The AIM Blogger

I'm writing this in a coffee shop somewhere in the Fort. This week, our batch(or as our Professors put it, COHORT) has been divided into 2 groups. So far, only our systematic management analysis class has been split. Meaning besides that class and schedule, we're all still attending the same schedules. Last Tuesday was my SMA class, and today is my day-off, or the other group's class schedule for SMA. So far so good is what I can say with my stay in AIM. I still remember how my grandma gave me some encouraging words. She said, "you'll be entering a school where most of your classmates are probably top of their class or are honors and you're just one of the regular guys." Hahaha come to think of it, are those really encouraging words...? Well I guess looked at differently, they are. We've been all told that we are a group composed of people who are at least of equal caliber compared to our predecessors. I do not know if I should look at it as a...

Glory is fleeting indeed. I went to Ateneo to pick up my graduation kit. It consists of the regalia (graduation dress), the graduation cap, program, tickets and my full set of graduation pictures (I'll upload them soon.). I really felt proud that I'm done with my MS in Information Management and there's really nothing like walking around the campus as a graduation candidate. You feel that sense of entitlement. But like waking from a nice dream, I went to AIM and boom-- the second brain-busting Financial Accounting exam was in front of me. The exam really shows that finance is one of the Asian Institute of Management 's strong points (and one of my improvement areas). AIM MBA students are expected to have the knowledge of a CFA ( Chartered Financial Analyst ) by the the time the financial courses are done. I'm sure that possible, but it's like expecting a newbie programmer to be a SCJP ( Sun Certified Java Programmer ) in two months-- It's possible, but it...

The results of our first quiz in Financial Accounting for the Pre-MBA course are out. Here's my not so sensational score: If you ask me, my 42 out of 85 (49.4%) score is reflective of what I currently know about Financial Accounting. This assessment means I really need work on knowing the terminologies of accounting and know the effects of tweaks such understatements and overstatements on the accounting equation. I think I was able to narrow most of the 4-choice questions down to a 50-50 decision, but it seems I'm really not there yet. I'm trying to be positive about things but I can't say I'm totally happy. Who likes a low test score anyway? This test score somehow casted some doubt on my ability to handle the MBA for a few seconds. I then looked at the big picture-- two weeks ago, I didn't really know that revenue is different from income, that debit and credit just means the opposite sides of a balance sheet and what accruals and deferrals mean. I probably sc...

Here are some images of how some members of the Pre-MBA class were preparing for the Financial Accounting quiz last July 31, 2007. Studying: Maya Perez (left) and Faye Abis (right) hitting the books hard. "CAN" Group (L-R): Liberto Sidhaan, Paolo Tomas, Nina Laquindanum and Shri Reddy. MBA Gals (Clockwise from top left): Wang Shu, Karen Sumcio, Julie Ann Chua and Diamond Uy.

We had our Financial Accounting long quiz for the Pre-MBA program and being our very first quiz (although technically this quiz is not graded), I had no expectations but I felt the pressure. It's more like a first date, actually. (uh oh, bad analogy). What I can say about the exam is I to see who will do good and those who won't. The 85-question multiple choice test gives little room for error as erasures are not allowed and all computations must be shown. I'm thinking the nature of the exam is either you get it or you don't-- If you're done early, you are either studied your ass off or you spent the weekend watching Ratatouille . Personally, I found the quiz not too hard, but not a cakewalk either. I'd rate it a 6.5 out of 10 in terms of difficulty. The Indian folks in our class didn't seem to have difficulty with the test and I'm not surprised. What I'm surprised about is how they seem to take the exam seriously and really took their time finishing...

One week has past in our Pre-MBA and there are already some who have tapped out and decided to defer and there are some contemplating to follow suit. I can't emphasize how rigorous and and comprehensive the Financial Accounting phase of the pre-MBA program has been. While I've read about how accounting in AIM is like a boot camp, nothing could have prepared me for this. That's why Prof. Lim, along with several MBA seniors, gave a pep talk on how we shouldn't feel discouraged and gave us a chance to express our frustrations and fears regarding our performance in the Pre-MBA. The common theme was that a majority of the incoming First Years feel intimidated with the pace and frustrated with not catching up (especially with almost all of us have little accounting knowledge and experience). Prof. Lim tried his best to allay our fears by recounting how he felt the same way 20 years ago when he took his MBA. The seniors chimed in and shared their individual experiences, like p...

The Pre-MBA course's pace is just unbelievable. We cover topics in a day that some would consider two week's worth of discussions in a "normal" setting. But I guess the MBA at the Asian Insitute of Management is not "normal" in that sense-- this compressed and highly dense treatment of topics would really compel one to have a sense of urgency to do everything not to lag behind. After all, I AM paying to go through the rigors of business school. If there's one learning about the MBA I've had this early on, it's to be a step ahead . Knowing the topic beforehand and being a step ahead of what the professor is discussing has yielded some pretty good results for me, particularly on the class participation aspect. At this point, I find the competition is not against the other MBA students but within myself. -- We also started on the Data Analysis part of the Pre-MBA course with Prof. Anthony Zosa and so far, the class has been treading more on the trad...

The Pre-MBA started today and it was both a sneak peek at the MBA program and a typical day of an AIM MBA student. It also gave me the chance to see my classmates for the first time (well, at least almost all of them.) The session started promptly at 8 o'clock in the morning and Prof. Ricardo Lim gave a brief intro to the MBA freshies. His deadpan humor and quick wit was able to get the class laughing early on, but it was all business after that. Prof. Lim turned the floor over to Prof. Hilario Tan, the designated instructor for financial accounting. Prof. Tan started his version of "Accounting for Dummies" as the class was comprised primarily of zero accounting background students. (Well, I heard there were auditors and business analysts in the class, which made me scratch my head.). There were some good questions and some "Duh!" questions that flew around, but it was really evident that the class was like encountering a new animal-- quizzed looks, raised eyebr...

I just registered for the Pre-MBA course at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). The Pre-MBA is a course recommended for incoming MBA students with limited exposure to business subjects such as accounting and finance. The two-week course will run from July 23-August 3, 2007. Given my background in Engineering and Information Technology, it was an easy decisions for the AIM folks to recommend me for this course. I absolutely have zero background in accounting and a limited working knowledge of financial matters. I see myself struggling from the get go. The course is free, but I had to pay for the required book for this course. The textbook that will be used is Financial Accounting (Paperback 13th Edition, by Williams et al.). The reading assignments have been given and I have browsed thought the material-- pretty different stuff from I've done before. Also, if you're wondering what's with the grainy image in this blog post, it's a web cam capture of my nameplate. E...