Students Certified in Leading Analytics Platform

Accounting | Nov 11, 2020 | Gabelli School of Business

This September, nearly 100 Gabelli School juniors taking the Analytics Sustainable Reporting course became trained and certified in Datamaran, a newly patented, premier software platform that offers real-time analytics on strategic and regulatory risks, including Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.

“Our students have been given the unique opportunity to work with Datamaran’s award-winning technology that supports a structured business process for external risk identification and monitoring,” said Kelly Ulto, clinical assistant professor of accounting, who co-teaches the Sustainable Reporting course with Accounting Professor Barbara Porco. “Companies are realizing that identifying, understanding, and monitoring external risks are business critical, and external users of financial information want to know what risks companies face and what they are doing to address these issues.”
Students analyzed companies such as Disney, Ford, General Mills, JetBlue, Pfizer, and others and considered how the companies’ risk management corresponded to their financial results. The course consisted of one full day and a half of live sessions, five hours of online training, an intensive virtual weekend seminar, and three weeks of work on student projects.

In addition to Datamaran’s proprietary database, the students also used tools such as Bloomberg, social media, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Sustainable Industry Classification System (SICS®) for their research. Working in small groups, they then compiled, sorted, and analyzed all of the data they collected, and submitted comprehensive reports of their findings.

Offered for the past three semesters, Sustainable Reporting is one of four options business students can choose from to meet Gabelli School integrated project core requirements in the junior year. The first semester the course was offered, representatives from the San Francisco-based SASB visited the Gabelli School in New York and ran the project live, offering students another corporate-level learning experience in ESG reporting.

“The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards create a common language for organizations to report on their sustainability impacts in a consistent and credible way,” said Barbara Porco. “Each semester, students in the Sustainable Reporting class have the opportunity to use the very latest analytical tools like Datamaran for research on ESG reporting and risk assessment. It’s beyond anything you’re seeing at other universities.”

Introducing a New Accounting “Winternship” Program

In the spring of 2021, the Gabelli School will launch the Gabelli Winternship Program. This new initiative offers seniors the ability to work full-time at one of six international firms, including all Big Four accounting firms, in paid positions while enrolled in an accelerated course structure to ensure they graduate along with their classmates.

Unlike summer internships, the “Winternship” Program offers students the opportunity to work in New York City during the academic year and to begin their graduate studies prior to graduation. After a successful experience, students will have their full-time job offers secured, giving them additional options during the summer for graduate studies, travel, or to return to their families.

“Students can be fully immersed in rich, client-facing engagements during the academic year at a time when firms have increased staffing needs,” said Porco. “Everybody ‘wins’ with the Gabelli Winternship Program!”

For more information, visit Gabelli Winternship Program.