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MAGAZINE

CPA : SEEDS OF SUCCESS

FALL 2014

BASA TEAM 2014

Commtech Mentorship Lunches

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COMMTECH PRESENTS

ACCOUNTING CASE ANALYSIS CLASS EXPLAINED

2014 BASA EVENTS

MOST CHALLENGING JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

BASA TEAM BIO

CPA : SEEDS OF SUCCESS

Who said there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Our sponsor Commtech presents our valuable mentorship lunch program!

Faculty of Business and Administration instructor John Melnyk speaks out about a fresh and exciting new class offered here at the Buhler Center.

These big events are just around the corner and should not be missed! From networking to fierce competition, we cover it all!

BASA asked you to tell us what made you sweat during your toughest job interviews. Share your secrets to help others avoid disaster!

Introducing the 2014 BASA team to the University of Winnipeg! Who are we? What do we do?

Excellent career advice from our friends at Chartered Professional Accountants.

Designed by Joey Creed

Issue Produced by Jason Yang William Malenki Emily Loo

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Spotlight Success: Alyssa DacquayAlyssa graduated from the University of Winnipeg in June, 2014 and will attend convocation in October 2014. She completed a four-year Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources. She met with Dan Mikso from Commtech Office Solutions through the Mentorship Lunch Program and it lead to a full time job at Commtech. When asked why she signed up for a the Mentorship Lunch Program, Alyssa said:

“I was always too busy or too shy to go to some of the larger BASA Events but I really wanted to get involved and use the resources available to me to look into careers for when I finished my Degree. The Mentorship Lunch Program was perfect because it was one-on-one and I got to ask Dan for advice about work. The lunch

kind of turned into an interview when I realized I was interested in the kind of work Dan did at Commtech.”

Alyssa became the newest addition to the Commtech team as an Account Management Coordinator, and when asked about her new position she replied:

“I love my job at Commtech! I work with a great group of people. We have had a ton of social events throughout the summer. The saying “work hard, play hard” is true. I am so grateful I have been able to start working right after I finished my classes and I am gain-ing valuable skills for wherever my career leads me.”

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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

I have three suggestions to all business students as per my belief of success in university: 1) Always analyze and learn about yourself. 2) Always throw yourself into the most uncomfortable and scary situation with joy. 3) Always show enthusiasm for life and others with action. It is never too late to catch opportunities with persistence. University is not only a temple of knowledge, but a dye vat of characters. Students learn to polish their personalities, discover their hidden potentials and enjoy the process of transformation over a four year journey. We should embrace all the unknowns, concerns and the lack of confidence in believing who we are and what we are capable of, then start to mold ourselves into the better person we want to be. University of Winnipeg’s Business and Economics faculty has experienced extraordinary growth in recent years. Our faculty has provided services and opportunities with more diversity and depth. As a 4th year business student myself, I have participated in many incredible faculty events, and have been involved with student organizations and have encountered many brilliant people who assisted me in the development of my professional skills.

Dear Students:

I would like to welcome you all to the new school year in the Business & Economics Faculty at the University of Winnipeg! BASA is thrilled to see your faces again and I am so proud to be able to study amongst great talents like yourselves. Like all student leaders who are in BASA, I am excited to be your friend, your support and stepping stone to a better understanding of our community and the business industry.

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BASA Inc. (Business Administration Student Association Inc.) is a platform that links all business students with real world employment opportunities. BASA is also a registered non-profit organization that is run by UW business students who have better understanding of student needs. Therefore we offer many free educational, networking and social events to assist students in elevating their comprehensive skill sets. We also focus on partnering with charitable organizations to support their causes and contribute to our downtown community. In past years, BASA’s membership has doubled and is continuing to grow along with our brand. BASA is currently funded by many well-known Manitoba companies who are always dedicated to fostering and recruiting elites while they are still in school.

