Author: Esther Beller | Major: Accounting and Business Economics | Semester: Summer 2024

Wild Atlantic West location in windy Doolough Valley

I’ve long suffered from an extreme diagnosis of wanderlust. After choosing to pursue a career in accounting, I jumped at the opportunity to learn about global accounting. I had the incredible opportunity to study abroad during the month of June 2024 with the University of Arkansas’s International Business Seminar in Ireland, led by Walton College accounting faculty Katie Terrell and Charles Leflar. Throughout the month, we stayed at the University College Dublin for most of our time and took a 5-day trip to Western Ireland to visit Galway, the Aran Islands, and various small towns. When searching for study abroad programs, Ireland especially piqued my interest because of the rich culture and history. Although the Republic of Ireland is a new country, Ireland’s history dates to 10,500 BC. The Irish have been through trial after trial as a country, including raids, slavery, imperialism, war, famine, and poverty. But even through all of this, the Irish are incredibly kind people. Being so welcoming and full of beautiful history, I knew Ireland would be the place for me.

During my time abroad, I took advantage of various academic and learning experiences. The class engaged in private lectures with UCD economics professor Dr. John Cassidy and discussed topics such as the economic, political, and social climate in Ireland currently and in the recent past. We had private tours at Ernst & Young, Price Waterhouse Coopers, and Deloitte. These visits were both recruiting opportunities and learning more about the scope of global accounting. These large global accounting firms provided interesting insight into the impact of cultural differences within a broad company and the ways business is impacted by these differences. Much of this is related to communication styles, feedback or critical analysis, work life balance, and more that significantly impacts the function of the company.

To wrap up the course, I presented a research project based in the ins and outs and complexities of the nonprofit charity sector in Ireland. Because the Irish are known to be incredibly kind and supportive, I was curious how this impacted the nonprofit world. As it turns out, the charity sector in Ireland in thriving. The government uses autonomous nonprofits to deliver many of its free services to Irish citizens such as healthcare, housing services, food support, and more. This means that the Irish government is the single highest contributor to the charity sector in Ireland. Outside of government funding, many nonprofits are partially or fully funded by the generosity of Irish citizens. My research allowed me to compare Irelands nonprofit sector and the way it operates to that of the United States and create deductions based on the different functionalities.

Outside of those opportunities, a large part of my academic experience while in Ireland was to immerse myself in the culture and learn the history of the nation. I visited many museums, historical landmarks, natural beauties, places of cultural significance, etc. From viewing the stained-glass exhibit at the National Gallery of Ireland and engaging in Bloomsday festivities to learning how to bake traditional Irish Soda Bread and playing Gaelic games, I was able to gain a unique and incredibly special connection to Irish culture. I was able to learn so much about Ireland through these immersions as well as talking to locals anywhere I was able to. The Irish people are very friendly and love talking to Americans. These interactions were some of my most treasured moments while abroad.

One incredibly valuable lesson I learned in Ireland that I will take back with me and carry for the rest of my life is just how many ways there are to learn from the world around you. Going into this program, I would’ve thought that the best way to learn was in a classroom, listening to lectures and doing homework. After being abroad, I know that learning opportunities are not limited to those four walls. Learning is everywhere and all you must do is experience the world around you and you can gain so much knowledge from these experiences. Many of the growth and knowledge I experienced was not because of traditional lectures, but because of immersive experiences that provided a unique perspective into culture, history, professionalism, and global accounting. In Ireland, I learned how to learn, a lesson I’ll always cherish.