Cultural visit to the Duomo in Milan, Italy: taken on the roof of the Duomo
Name: Brooke Williard | Major: Accounting | Semester: Summer 2025
During the summer of 2024, I had the amazing opportunity to intern with a nonprofit in Belize. This experience changed my perspective of global business, leaving me wanting to further explore business practices internationally. While I learned a lot during my international internship, I did not apply my accounting knowledge while abroad. This led me to seek out programs that would combine my interest in global business with practical accounting application. I found the IMAcc Global Immersion Program in Rome, Italy, a faculty-led study abroad program during the May Intersession. This ten-day program allows students to meet with six international businesses where students observe both cultural differences that influence business practices and the technical differences in their accounting rules and regulations. Additionally, we went on cultural visits, experiencing landmarks in Milan and Rome. These excursions were helpful in observing Italy through a wholistic lens, not one solely rooted in business.
When first arriving in Rome, I was transported to three years earlier when I travelled to Italy for my first time. Cars were honking their horns at one another, mopeds were weaving in and out of traffic, and pedestrians were running across the streets in the few seconds they had when cars were not passing by. The busyness of Rome was unfamiliar to me, yet not surprising as this year, I was visiting not only during tourist season and during the year of Jubilee, but also a week after the new Pope had been appointed. These events made an already busy city even busier while also spreading a sense of excitement among its residents.
As I began to explore the city, I was grateful to be accompanied by sixteen other University of Arkansas students and three faculty. Together, we explored business in Italy through hands-on learning and application exercises. Our professors tasked us with creating presentations for four of the six business visits. These presentations were my favorite part of the trip, as they challenged me to apply my business knowledge in a global setting. We were given a different group to work with for each presentation, which allowed me to practice working with different personality types while also witnessing new perspectives of the accounting world from other students.
Our company visit with Squp was my favorite of the trip, and it was not only because of the gelato we got to try. Squp Gelato is a six-year-old, start-up food technology company in Italy. Their gelato is sold by the pint and offers a healthy alternative to many of the gelato brands that are currently offered. It was interesting and insightful to hear from a young entrepreneur, Emanuel, who is facing success. His perspective was unique, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about his company and the tips he has for anyone wanting to start their own. Through presenting suggestions to him related to the cost accounting of his ice cream, I was challenged to think outside of my normal perspective. While the suggestion pertained to moving manufacturing to the United States, the country where I most understand business, I had to approach my suggestion differently because of the nature of the company. An international firm manufacturing in the United States is going to look completely different than a domestic firm. Through my research, presentation development, and feedback from Emanuel, I feel I have a better understanding of how international logistics work and how start-up companies operate.
Outside of our presentations, we were also tasked with observing and documenting the cultural differences between Italy and the United States, both generally and through a business lens. Because of this, seemingly mundane experiences abroad revealed key cultural differences that I hope to implement into my life in the United States.
One example comes from my first meal in Italy with the other students, faculty, and Rome Center representatives. Hours after arrival, I indulged in a nine-course meal with the rest of the students. This meal was a reminder of the first cultural difference I recognized between Italy and the United States. In the United States, everything feels rushed. We are always moving on to the next thing. We struggle to find time to simply enjoy other’s presence and to appreciate our accomplishments and the journey to get there. In Italy, they take purposeful time to slow down. Meals in Rome often took about two hours, allowing us students to slow down, enjoy ourselves, and truly get to know each other. Through each of the nine courses of the first meal, I learned more and more about those I sat with, causing me to appreciate that dinner was not only a meal to the Italians but an experience. This first meal catapulted the student group into the week.
While this program was only ten days, I walked away learning more about the world than I could have imagined. Getting to experience six companies abroad through small setting meetings allowed me to get a well-rounded lens of the business world in Italy. It also allowed me to apply my accounting knowledge in a global atmosphere, something that I have never done before. For any student who is wondering if they should study abroad a second time, I would highly encourage them to. Seeing a different part of the world is highly valuable but being immersed in two communities different than your own is even more so. It allows you to truly appreciate cultural and structural differences found across the world, as each will provide unique experiences. Overall, I am grateful to walk away from this trip with a new perspective of global business, sixteen new friends, and three faculty mentors that have taught me more than they realize.