culture that’s going to maximize compliance—I think we’ll make more progress that way. It’s a little bit of what you might call consciousness-raising.” (Read complete article at BusinessWeek Online.) 

Dell Not Counting on Music Download Industry, COO Says
Austin American-Statesman, Nov. 3, 2003
Dell is not holding its breath waiting for the online music industry to take off, said Dell President and COO Kevin Rollins, who spoke to hundreds of McCombs students at an event sponsored by the MSIS department. “You’re going to need (customers to) download hundreds of billions of songs” for the service to make a significant profit, Rollins said. Nonetheless, Dell likes to experiment with developing industries at the beginning to ensure they are not left out of something big. “I hope it turns into a great thing,” he said. “I hope it turns into movies you can download.” (Complete article at Statesman Archives requires subscription.)

Efforts to Expense Options Moving Slowly, Granof Says
U.S. Banker, Nov. 3, 2003
Congress members hold varying opinions on new accounting suggestions to treat stock options as expenses. Some representatives extol change, while others seek to stop it. McCombs professor Michael Granof (Accounting) criticized efforts by House Rep. Anna Eshoo (D—Calif.) to slow the process of making reforms. Her proposed bill would implement a three-year ban, followed by a cost-benefit study done by the Securities and Exchange Commission to determine what the next step in option reform would be. “That would undermine the whole process,” Granof said. He suggested that members of Congress are looking out for their own best interests, complicating the process of change. “The basic political and economic forces—by that I mean campaign contributions—have not changed.” (Read a copy of the complete article on the McCombs Website.) 

McCombs School Team Wins Second Place in Real Estate Competition
Austin Business Journal, Nov. 3, 2003
The McCombs team won second place at the second annual National Real Estate Finance Challenge hosted by the McCombs School. The University of California at Berkeley team took first place and Harvard came in third. Goldman Sachs & Co. provided the case, in which students represent a global real estate opportunity fund. The students had two days to determine the best plan for a retail strip mall center that posed several challenges, including a location on contaminated soil, a high vacancy rate and significant market competition. The students defended their plans to judges from financial institutions such as Banc of America Securities LLC, Bear Stearns and Co. Inc., Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo Co. Participating schools included the top MBA programs in real estate from across the country. (Read complete article at the Austin Business Journal.) 

MOOT CORP® Winner Takes Second Place in Fortune Competition
Fortune Small Business, Nov. 1, 2003
KidSmart, the University of Georgia team that took first place at the McCombs School’s 2003 International MOOT CORP® competition, won second place in Fortune magazine’s first-annual MBA Showdown, which invites winners from MBA competitions all over the country to determine the best of the best in business plan competitions. A team from Brigham Young University took first place with their new software for property managers and Harvard’s fuel-cell batteries came in third. (Read complete article at FORTUNE Small Business.)

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For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.