An article by Patrick O'Meara, assistant professor of accounting at Niagara University, was one of two featured in the September 2023 issue of Academic Update, the monthly enewsletter produced by the American Institute of CPAs and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, known together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
“Preparing Accounting Students for Professional Success” details a business case study competition O’Meara held in one of his classes. The case was based on the U.S. nutraceuticals industry and centered around decisions that management of one company needed to make as they pondered the upcoming year. As they worked on oral presentations and a written summary of their group recommendations, the students honed their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
“Preparing students for structured professional exams remains an important function of teaching accounting,” O’Meara noted in the article. “However, as teaching professionals, we need to reinforce traditional teaching methods with preparation for the broader professional world. A case study competition can test and hone students' abilities and prepare them for the professional world, wherein making sound, self-confident judgments is a constant.”
O'Meara is a certified management accountant, a chartered professional accountant, and a certified financial planner. He joined Niagara’s accounting faculty in 2018 and has held teaching positions at Red Deer College University, Alberta, Canada, and the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. He has also held posts as chair of business and commerce programs at the Donald School of Business at Red Deer College University, and as chair of accounting, finance, and economics programs at the school of business at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada. He is the principal of the Innovative Scholar Inc. and has written three books on topics including personal credit, personal finance, and mutual funds. He is currently writing a textbook on management and cost accounting that is expected to be published next summer. He also served as senior director of training services at the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning. O’Meara holds an MBA from Niagara University and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor.
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