NEW PRICE WATERHOUSE CENTER

DEDICATED AT IU BUSINESS SCHOOL AUG. 25

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Often, when people think of what computers can do, there's talk of the "virtual classroom" and the "virtual office." A new center in the Indiana University School of Business will show how technology is affecting the accounting industry by bringing both of these environments together.

On Monday (Aug. 25) the school will dedicate the Price Waterhouse Center for Information Technology, which features a high-tech classroom that allows faculty and students to simulate and even work in accounting settings now made possible by computers.

Once enslaved by a now cumbersome dependence on paper records and their physical location, accountants today have ready access to critical information used in advising clients, and it doesn't matter where the accountants are. They even would be able to consult clients from the new fully-integrated, 80-computer work station classroom on the second floor of the IU School of Business.

"Public accounting firms are tremendously reliant on laptop computers," said John W. Hill, IU chairman of graduate accounting programs. "Your office is your laptop. You can take your files, your records, your analytical programs, everything with you, and you hook back into a network. Your office is wherever you are.

"That's what we're teaching these students. We want them to learn to operate and be comfortable in that same kind of environment," said Hill, who -- while pointing to the student work stations -- added, "Their office is here, right in front of them and they take it home with them in their computer. It is wherever they go."

The classroom, built at a cost of about $650,000 and with the help of a $300,000 grant from Price Waterhouse, can seat up to 80 students who will be enrolled in the IU Business School's new Accounting MBA program. The new program allows students to enter their first year of graduate study after three years in undergraduate business courses, and prepares them to meet new requirements to become a certified public accountants. In 1998, another graduate opportunity will be offered for students who studied accounting for four years elsewhere.

"It is exciting to invest and partner with IU's School of Business and accounting program in this leading-edge technology center," said Larry P. Scott, Price Waterhouse Foundation executive director. "It represents another visible commitment of IU to educational change and continuous improvement."

In the new classroom, the students' computers will be interconnected by a local area network commanded by a professor in the classroom. In addition to allowing them to interact with professors and each other, the LAN will provide access to Price Waterhouse's specialized software and other research tools used by the firm.

It also features video teleconferencing that will enable students to interact with top executives who otherwise would not be able to come to Bloomington. The room's seating area has been designed so students can push desk tops together for simulations and group projects; and walls are covered with wallboard to provide areas where the students can present ideas for peers and professors.

Hill, himself the former chief financial officer of a bank, said accountants are increasingly being called upon to serve as members of senior management.

"Forget the myths of pale accountants with horn-rimmed glasses who only come out in April," he said. "Think of accountants more as masters of critical information, managers who are closer to the heart of an organization than virtually anyone else."

The new center will be the prototype for future classrooms in the IU School of Business, said Mikel Tiller, IU chairman of accounting and information systems. To maintain superior technology in the center, a committee has been formed consisting of representatives from Price Waterhouse and the Business School, who have the responsibility of completing an annual review of the software and hardware in the facility.

IU and Price Waterhouse have enjoyed close ties for many years. More than 200 IU Business School alumni are now working in 32 Price Waterhouse offices, including 20 alums who are partners or principals. IU is one of the largest sources of new hires for the Midwest region and for the firm nationally.

"The quality of students from IU has been exceptional," said Price Waterhouse Partner Mike Herman. "We believe that the tools provided by this center, along with the new curriculum, will foster the next generation of business leaders."

For more than 75 years, IU's School of Business has been at the forefront of curriculum innovation. In 1996, U.S. News and World Report placed the undergraduate business program fifth in the nation and Business Week ranked IU's MBA program 15th. IU's undergraduate program in accounting was ranked second by the Gourman Report, published annually by National Education Standards of Los Angeles, Calif.

Price Waterhouse has been helping the world's leading companies solve complex business problems for the past 150 years. Today, through a worldwide network comprising 56,000 professionals, Price Waterhouse assists clients in effecting organizational and strategic change; using information technology for competitive advantage; complying with statutory audit and tax requirements; and implementing strategies to improve business performance and increase shareholder value. Price Waterhouse LLP, with more than 15,000 men and women in principal cities throughout the United States, is a vital part of the worldwide Price Waterhouse organization.

For more information, contact George Vlahakis, 812-855-0846 or 812-855-3911, gvlahaki@indiana.edu