"Begin at the beginning" is Dan Wiegand's motto when teaching his introductory accounting class during the Boot Camp session of the MBA program. The motto might sound like common sense, but most teaching tools, such as textbooks, usually assume that the reader has prior knowledge of the subject. Dan's approach is different: his teaching tool, Solid Footing, is a textbook and software combination he wrote and programmed himself.
Currently, approximately 12,000 students at over 25 universities are introduced to the subject of accounting with the help of Dan's writing. Solid Footing is now used by many MBA programs and three of the top twenty undergraduate accounting programs in the nation, including Miami University's program, ranked 11th.
When asked about the secret behind Solid Footing's success, Dan boils it down to three reasons. To ensure consistency, the book, software, and problems are written by only one person in contrast to regular textbooks which are often co-authored and include problems written by graduate students. To add usability, Dan programmed the software first and then designed the book to drive the student through the application. To guarantee simplicity, Dan uses the same approach in teaching his course as he does when writing a computer program: breaking the topic down into little pieces and "feeding" it to the students in the correct order.
Regardless of accounting, business or non-business background, MBA students get excited about accounting using Solid Footing and learning from Dan. The feedback from the MBA Class of 2009 is a testament to his success:
"Dan has the ability to not only make accounting simple but also incredibly practical. He offers insights into the checks and balances and does so with real-life examples. His energy and enthusiasm coupled with his love for teaching make his classroom fun and engaging. I left his class wanting more."
Don P.
"Solid Footing is a great example of how Dan presents the basics of accounting in an easy to understand fashion and allows students to apply these concepts to solve problems, cases, and analyze a company's financial position. Accounting at Miami is definitely a memorable learning experience!"
Julie W.
"As an undergraduate marketing major, I found accounting to be very challenging and hard to grasp. Solid Footing very clearly taught me what I need to know about accounting to be successful in the MBA program and beyond. I wish I would have had his tool as an undergraduate."
Christopher B.
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