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Photo by Irene Fertik UCLA
Today
Senior Financial Analyst Teresa Todd recommends the Financial
Management Certificate Program to all UCLA staff members who
deal with business issues. |
BACK TO SCHOOL
Program addresses business officers' needs
by Wendy soderburg
ucla today staff
How would you handle the following situation?
A close friend gets a job as assistant manager of a record store.
She gives you three CDs, saying, “The owner here is really
stupid and the inventory system is so bad, they never know what
they have. Even my manager takes stuff home. You can have these
if you want.”
You would: 1) Take them since it is not wrong or illegal because
even the manager takes disks; 2) Take them since, legal or not,
it is the owner’s fault for having such a bad inventory system;
3) Take them even though you think it is wrong because you want
them; 4) Take them even though you think it is wrong because your
friend was just being nice; 5) Politely refuse, making up an excuse
(“I don’t really need them”); 6) Refuse and counsel
your friend that she is, in effect, stealing from the owner; 7)
Report your friend to the owner.
There might be a difference between what you would do and what
you think you should do, and it’s just this sort of dilemma
that is discussed in “Business Ethics,” a course taught
by David Harmon, director of Financial Management Programs. “Business
Ethics” is part of the core curriculum of the UCLA Financial
Management Certificate Program, designed to address the needs of
campus business officers who have financial management responsibilities.
Participants take prerequisites in accounting and payroll, three
core classes and seven electives to complete the program. Electives
include classes in accounting, budgeting, cash management, gift
management, equipment management, payroll, taxes, and travel and
entertainment. So far, 12 certificates have been issued, and 46
candidates are currently enrolled.
“During these periods of rapid change and tight budgets,
administrative managers are being asked to do more with less,”
Harmon said. “Providing a certificate program that focuses
on financial management survival skills helps ensure that we develop
and retain capable managers.”
Teresa Todd, senior financial analyst in Business and Administrative
Services-Financial Management Services, saw the program advertised
in Campus Human Resources’ Training and Development Bulletin
two years ago. She completed the program last December.
“I enjoyed the business ethics class because personally,
I’m interested in ethical issues,” Todd said. “Sometimes
issues are not black-and-white, so what is the ‘right’
thing to do? What is the most ethical thing to do? It’s not
always clear. The class really gets you thinking.”
In another favorite, “Internal Controls and Risk Assessment,”
participants presented to the class their work goals and objectives
and described the risks involved, the controls they could implement
against those risks and the control deficiencies they could foresee.
“In addition to enhancing your own job performance, you learn
about how disciplines overlap,” Todd added. “I feel
I became more well-rounded. It’s also helped me to network;
now when issues come up that affect my job, I have a personal relationship
with someone I’d feel comfortable calling. You also receive
resource materials and referrals to additional resources —
whom to call, Web sites to go to. I don’t expect that I will
retain everything I learned, but for me, an important thing is not
to remember everything, but to know where to go to find it again.”
To learn more about the program, go to www.finance.ucla.edu/training.
shtml. Register by contacting Financial Management Programs at
(310) 794-0538, or e-mail ssabeti@finance.ucla.edu
and provide your name, department and employee ID number.
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