Chatham University’s Business & Entrepreneurship Department is delighted to feature Michael Drop ’16, a graduate student in Chatham’s Master of Accounting (MAcc) program. Michael is currently the Accounting Manager of Enterprise Business Consulting, a company that provides bookkeeping and consulting services to small businesses. He specializes in accounting software setup and training his clients with an emphasis on setting up automated transaction processing, which saves them time and ultimately money compared to processing transactions manually. In addition, he is a QuickBooks Advanced Certified ProAdvisor as well as Microsoft Office Specialist Master certified.
After finishing high school, Michael decided to follow a different path than most. He decided against attending college right away due to personal obstacles. However, this did not dissuade him from pursing a degree in the future: “I made a commitment to myself that I would work hard, save money, and eventually go back to school and finish a degree in accounting,” says Michael. His enthusiasm, hard work and engagement with his objectives allowed him to achieve his goals, and in the long-run, attend college.
Michael received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. After receiving his bachelors degree, Michael knew that in order to be able to sit for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, he needed to obtain 30 additional credits. For this reason, he thought that the MAcc program at Chatham would be a great fit for him to earn extra credits and enhance his skills. “When I had finally finished my degree, I was distraught to learn that they had raised the college credit requirement for the CPA exam from 120 to 150 credits.” Michael studied all of the possibilities that were available in order to complete the 30 credits that he was missing. “It seems I had a difficult choice to make, should I pick up a double major in my undergraduate school and get the 150 credits before starting my career like everyone else, or should I graduate with 150 credits, start my career, and go to graduate school?” After evaluating his choices, Michael decided to begin his career and then go to graduate school.
Michael expresses that his decision to join Chatham’s MAcc program was beyond the fact that he needed the additional credits:
“The reason I chose Chatham goes much deeper than just getting the additional credits… I chose Chatham not just because the degree would help me by giving me the extra credits needed to sit for the CPA exam, or even the knowledge base to pass it, but because of the assistance Chatham provides to students to develop a unique program of study that best suits their background and career interests.”
Michael feels that his decision to pursue a Master of Accounting at Chatham has been beneficial for him personally and professionally. Michael concludes by reflecting on his experience: “The highlight of my MAcc experience has been working in groups during classes and making many close friends. Some of whom, to my surprise, were in a similar situation as myself. I would recommend the program to anyone who wants an experience that is different from the normal path.”
Chatham’s Master of Accounting (MAcc) program, provides an opportunity for students to acquire all of the tools that are necessary to succeed in the preparation for taking the CPA and/or CMA examination. One of the main objectives of the Master of Accounting program is to guide and support students towards successful and dynamic careers by giving them the opportunity to obtain vital knowledge to be able to thrive in the accounting field.
