Chaminade University of Honolulu

Accounting

Accounting program validated by International Accreditation Council for Business Education

Following a rigorous self-evaluation process and independent peer review, Chaminade University’s Accounting program gained accreditation from a professional agency promoting excellence in business education worldwide.

In validating the program, the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) recognized Chaminade’s commitment to academic quality, integrity, responsibility and ethical behavior in its accounting programs and operations.

Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, IACBE has accredited more than 1,300 business and business-related programs in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central America, and South America

Instrumental in earning the council’s stamp of approval was Richard Kido, an Associate Professor of Accounting with the School of Business and Communication. Kido joined professors from numerous other universities in creating standards and criteria for accounting accreditation over a two-year period ending in 2016.

Kido later wrote a self-assessment report of Chaminade’s accounting program then helped facilitate a site visit by IACBE representatives so they could interview administrators, faculty, students and alumni. Employers were also interviewed to determine if Chaminade graduates were adequately prepared for their accounting jobs.

Based on feedback from students and alumni who praised Kido’s instruction methods and dedication to service learning, IACBE presented him with the 2017 “Excellence in Teaching Award” in April at the organization’s annual conference and assembly meeting in San Francisco.

Chaminade’s School of Business and Communication offers a Master of Business Administration degree along with undergraduate programs in Accounting, Business Administration, Communication, International Trade and Computer Information Systems. Undergraduate degree programs in Business Administration and Management are also available through PACE (Professional and Continuing Education) online and evening courses.

Business Education Accreditation Council Honors Kido with ‘Excellence in Teaching Award’

In recognition of his “meaningful and significant contributions to student learning in a way that advances academic quality in business education,” Chaminade University Associate Professor of Accounting Richard Kido recently received the 2017 “Excellence in Teaching Award.”

The honor was conferred by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IACBE) at its annual conference and assembly meeting in San Francisco.

IACBE, which accredited Chaminade’s Accounting Program in April 2017, promotes excellence in business education worldwide. The council has accredited more than 1,500 undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Central America and South America.

“Hundreds of people are deserving of this award,” Kido says, “so I feel lucky to receive it. This is not an individual award. It’s a team award and department award for our School of Business and Communication. It’s a reflection of the quality of our Chaminade faculty as a whole.”

When IACBE representatives visited campus as part of the accreditation process, Kido worked closely with the site team. Based on interviews with accounting students and alumni who praised Kido’s teaching methods and commitment to service learning, IACBE nominated him for the prestigious award.

Kido teaches a wide range of courses at Chaminade, including accounting and nonprofit accounting. Prior to entering academia in 2002, he served as a chief financial officer in the savings and loan, real estate development and hospitality industries. He also operated his own accounting and financial consulting firm.

Kido earned his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a bachelor of arts degree from Michigan State University.

Student-Mentor Presents at National Conference

Chaminade senior Erin Ah Sue and Chaminade accounting professor Wayne Tanna presented their collaborative research at the 24th annual conference of the American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences (ASBBS) in Las Vegas this spring.

Titled “The Palolo (Elementary School) Stock Market Challenge,” their paper with an accompanying PowerPoint was accepted for competition under the educational leadership track for the “Classroom and Adjustment Issues at Home and Abroad” session. The competitive sessions were organized with an average of four papers presented. After each presentation, general discussion followed.

For the past 20-years, students at Chaminade have strengthened their neighboring community, Palolo Valley, through various service-learning projects, including the “Palolo Stock Market Challenge,” a fantasy investment simulation. Ah Sue, majoring in Nursing and Business Administration, was a recent student-mentor with the project. She and Tanna, her instructor, shared details and the results of the development and operation of the most recent project that assisted low-income students and families in the area. Ah Sue was the main presenter.

The project taught the participating Palolo students basic math concepts and developed financial literacy and an appreciation of the ethical and environmental impacts of business operations through the real-world contexts of saving and investing.

“The paper was more of an instructor’s manual for replicating the game at other universities and public schools around the country,” said Tanna, who has been involved in this project for many years.

Tanna and Ah Sue, who is also a Hogan Entrepreneur Program student, were able to attend other sessions during the March 23-25 conference, as well as the ASBBS awards luncheon with Virginia Gean of California Lutheran University as keynote speaker.  Gean spoke on “Success Stories of Women Leaders in Business and Education.”

Hogan Students Learn about “Taking the Road Less Traveled” from Chaminade Alums

Chaminade alumni Adam Hoffman and Juno Chung have “taken the road less traveled” and it was an honor to hear their road to success during our Hogan Wednesday Speaker Session.