The first bucket of gold for all fresh graduates from the university is networking and experience. However, we know not all business students are open to the opportunity of building networks or gaining field related experience. My vision and mission at BASA is to bridge the communication gap for networking and to create opportunities for working experience, to provide an open, fair and competitive environment to all students during their school year. Fortunately, BASA has recruited a team of twenty-seven students who specialize in several professional fields, motivated to run this organization in order to transform the vision into reality. These colleagues have become my best friends, mentors and assets in conquering the real world.

Through BASA and other faculty programs, I have grown tremendously and have come so much closer to my career goals. I would like to invite you all to join BASA’s communication channels such as social media, websites and SHOUT! Magazine. BASA will always actively update our upcoming activities to benefit your university experience. The BASA team and I would love to get to know every single business student and share our experience to enrich your life in our faculty. Lastly, I would like to wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

Sincerely,Vanessa Shen WuBASA President

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SEPTEMBER 18 OCTOBER 2 OCTOBER 23

BUSINESS OF SPORTS MEET THE PARTNERSINTERNATIONAL STUDENT DAY

Do you like hockey and local sports teams?

Come out and prove it while supporting

a great cause at our Business of Sports

event. Enter to play street hockey for a

cause and find out the business behind

sports from some of our sponsors such as

the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

International Student Day is where the

focus is on students which have come

from abroad to study at the University

of Winnipeg. Hear from distinguished

former international students, and

network with others to enrich your

business experience.

Get geared up for some face to face

networking with employees of BASA

partners such as Investor’s Group,

Commtech, CPA and many more while

enjoying refreshments provided by our

friends at Stella’s! There is no reason not

to enjoy this golden opportunity.

EVENTS

Upcoming Events

From FROSH to Winter We Deliver!

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BASA TEAM 2014Senior Executives:

President Vanessa Wu

Vice President External Nicole Pellaers

Vice President Internal Jason Yang

Vice President Finance David Johnston

Internal Team

Executive of Human ResourcesWilliam Malenki

Executive of CommunicationsTerry Li

Director of CommunicationsEmily Loo

Director of CommunicationsJack Walker

Events

Executive of EventsSamantha Wood

Director of EventsAmber Winnicki

Director of EventsFlorence Carboh

Director of EventsHye-mi Yang

Director of EventsNisha Sharma

Director of EventsShuming Luo

Director of EventsTed Du

Director of EventsTyler Ruiter

Director of EventsVika Moskalyuk

Director of CharityJanina Secjadas

Finance

Director of FinanceGeoff Christie

Director of FinanceJordan Sobey

Marketing

Executive of MarketingKyle Karpish

Director of MarketingChristine Perrin

Director of MarketingEvan Kaminski

CR

Executive of Corporate RelationsMichael Walpole

Director of Corporate RelationsFelix Mintu

Director of Corporate RelationsMarco Kreller

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A New Course: Accounting Case Analysis

John MelnykInstructor, Business Faculty, The Uni-versity of Winnipeg

A new business course – Accounting Case

Analysis - will be offered this fall for this

first time. It’s an opportunity to “balance

your account”–ing education with some

case analysis experience!

Case analysis is a well-recognized form

of business education, pioneered at the

Harvard Business School. In case analysis

students wrestle with actual business

challenges as documented in case studies

to determine, present and defend what

they would do and why. This generates

a distinctive type of learning – vicarious

experience!

Accounting Case Analysis will take a

general management perspective on

accounting focused cases, challenging

students to “see more than the numbers;

… [to] see the impact and opportunity

behind them.” The key learning outcome

is to understand how financial information

both informs and reflects management

decisions.

The course will also be a “training

camp” to prepare and select students to

represent the university in intercollegiate

academic competitions focused on

accounting, specifically the accounting-

related competitions of “JDC West” in

January, 2015 and the case competition of

the Gathering of Accounting Associates,

Professionals and Students (GAAPS) in

February, 2015

This is a new approach to preparing

and selecting students to represent the

university in intercollegiate competitions.

In the past, teams for competition were

selected well in advance, based on

interest, academic record and references,

and then only those selected students

prepared for the event. Now, through

Accounting Case Analysis many students

can benefit from the preparation process,

which is where most of the learning

occurs.

