Fall 2002

Volume 6 Number 1
A publication of Macon State College

Upping the Count

Dr. Wayne Cecil, Macon State's Eminent Scholar in Accounting, Plans to Take the College's Accounting Major to New Levels

By Renee Martinez

Dr. Wayne Cecil, second from left, who holds Macon State’s new endowed faculty chair in accounting, talks with accounting majors after a recent class. The students, from left to right, are Shennon Walker, a junior; Tisha White, a senior; and Belinda Haywood, a senior.

Dr. Wayne Cecil seeks to learn as much from his students as they learn from him.

“When I was a student, I told myself that if I was the professor, I’d do things differently,” said Cecil, who recently joined the Macon State College faculty as the new endowed chair holder in accounting. “Now that I am the professor, I listen intently to students and try to incorporate their comments into what I do in the classroom.”

By developing a positive relationship with his students, Cecil hopes to foster an enhanced accounting program, one of the majors in Macon State’s popular bachelor of science degree in business. Holding an endowed chair will give Cecil the edge to accomplish that goal.

Endowments for faculty chairs are used to pay the competitive salaries it takes to attract top scholars, who could earn considerably more in the private sector, to teach at colleges and universities. In 1997, Macon’s Peyton Anderson Foundation agreed to provide $1 million to Macon State College to fund its first two endowed chairs, both in information technology. The Georgia General Assembly matched those funds through the Eminent Scholars Endowment Trust Fund. Dr. David Adams and Dr. E. Michael Staman now hold the endowed chairs in IT.

More recently, the Macon State College Foundation raised $500,000, also matched through the trust fund, for a third endowed chair, this one in accounting.

As the endowed chair holder in accounting, Cecil brings a wealth of academic and private sector experience to the position, including work as a tax consultant, analyst and auditor.

“Accounting is one of the top majors sought by employers today,” said Dr. Larry Wolfenbarger, chair of MSC’s business division. “We’re planning to develop one of the highest quality undergraduate accounting programs in the state, and Dr. Cecil has the academic qualifications and professional experience to help us get there. I’m confident he is going to provide excellent leadership as we build the accounting program.”

The Wayne Cecil File Born: In High Point, N.C. Education: B.S., business administration, University of North Carolina; M.B.A., finance, University of North Carolina; M.P.A., taxation, University of Texas; Ph.D., business administration, University of Kentucky. Career Highlights: Graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina. Passed the CPA exam on the first attempt. Worked for two of the four largest accounting firms in the world. Completed doctoral program in three years. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants fellowship recipient. Widely published in business and academic journals. Personal interests: Movies, all types of music and riding bicycles. He said it: “Accountants have to be successful in understanding non-accountants in business, like a doctor has to be skilled in listening to the words a patient uses when describing a problem.”

Cecil is excited about enhancing Macon State’s major in accounting, where jobs are expected to increase in the state by 15 percent through 2008, according to the Georgia Career Information System. Earnings potential for accountants is excellent, especially for those licensed as Certified Public Accountants or Certified Management Accountants.

“Our focus is to help students leave here well-rounded in all aspects of business,” Cecil said, “and a major goal is to ensure that students sit for and successfully complete the CPA or CMA exam as soon as possible after graduation. That’s in keeping with the professional degree orientation of the College.”

Cecil added that he hopes to help students achieve professional placements and to advance their careers as far as possible. “Basically, I want to help others achieve their goals,” he said.

Raising the Bar

But producing successful and well-rounded graduates also means raising the bar within the accounting program.

“We’re going to increase expectations in the classroom and modify the coursework to be more consistent with the CPA exam,” Cecil said, “so students will have a greater chance of passing the exam the first time they take it.”

Cecil comes to Macon State from Georgia College & State University, where he was an associate professor. His teaching experience also includes work at Francis Marion University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the University of Southern Mississippi.

Drawing from a unique blend of formal academic training plus 10 years of professional experience, Cecil said that accountants have to know more than how to work with numbers. He said a truly skilled accountant is hard to come by.

“Accountants have to be successful in understanding non-accountants in business, like a doctor has to be skilled in listening to the words a patient uses when describing a problem,” he said. “Knowledge of numbers on a spreadsheet is not enough. You have to know how to satisfy the demands of the end users regarding any information.”

Cecil said he feels its his responsibility as an endowed chair holder to draw attention in the community to the College’s bolstered program, with hopes of garnering interest from regional companies in Macon State’s graduates.

“I hope to make the program more visible and to more directly market our graduates so that they can receive the best possible placement with employers,” he said. “I also want to market the accounting curriculum to those people who already have a degree in another field and are looking to make a change. Accounting is a career choice that doesn’t close doors but opens them.”

Changing Profession

Cecil said he feels there has been a renewed interest in accounting lately. Even with recent ethics scandals making headlines, more people are paying attention to the role of accountants in business.

“In Hollywood they say that as long as it’s publicity, it’s good,” he said. “Sometimes when a situation forces you take one step back, it later allows you to take two or three steps forward,” he said.

So rather than glazing over the Arthur Andersen accounting fiascoes and other bad press, Cecil said he plans to bring the everyday happenings of the business world into the classroom in order to help students learn and be responsive to a profession that is changing daily.

Cecil, who began teaching at Macon State this past summer, said that from his first visit to the campus, he was impressed and excited with the prospect of teaching at the College.

“When I came to interview, I was impressed with the friendliness of the faculty. It seems that people here are focused on the future, and I like that,” he said. “After teaching a semester, I’ve realized that students here are as absorbing and inquisitive and motivated as anywhere I’ve taught to date. I’m excited to go to class everyday.”

The writer, Renee Martinez, graduated from Macon State College in 2000 with a bachelor of science in communications. She serves on the College’s newly formed Alumni Council.