Adam works for Hangar Technology, a software technology company focused on harnessing the opportunity presented by the mass-adoption of drone hardware and the market demand for the data these drones can provide. Adam began his presentation with our Hogan motto: “Doing business things that make social sense and doing social things that make business sense,” and explained how important this is in our everyday lives. He encouraged us to use vision boards, write down our goals to help the process of manifestation, have a clear mindset, never settle, embrace our fear of failure, find our passion, get outside our comfort zone, never lose confidence, act like we are the CEO, and to always focus on the next assignment. Adam shared with us his daily morning affirmation, which is “I am in alignment with my mind and heart and I will think about things that I want, not what I don’t want.” I was surprised that Adam, just like me, believes in the law of attraction; it is rare to know someone who believes in this. It was also interesting to learn that Adam meditates daily and writes down daily gratifications and affirmations as well. In addition, he shared with us his “feedback loop” which consisted of the many different things that he does to stay focused and keep his mind clear of distractions.

Juno Chung is the owner of Koa Pancake House, Koa Cafe, My Outlet Clothing and co-owner of JCBL Products. It was amazing to hear his story and experiences that led him to where he is now. Juno is an inspiration to many people who are going through or have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. Juno compared his life to the Matrix because he feels that he is “the chosen one” from the family to run the Koa Pancake business. In addition, he was offered pills to help him overcome his depression and anxiety, and he also joked about getting into a lot of fights similar to the main character, Neo, in the Matrix. During the process of Juno finding his outlet to life, he was given great advice by his psychologist. His psychologist told him that when making decisions change the “or” to an “and” because anything is possible as long as you put your mind to it. Don’t limit yourself. One of my favorite quotes from Juno’s presentation was “as an entrepreneur, you always have the freedom to do what makes you happy.”

“Never be afraid to set higher goals and reach for the moon, because if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars” – Adam Hoffman and Juno Chung.

Written by: Hogan Entrepreneurs Program student, Kristle Henry
Speaker Session with Adam Hoffman & Juno Chung: 3/8/17

Chaminade Accounting Students Provide Free Tax Preparation Service

Chaminade accounting majors took on a taxing challenge this January.  They studied carefully IRS publications and forms, took federal exams, and got themselves certified by the IRS to do tax returns and give advice on budgeting strategies.  Referred to as “the Chaminade tax gang,” these certified students are led across the island by their Chaminade accounting professor, Wayne Tanna, in the pro bono preparing of tax returns for the needy. Each student will do a minimum of four tax returns (many do more) as part of Tanna’s service-learning accounting class project.

Tanna and various other accounting faculty have been offering this service-learning project since the 1980s. This is one of Chaminade’s longest running service-learning projects, started before the university referred to it as service-learning.

Tanna shared some numbers.  Consider that the average tax return preparation fee at a commercial tax preparer is close to $300.  Of course, there are computer programs, which need computers and servers, which also cost money.  Consider that the Chaminade tax gang work with the working poor and the working homeless, people who are due refunds but are intimidated by federal forms, are not familiar with the intricacies of ,say, Earned Income Credit (EIC), or do not have a computer, and just do not have the funds to otherwise file for refunds. The Chaminade students are able to assist these people in taking care of their legal and civic duties as U.S. citizens (i.e. filing their taxes) and then receive refunds. With their certifications, the Chaminade students can also provide basic tax and budget planning information. In the past, refunds to the needy have helped make ends meet or get some off the streets with enough money for rental deposits.

“By my count, we have helped the community to receive over $7,000,000 in tax refunds and credits over the past 25 years that I have been doing this with my classes.  We have also saved the working poor and homeless communities hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees that again they cannot and really should not have to pay,” said Tanna.

The newest “Chaminade tax gang” engaged with clients for the first time this year on January 29, at the State Capitol, partnering with VITA Hawaii.  To qualify for the free service, clients had to have household incomes of less than $55,000.  Walk-ins were welcomed in between scheduled appointments on a first come, first served basis.  According to Tanna, his students will have 18 additional opportunities to prepare taxes.  From Kalihi and Waianae to Palolo Valley and Ewa, there would be people to serve and numbers to crunch. His students remained eager to serve with calculators in hand.

“We do this as it is the best way to connect academic learning to the actual practice (of accounting) AND to demonstrate civic engagement as a part of our Marianist traditions,” Tanna remarked.

For more information on how to get free tax help in Hawaii, visit VITA Hawaii.

Chaminade Business Students Score Well on National Exams

Chaminade University’s Business students did well on their national business exams.  The results for the Peregrine Academic Services national exams revealed some of the highest scores ever garnered by Chaminade students.  For accounting students, the high score was 91 percent (rated as very high nationally), and for business administration students, the high score was 83 percent (also rated very high nationally).  All students scored above the national average.

Peregrine Academic Services is the globally recognized leader in providing online assessment services, online educational services, and higher education support services to institutions of higher education and academic organizations.

Academic officials benchmark student performance against specific aggregate pools and determine the value-added by the institution based upon the student’s academic experience using an Inbound/Outbound Exam assessment construct (programmatic pre/post-test) to determine initial knowledge levels and assess retained student knowledge, thus enabling academic institutions to establish the extent to which assurance of learning goals are being achieved.