Doolough Valley

Author: Jacob Smithpeters | Majors: Accounting and Finance | Semester: Summer 2022

My name is Jacob Smithpeters. I’m in the Walton Honors College, and I’m double majoring in accounting and finance. I went on the U of A Faculty Led International Business Seminar in Ireland.

The big four accounting firms all have their global headquarters centered in Dublin, Ireland. Through networking and educational seminars with the big four firms, we gained insight of international business and learned of daily expectations of the individuals in business roles we might be in one day. Through these interactions, I gained invaluable career advice I would not have gotten anywhere else. At Deloitte, they walked us through the technology and typical inputs that their auditors work with everyday. Even being in the accounting honors society and numerous other RSO’s at the U of A, I’ve never gotten a walk-through by employees of their typical operations. This experience allowed a lot of us to feel out the work environment to assess the fit of future potential job opportunities. After these hands on experiences and encounters, I’m now considering going to Ireland next summer to satisfy my Honors thesis credits, while working at one of these firms. In addition to the big four experience, we also had class at University College Dublin (UCD). UCD is one of the best business schools in Europe, and our classes were especially tailored to us by one of their best professors. The classes weren’t traditional in that we had one subject we focused on. Instead, we were able to pick the brain of one of their top professors, which fostered discussions of international business, accounting, and even their local politics. I believe this was extremely important to our education, since a lot of us may be dealing with a lot of international clients in our lifetime. We also spent a lot of time educating ourselves about Ireland’s current self and its history. Its history tells so much about its current world affairs. Prior to doing my research, I would have no idea why a lot of Irishmen have a deep dislike for England or why they have so much gratitude for the Cherokee Indians of the United States. Not only did our professors require us to do pre-trip research, but we also were tasked with finding an Irish business topic that interested us to write a whole research paper on. I chose taxes, because taxes and the “Irish Loophole” are a huge reason why they are so affluent. I’m also an accountant, so tax directly correlates with my major.

This served as a great opportunity to allow me to conduct research on something I was interested in, something relevant to the Irish economy, and something so closely tied to my major. We were so lucky to be fully immersed in Irish culture. Meeting the people was my favorite part. From a random gesture of a stranger who brought me to their house to get me a European wall plug, to making Irish friends I still regularly communicate with weekly, it was apparent how kind the Irish were to American visitors. The live music and entertainment scene was also a huge part of the trip. We frequented many venues like the Irish House Party, where we got to listen to old Irish songs and view tap dancing, too. We tried to sit in on a ukulele night, but they handed us all ukuleles, so we got to play along. We even accidentally ended up listening to Ireland’s top comedian for free as we were already at the pub that he was visiting. We did not have a single day that was the same as the last. Our road trips were fun and educational as well. We got to visit the Cliffs of Moher, the Island Inish Mor, Galway, Connemara, and a few other towns outside of Dublin. Each town and place we stopped out had its own special culture that we were ready to explore.

I would highly recommend this program to other students. From both an educational and entertaining perspective, it was totally worth it. I wish I could sign up to go again. Dublin definitely is expensive, though, so come prepared with money you’ve saved up over the years. Luckily, the dollar is worth more than the euro now, but Dublin has one of the highest GDPs in Europe, so it can still be pricey at the city center and on the college campus. My advice is to make friends with everyone at the beginning of the trip. These are friends that you’ll have for a lifetime. My group was all super friendly, and we had a great time together. I would say to experience everything you can within reason. I barely had any down time at all on the trip, but it was so worth it. For the term paper, I’d choose a day or two that everybody else is working on their paper to get it knocked out. You don’t want to miss out on fun with the group because you procrastinated your paper. Other than that, don’t be afraid to ask professor Katie and Leflar questions prior to leaving. They usually set you up with all the information you need, but if you still have questions, they’re so eager to help out.