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Reflection Paper - Finance 1

This reflection paper discusses three key topics the author learned in their finance and quantitative leadership course: 1) corporate governance and the importance of audit committees for universities, 2) the concept of depreciation and how it impacts both personal and university finances, and 3) the importance of understanding balance sheets and double-entry accounting for higher education professionals. The author felt the course helped advance their knowledge and will aid their goal of one day becoming a university president.

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152 views5 pages

Reflection Paper - Finance 1

This reflection paper discusses three key topics the author learned in their finance and quantitative leadership course: 1) corporate governance and the importance of audit committees for universities, 2) the concept of depreciation and how it impacts both personal and university finances, and 3) the importance of understanding balance sheets and double-entry accounting for higher education professionals. The author felt the course helped advance their knowledge and will aid their goal of one day becoming a university president.

Uploaded by

api-661950980
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reflection Paper

Cy Swoboda

Siena Heights University

LDR640: Finance + Quantitative Leadership

Dr. Ball

June 6, 2023
Reflection Paper

This course has undoubtedly helped me understand more in-depth information regarding

finance and quantitative leadership. One of the first topics that really stood out to me was the

idea of corporate governance. The next topic that had a big effect on me throughout this course

was the idea of depreciation and how it can play into higher education. Lastly, understanding and

comprehending the balance sheet is incredibly important as I move forward in my higher

education career. These three ideas together, while not the entirety of our course, undoubtedly

helped me progress my higher education knowledge and will aid me as I move forward in

becoming the President of my own university one day.

Corporate governance is something that has been in my head since entering the world of

higher education. Of course, at the end of the day, colleges and universities are businesses –

whether they are non-profit or for-profit. Either way, these institutions are a business through and

through. There is typically a board of directors, who have the control, and shareholders, who

have the ownership (Riley, 2019, 0:45). The board of directors, who are picked by the

shareholders, oversee properly running the corporation as needed. Within higher education, there

is typically a Board of Directors, President’s Cabinet, or something similar that vote and make

decisions regarding the overall university, the faculty, and the students. Within these boards,

there is often an audit committee, who is responsible for “reviewing audit plans and findings,

approving external public accountants, and coordinating the efforts of both internal and external

financial reviews and audits” (Dahlquist & Knight, 2022, p. 48). An audit committee is

inevitably one of the most important parts of a university’s governing body due to the importance

of financial management. Being able to audit the university’s financial statements and having

proper accounting measures will greatly benefit the university as a whole.


Depreciation is incredibly important to keep in mind regarding financial situations.

Before this class started, I had heard of depreciation but had never really given it the time of day.

This course, though, has highlighted just how important depreciation truly is. As soon as one

purchases an item, depreciation starts occurring and happens throughout the item’s life (Hearle,

2020, 2:01). On a personal note, this relates to me in buying a car. I recently bought a car, and it’s

important to remember that when I trade it in, it will have depreciated for years; therefore, I will

not get anywhere close to what I paid for it. Using depreciation, I can get an idea of what the car

will be worth, though. I also learned that there are three different depreciation types: straight line,

double declining balance, and units of productions (Dahlquist & Knight, 2022, p. 144). In terms

of higher education, I would like to start my own university one day. It will be important to keep

in mind that depreciation will affect the products we purchase, such as computers, over time.

Learning about depreciation is essential for anyone in the business field.

Lastly, the balance sheet topic stood out to me throughout our seminar discussions and

textbook readings. The balance sheet is a picture at a specific time highlighting a company's

assets, liability, and equity (Dahlquist & Knight, 2022, p. 135). Being able to manage and

understand a balance sheet is vital for higher education professionals, as we may have to

complete the balance sheets for our respective universities. We learned that the equation for

accounting is Assets = Liability + Equity. Being able to know this equation and use it in terms of

higher education will be beneficial for my career. With this equation comes double-entry

accounting. This form of bookkeeping can improve reliability in financial health, make tax

preparation easier, and boost cash flow management for a university (Singh, 2023). Overall,

being able to properly manage a balance sheet can have a positive impact on any higher

education leader.
Overall, this class has taught me a lot in terms of financial ideals and quantitative

leadership skills. In the beginning, I was rather nervous regarding this course, as finance and

accounting subjects are a bit overwhelming. After not doing well on the pre-tests, I was

definitely worried. Nevertheless, this class turned out to be an enjoyable class where I learned an

abundance of new ideas. Corporate governance ties into how universities have boards who make

decisions on behalf of the university, so learning more about how these boards work was

advantageous. Both on a personal and professional level, the module covering depreciation

helped me learn a lot on how items lose value over time. Lastly, double-entry accounting and

balance sheets helped me understand the importance of accounting and finance at a university-

wide level. I am very pleased with the topics I have learned in this course.
References

Dahlquist, J. R., & Knight, R. (2022). Principles of finance.

https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-finance 

Hearle, J. [Accounting Stuff]. 2020, May 25. DEPRECIATION BASICS! With Journal

Entries [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pas1ETbrj8&ab_channe

=AccountingStuff

Riley, J [tutor2u]. (2019, February 21). Corporate Governance Explained [Video]. Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppz3wY5L3uE&ab_channel=tutor2u

Singh, K. (2023, May 3). 7 most important benefits of double entry bookkeeping for business.

IBNTECH. https://www.ibntech.com/blog/7-most-important-benefits-of-double-entry

bookkeeping-for-business/

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