It also makes students’ academic credit

for the preparation work independent

of whether or not they are selected,

or choose to accept a selection, to

represent the university in intercollegiate

competition.

Accounting Case Analysis has a unique

feature in that all students who complete

the course work will earn graded credit

for BUS-3900-001 Topics in Business

and Administration but those students

who are selected and choose to accept

the selection to go on to represent

the university in intercollegiate case

competitions in accounting will instead

receive credit for BUS-4111, Business

Competition. And in that case their grade

for Business Competition will be no lower

than what they earned for Accounting

Case Analysis.

It’s a real win-win situation, which is what

intercollegiate business competitions are

all about!

Accounting Case Analysis is offered Friday

afternoon, 2:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. in Room

4BC57.

Left to right in back, Brandon Yestrau, Casey Gooch, John Melnyk; in front, Jiamin Liu, Liyang Siu, the university’s first and most successful team in the GAAPS accounting case competition. Photo credit: Dallas Hull

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SHOW YOUR STUDENT ID CARD AND RECEIVE 15% OFF DINE IN, TAKE OUT & DELIVERY. DAILY 11AM TO 2AM. CALL TO BOOK YOUR RESERVATION NOW.

BASA STUDENT DISCOUNT

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“You’ll never be successful if you can’t make a decision.”

Before I begin, I want to assure you that this is not an hour-long special where I will be bringing my talents for the 2014-2015 year.

My family has never been well-off, and I started working odd jobs around my tiny town to make a little money while I was in school. There was a wealthy business family

they are. What should I have for lunch? Whose call should I return first? Which course should I take so I can sleep until 2:30PM? But when decisions are required that have se-rious consequences, we often choke at the thought of making the wrong one. What should I major in? Should I take the higher-paying job or the job that makes me happier?

and prosper. When the decision was a poor choice, they learn from their mistakes and use it as a guide of what not to do.

I know that making tough decisions can sometimes create animosity and harm relationships and business strategies, but someone has to make those decisions. Cultivating the

that hired me frequently, probably because they wanted to see me succeed, and I did everything from shoveling snow off their back deck in winter to mowing their 13,000 square foot lawn in summer. One day they took me out for lunch. We went into the restaurant and Pete (the man who hired me) asked me what I wanted. I was shy and embar-rassed that someone was buying me something, so I awkwardly said “I don’t know what I would like, I’m not overly hungry” in hopes he may order for me. He told me something that stuck with me for the past ten years:

Business students and professionals are forced to make decisions every day, most of which do not prompt in-depth thought of how important

The answer is simple; it’s YOUR decision. Making a big decision is one of the easiest things to do. The difficulty is being able to accept what comes next and understand that things do not always go as planned. Think about the CEOs and executives of your favourite brands. Do you think they got where they are by having a “let the next person decide” attitude? Sure they have consultants and researchers breaking down the facts, but the final decision lies with the person in charge. I truly believe that successful people achieved their coveted positions not only because they are educated and highly experienced, but because they have been able to make decisions that affect themselves and others. When the decision is a good choice, they build on that decision to grow

ability to make and follow through on your decisions will not only help you find success, but will help you gain confidence in your choices. The higher your confidence, the easier making decisions become. It’s a cycle that exists in all powerful people and is a large part of how they achieve their goals. So whatever your life in university and beyond brings, be decisive and be in charge of your future.

TheDecision Michael Walpole

Executive of Corporate Relations : BASA

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Vanessa Shen Wu

“What motivates you in life and in career for high performance?”

This Depends on the conversation theme, and the interviewer. I have answered “my mom”, and “my needs to achieve and control”. For “my mom”, I give them examples of my education growing up and my goals in life, how she supports me and how I learn to support others and myself through her, as well as the eager of never letting my best mentor down when I am capable of accomplish-ment.

For “needs to achieve”, I was honest with the interviewer that I enjoy controlling my life and I developed many effective meth-ods to organize and plan my responsibilities in the most effort & time efficient way, therefore those experiences also became skills in terms of leadership, self monitoring, and ability to motivate others.

