Where I'm coming from

In April, I completed my master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Regent College in Vancouver, British Colombia. Regent is a small graduate school on the University of British Colombia campus. The program at Regent provided a broad foundation in the areas of history, philosophy, sociology and the theological roots of these topics. My coursework included seminar discussions on ecology, economics, postmodernism and technology. The integrated approach helped me to see the complexity of global ethics and the need for accounting and auditing for sustainability.

I went to Regent because I was dismayed by the lack of ethics training in MBA programs in the US. I already have a business degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with an accounting emphasis. I’ve worked as a CPA for Ernst & Young, Hewlett-Packard, Agilent, and KPMG. I also feel a moral responsibility to give to the accounting profession after the scandals that we’ve experienced over the last five years. Canada is at the forefront of ethics, human rights and environmental initiatives. Living in Vancouver gave me an outsider’s perspective on the culture of the US and more specifically the Silicon Valley where I grew up and worked in the accounting profession. Regent did not disappoint me. I found a passion for scholarly work in developing new approaches to the systemic problems that continue to plague the accounting industry and global markets.

KPMG was gracious enough to grant me an educational leave of absence in order to finish the master’s degree. After working as a manager on the implementation team for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act at the Silicon Valley’s largest technology clients, I learned first hand the intricacies of the new legislation. I also learned the shortcomings of the Act. The focus on legal compliance and specific financial controls, though important in preventing fraud, failed to identify the core issues of corporate citizenship. The modern corporation is overly focused on financial reporting and not broader issues of accountability and sustainability.

Sleepless in San Jose

I'm up at 4:30 am. It is my first sleepless night in San Jose since my return. What is keeping me up? It's been a long time since I've been excited about something and wanted it with all my energy. I found a doctorate program that specializes in 'system science'. This is an interdisciplinary approach to accountability and sustainability. It's great to find intelligent people who desire to take a system based approach to the issues of transperency and corporate social responsibility. With much excitement, I pray this intuition would come to fruition!

How did I find this program? It may appear to be a random set of circumstances but I don't believe thing of this nature happen by chance. I was scheduled to be on a road trip to Moab, UT today. Because my friends from Vancouver delayed the trip, I had an extra day to use for emailing.

My friend Tim emailed me pictures of his kid. He also provided five suggested graduate accounting programs. These schools didn't look appealing from their websites. I finally came to the conclusion that an Accouting Ph.D. was not for me. I realized that I had to take a system based approach to the ethical issues of accounting.

In February of 2005, I attended a conference on Corporate Social Responsibility at Santa Clara University. There I met a professor who I had emailed the year before. This professor is now heading up an interdisciplinary program at Portland State.

The Hekktik Life continues! Something to work towards, something worth doing, something that integrates my passions with my desire for practical solutions!

Transperency, Sustainability, Accountability

Just starting out on these topics. I've read of few books (Paul Hawken Ecology of Commerce, Fritjof Capra, The Hidden Connections and Wendell Berry, A Continuous Harmony). What to do about this hectic life, I don't know? I want to do something about the only place I really know...Sunnyvale, Ca. It seems like it has been taken over by strip malls, expressways and SUV's. Does anyone in the US, California, the bay area realize what is going on??? Have we already lost our downtown? Have we lost everything organic? What about our fertile soil that provided some of the best orchards in the world? I just moved back to the bay area from Vancouver, Canada. I'm shocked to see the lack of anything unique in this place. It seems like suburbia has become a clean little make-believe world blind to the issues that are created in communities around the world. I could say so much more and I will...please comment on these things and continue the commentary. I'd like to get this off the ground...a thoughful and realistic approach to transperency, sustainability and accountability. How can we bring spirituality back into a community of character? Please comment on the Hekktik life before I can't take it any more.