Learning the Reality of Professional Life in Wonderland The college dream should be about graduating to become a titan in the

career path the student desired. However, to realize this dream it takes more than mere heart and knowledge. The key to a successful career is about having both the technical skills to perform the work, and knowing how to stand apart from the group. Learning the technical skills can be accomplished at any school, but only a good school can teach a student how to use what they learned to accomplish their dreams. The Auditor: An Instructional Novella is a device that can be used for the auditing profession. The purpose of this book is to give young and upcoming accounting students real world knowledge about the auditing profession. Whether the book is all it is considered to be is a matter to be discussed next. To know the quality of a book is to know the author who wrote it. James Loebbecke is the author in this case, and has a fairly impressive career to draw experience from. He served as a member of the Accounting Standards Board and the Accounting Education Change Commission. Both of these positions are difficult to achieve, and require a potential member to have extensive experience in the accounting practice. His biggest mark has been the various notable research and writings that have contributed to the auditing profession. The biggest asset he brings to writing this book is his extensive practice in the accounting profession. The Auditor is made up in large part of Mr. Loebbeckes personal experiences, and as such is not a mere fantasy of a fictitious nature. The format of this book is first person narrative. The reader has insight into the thoughts of the main character, Jack Butler. Jack starts his journey in the middle where he has just been promoted to the glorified position of audit partner. Then he proceeds to tell his story from the

early stages of his development in high school, and leads to the development of his character in college. Throughout this book the common theme is that Jack is always met with some sort of dilemma, and seems to make the right decision in the end. The book ultimately ends with his boss having a heart attack, and promoting Jack to partner in charge upon his retirement. The Auditor is written in a way that makes clear what keys contributed to the main characters success. The main points that I believe were especially significant to a student are the early stages in Jacks college life and career. Jack seemed to be a person in control of his own destiny from the beginning of college. Students can probably relate to the difficulties of his struggle in finding what he really wanted to do in life. The bonus that comes from this stage of Jacks life is all of the free advice he gets from his guidance counselor, Wally Garner. This part of the book teaches several things that a student can make use of now that may have never been thought of otherwise. The biggest of these principles I believe was how to use auditing to get ahead in other areas of accounting. I never would have guessed that working a few years as an auditor can lead to getting a high level corporate job and even becoming a CFO. Fortunately, The Auditor has more to offer a student than advice on the beginning of an accountants career. The second way The Auditor is significant is the illustration of the realities a professional work environment encompasses. Jack was faced with several issues during his career as an auditor. The issues that were spoken of were not what a typical accounting major would see coming. Among the typical issues were things like discovering inventory count errors, and a secretary who was borrowing money from the petty cash fund. However, I dont think most accounting students would be prepared to handle stuff like babysitting a drunken client. The bigger picture is that Jack illustrated how these unusual problems can be handled in a

professional manner. Students can benefit from the constant reminder in this book of the importance of professionalism, and acting ethically on the companys behalf. Furthermore, The Auditor provides a list of principles that are good for an auditor to keep in mind called Bearisms. These guidelines are probably the most important asset the book has to offer. The last point I would like to make is the relevancy of this book for today. James Loebbecke has truly put together a nice to read novel. However, I think some of these principles are out of date. Loebbecke was born in 1936 which makes his personal experiences happen before desegregation. I do believe the underlying principles of conduct are still applicable, but I doubt the relevance of the etiquette. In business, the customs are always changing, and I believe some things are no longer considered in business etiquette. Among these would be company sponsored golf and softball games. America is in a recession and such practices are usually done for charity purposes. In conclusion, The Auditor was a great book, but should be kept in the proper perspective. This is a good reference and reminder of what it essentially is to be an auditor. However, I dont think it should be taken for anything more. The time it refers to is just too out of date, and may not be a good reference to illustrate how business relationships are maintained today. Ultimately, the irony comes in the fact of using a book to teach real world knowledge. In the end, books can never be mentors, but The Auditor is definitely the next best thing.