There has been an increased level of commentary lately regarding the disconnect between B-schools and the world of Corporate Finance.  Many are criticizing the lack of reality in the theory based programs that are taught.  Is that really a surprise?

During my MBA studies at USC there was an extensive offering of Finance classes and I couldn’t take enough of them.  I love the topic and it was difficult to make the final selections.  However, while they were absolutely thought and discussion provoking, I often found myself asking how some of these topics and approaches could really be applied in a true corporate capacity.  At the time I was working as the Manager of FP&A at Pacific Sunwear.  Could I really see some of what was getting discussed applied there?  Absolutely not.  What the classes offered though was a different perspective that might allow you to tweak an approach or process and improve your current corporate structure.  The true value was working with other individuals who had strong corporate backgrounds, in a variety of disciplines, and develop a cohesive team.

I tried to continue my commitment to students after graduation when I worked with USC to host a group of interns to work on special ad-hoc projects, typically during Spring Break.  Although the students typically needed some heavy guidance to understand the business and develop momentum, they often worked on projects I would have assigned to my own team had we had the additional time resources.

B-Schools are reaching out and attempting to create stronger links with day-to-day corporate environments, but it likely needs to be incorporated into the classroom more external speakers, panels, or other related focus groups. Read more on the recent article published on CFO.com : http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/10927537?f=alerts