It could be tricky to answer because you don’t just want to answer the question, but also expand and modify it into your favor and show you motivation and passion on the spot. While, trying to fit your answer with the companies culture. Sometimes after I answer that question, I would add on “May I ask what type of motivation tools your company found most effective to motivate employees?” And then, using examples to show how those methods will be suitable for me.

Evan Kaminski

“How does a position with this company work in with your long term goals?”

I don’t believe that this is a question necessarily designed to feel out how long you plan on remaining with the company, it has a lot to do with assessing character, personality, drive, etc. So I believe that the best way to answer this is honestly. There should be at least some legitimate interest in the field (hence why you’ve applied for the position). If the answer is simply

to gain a couple years of experience to develop your skills, tell the interviewer exactly that.

And You Answered!

What was the most challeng-ing interview question you have been asked?What is the most effective way to answer it?

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Nick Koss

“I notice that it says on your resume you have an excellent attention for detail. Without looking can you tell me what colour socks am I wearing?”

Interviewer was wearing sandals as an FYI.

Tyler Ruiter

“By What criteria do you judge your own performance?”

It can be hard to articulate such an internal process, something that may be automatic to some. I think it is important to show that your work is very important to you and imperfections are not good enough. That being said it should be clear that you are able to handle your own criticism, deal with pressure and demonstrate perseverance through adversity.

Nisha Sharma

“Why did you leave your previous job?”

If you had negative experiences, the best approach to this question is to alter your response to be as positive as possible. Being honest is a great quality but being too honest about your past employment can turn ugly during an interview. Nobody wants to hire a bad mouth.

To answer this question, I believe you should start off by listing your positive experiences you had with your previous job and then lead into what sort of things did not meet your expectations or you did not find you agreed with. Or perhaps you are simply looking for

change. Finish your response with why you want this new position. (optional)

“I really enjoyed working for my past employer and have learned a lot. However, over the years I found that I wanted a change as I did not see myself growing as a person. I found that I was not being challenged as much as

I had hoped to and I am interested in using my skills and experiences in a different environment. I am also looking into changing careers, so I wanted to work somewhere that is more relatable

and therefore I felt I had to leave. When I heard about this position, I felt it was the perfect match of what I was looking for and can apply my knowledge and experience to its full capac-

ity.”

Joseph Creed

“If you were an animal, which one would you be?”

Just be prepared that not everyone in a professional setting is a stone cold machine. Some people can develop a sense of humor if they try hard and practice every day.

Want to be Featured in the next issue of SHOUT!? Follow us on Facebook at www.face-book.com/uwbasa and keep an eye out where

you can contribute!

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Seeds of Success From our sponsors at CPA

Why do people go to university, attend business school and study hard? Most would say “to get a job”. If this is you, chances are it’s a half-lie instead of the whole truth. That’s all well and good, but what does it mean for you? It means that you can start planting the seeds for a blossoming, rewarding career that brings both your talent and your passion together right now.

Most people have had at least one job that they’d describe as “necessary,” at best. The vast majority of people do not plan to stay in that type of job permanently, so they begin to formulate their next steps. It’s a great approach to moving forward in your career, and one that can apply to your personal development as a budding professional.

The University of Winnipeg has several opportunities to do this. Depending on your field of interest, you have the opportunity to explore enhanced career options that will do nothing but open doors and enrich your experience in

the business world.

One such opportunity is the Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. With a CPA, you open the door to some of the greatest jobs in business. As a Chartered Professional Accountant, you’ll do more than crunch numbers. You’ll help organizations in any industry make decisions that help them succeed. The best part is that you can begin planting those seeds now. You can gather the majority of prerequisites for the career-oriented CPA Professional Education Program during your time at the U of W.

So what exactly is the whole truth? When people really think about what they want out of their university experience, it’s the personal growth and ability to build a career. Don’t think of post-secondary education as another chapter in your education story. Instead, think of it as the first chapter of your career memoirs. Soon after, you’ll be reaping rewards that will help you put your best foot forward in a role that you can thrive in.

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