Tutor flies to Poland to explore the human side of accounting

Wednesday, 12 December 2018

Wintec academic Ahmed Saleh has a reputation for making accounting fun

Ahmed Saleh (left) with Blazej Podgórski, a professor from the Department of Finance at Komzinski University.

At Ahmed Saleh’s accounting classes, you won’t find students sitting in front of computers with a bored look on their faces as they grapple with balance sheets and profit and loss statements.

Saleh’s reputation for making accounting fun has seen him travel to Kozminski University in Poland to share his passion for accounting and innovative teaching methods.

“Accounting is not boring and not just about numbers,” emphasises Wintec academic, Ahmed Saleh.

“I believe that accounting students should be encouraged to discover the human side of accounting and to contemplate the significant role of accounting in improving social justice by promoting transparency, accountability, and fairness. This is what I share in my classes and also shared during my exchange with Kozminski University.”

Wintec has a formal relationship with Kozminski University with Saleh being the third Wintec Centre for Business and Enterprise staff member to partake in an exchange at the university, which was funded by Erasmus+, the European Union's funding scheme to support activities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport.

The exchange saw Saleh travel on the world’s longest flight from Auckland to Doha (17 hours for the record) which he says was an experience in itself (not necessarily a good one!) and then onto Warsaw, Poland’s capital, and home to Kozminski University.

During the week-long exchange, Salah delivered three lectures on ‘Auditing and Assurance Services’, ‘Business Ethics’, and ‘Managerial Accounting’ to the university’s second year degree students and masters students.

Kozminski University has two streams – one with Polish speaking classes and the other with English speaking classes – which made Saleh’s teaching experience at the university a smooth one. He speaks fluent English, German and Arabic, but not Polish.

Outside the university, communicating was difficult so he used body language to get his messages across and also had an interesting time using local trains which don’t have any destination announcements…in English or Polish.

Despite the language challenges, Saleh relished his time in Poland.

“The exchange was a great chance to see how other universities and professors teach in terms of different teaching methods and philosophies. In Poland, most universities adopt a traditional-style education that is based on lectures. It really highlighted Wintec’s advanced teaching methods.”

He was impressed with the relationship that Polish universities have with government and industry, where they offer advice and research to both sectors.

Saleh, who has done his PhD research in forensic accounting through the University of Waikato, was excited to share some of his research with staff at Kozminski University. Plans are already underway for him to work on a shared research project with Kozminski University professors examining the wider role of accounting in promoting social justice and responsibility.

Two professors from Kozminski University will also visit Wintec early next year.

Find out more about studying business and management at Wintec.