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Stay in Touch With Industry Yew Kee Ho Associate Professor of Accounting National University of Singapore Business School Singapore Y Yew Kee Ho ew Kee Ho of the National University of Singapore admits that accounting isn't the most exciting topic, but he believes its implications on business are pro- found. Ho's primary challenge, he says, is to find ways to breathe life into the topic, making it immediately applicable to what students are learning. "Accounting has to be taught from a student-centric per- spective," says Ho. "I need to help them visualize the role accounting will play in their future careers." In his corporate finance course, for example, Ho asks stu- dents to view all their decision making in terms of "options," much as they would view a financial option regarding any contract or investment. To illustrate his point, he walks stu- dents through a decision between taking an additional hon- ors year in school and entering the job market, using a simple tree diagram. The exercise shows that while an additional academic year presents a short-term cost in terms of lost sal- ary, it promises a greater long-term return in knowledge, skills, and career choices. Lin Weiling, one of Ho's students, counts this lesson among the most valuable of her undergraduate business ed- ucation. "Professor Ho taught us that decisions should not simply be made at face value for the short term," says Weiling. She now uses Ho's decision-making process in her work as a management consultant at Shell Eastern Petroleum. "When oil prices are volatile and events in one country have ramifica- tions in another, investment decisions have to be considered very carefully. I've appreciated the ability to identify and pro- pose key recommendations that allow the company to buy an 'option' to best position the business." Ho wants to accelerate his students' learning process through such "live case studies" with which students can im- mediately identify. Whether it's a topical case he has written or examples he brings from his experiences in corporate con- sulting and executive training, Ho does all he can to "inject realism into the class," he says. "Such practical cases get the students' attention." One of Ho's favorite assignments stems from a court case for which he was an expert witness. "I give them the series Lin Weiling, BBA '06, management consultant for Shell Eastern Petroleum in Singapore of questions I was expected to an- swer in the case. The students then produce a consultant report to rep- resent the client in court," says Ho. "It's fun, but students struggle to deal with complex issues and present them in an understandable manner in a court of law." Ho also works exten- sively with local charities, serving as the chairman of the audit committee of a local hospital; as a member of the investment com- mittee for the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Asso- ciation; and as the treasurer of Singapore's Boys Brigade, an organization that provides educational opportunities to young boys. For Ho, charitable work isn't just philanthropic; it's also vital to his teaching. He writes new cases based on his experiences, on everything from one charity's "hand-to- mouth" approach to cash flow management, to another's lack of good financial reporting, to yet another's efforts to keep its stakeholders satisfied. Through his cases, he wants students to see more than one side of moneymaking. Not to mention, he adds, that students respond well to cases that have a charitable bent. A dry topic like project evaluation, for example, is normally about numbers and cal- culations; when students see this topic at work in a charity- based case, they can appreciate its social and nonquantitative dimension. They realize that "simply making a profit isn't everything. It's making sustainable profit that's important," says Ho. "I want them to know it's possible to achieve objec- tives with a certain degree of social consciousness." Weiling emphasizes that Ho's own real-world experiences were essential to her engagement in his course. "Most busi- ness schools are well-equipped to impart theoretical models to students. However, many lack the industrial connection," she says, emphasizing that Ho's use of live cases and industry- related projects enhanced her own understanding of industry. "It would be helpful if, like Professor Ho, more professors sought out the practical training that we lack," Weiling adds. Ho, of course, is a champion of faculty involvement in real- world business. "Business professors must have credibility. They cannot teach the students how to do business if they haven't done it themselves," he says. "The danger in today's business school is that professors might end up being 'armchair generals' who haven't done what they are trying to teach." BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2007 25