The spotlight is on Dr. Dawna Drum, Western Washington University, United States.

Western Washington University (WWU) is a public university in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, originally founded as a school of teaching for women. WWU is located in Bellingham, a city of about 95,000 people, 140 km north of Seattle, and 89 km south of Vancouver, British Columbia. 14,700 students, 57 percent female, are enrolled in 200-plus undergraduate and graduate programs at the tree-lined main campus and other sites across Washington state.

Western has seven colleges and multiple academic programs, centers, and institutes. The College of Business and Economics (CBE) offers degree courses in Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Management Information Systems, Operations Management, International Business, Supply Chain Management, and Economics. CBE is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, prestigious recognition held by only 6 percent of all business schools in the world.

Dr. Dawna Drum is a Professor in the Department of Accounting, which provides a traditional bachelor’s degree as well as a bachelor of science degree that blends accounting with analysis-based business coursework. Her courses focus on imparting an understanding of the information systems, analytics, and risk management required in public and private accounting.

Drum has a BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, an MBA from Edgewood College, Madison, Wis., and a PhD in Technology Management earned at Indiana State University. She has researched and published widely on topics around Accounting Information Systems (AIS), Accounting Technologies and Applications, and Advanced AIS. She has served on the board of the AIS Educators Association and is currently an Associate Editor for their journal.

Since 2022, she has been using Oracle NetSuite, the cloud-based business management software accessed through Oracle Academy.

Oracle Academy: Can you tell us how you came to select Oracle NetSuite as part of CBE’s accounting curriculum?

Dawna Drum: When I started teaching at WWU they were using other accounting software. But, I was not happy with its latest iteration and the students found the software to be non-intuitive; it was time to move on. Then I had a closer look at Oracle NetSuite, which I had known years back at a previous university and it gave me three important elements: it’s free, it’s intuitive, and it’s cloud based. Being in the cloud means there’s nothing to install, which is important to students who might have to share a laptop with family or roommates. And since NetSuite is low bandwidth, they can access it from anywhere, anytime. That was important to me.

Oracle Academy: Great. What courses do you teach?

Dawna Drum: I have a junior level class called Accounting Information Systems (AIS), a senior level elective called Accounting Analytics, and I have rolled out a new senior level elective course called Enterprise Systems for Accountants. AIS covers the principles and techniques of internal controls, risk management, and systems use, as well as Excel. Accounting Analytics emphasizes topics such as sources and uses of multiple types of business data, data visualization, plus reporting and analysis for decision making using a wide variety of tools.

In Enterprise Systems for Accountants, I teach the ability to configure an enterprise system and use the system for problem analysis, report generation, and data extraction and importation, as well as flowcharting and process analysis.

Oracle Academy: Are you alone in using Oracle Academy for teaching accounting?

Dawna Drum: Yes. I am the only one who teaches technology-based accounting courses and that’s where NetSuite plays an important role. I pushed to become an Oracle Academy member, got myself up to speed on the teaching resources, and am currently reaching out to help in content creation. I’ve collaborated with other AIS educators who are using NetSuite in courses to further develop and strengthen our teaching resources.

Oracle Academy: In what way does NetSuite help in teaching accounting?

Dawna Drum: Essentially, I use Oracle NetSuite to expose my students to the concept of an enterprise system. I show them internal controls in action. Naturally, we go through the Purchase-to-Pay cycle and the Order-to-Cash cycle. But, I also teach them the reality of accounting. What happens when a company orders four of something but receives three? Does the company need a second pair of eyes on every single purchase order? Does everything have to be manually approved? If so, why? It helps them understand what enterprise systems actually look like. They get more comfortable exploring things, questioning things, digging to unearth that one number that throws things out of kilter. I tell them you can’t break this so badly that we can’t fix it. And NetSuite proves this to be true.

Oracle Academy: And now you have kicked off the more advanced class?

Dawna Drum: It’s a brand-new class called Enterprise Systems for Accountants, which I created from scratch. It’s a senior class with more in-depth troubleshooting, such as cleansing and merging vendor master records, checking that things are correct, testing three-way matches with NetSuite workflow, and messing with PO tolerances and vendor balances. At first, some of these exercises make accounting seem chaotic, but I explain that it’s all too realistic! Having hands-on experience with a modern enterprise system is so valuable to students, they can see the value in the exercises they do.

Oracle Academy: Good to hear. And what are your interests outside of teaching?

Dawna Drum: Let’s see… I have a passion for motorcycles, classic cars, garment making, quilting, and reading fantasy and sci-fi.

We have three older Volkswagens and also a 1969 Mach 1 Fastback Mustang. My husband is a mechanic, my Dad was too, and I love working on cars. I also have a 900cc Triumph Bonneville Street Twin motorcycle. I started with another British model, a Royal Enfield, but at 500cc it was small. I started riding when I was almost 50 and recently formed a women’s motorcycle group in this area. It’s important to me to get more women on bikes, and we are growing. A former student has got her license and joined. Taking the bikes out into the beautiful Pacific Northwest is a fantastic way to spend a beautiful day.

I love doing things with my hands. My grandma taught me to quilt years ago and I’ve also taken up knitting. I have started to make my own clothes because I’m bored with what I find in the stores.

And then reading — which for me means fantasy and sci-fi. For example, I’m a great fan of J.R.R. Tolkien. In 2018, on a visit to London I took a side trip to Oxford, and sat in the Eagle and Child pub where Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and other friends would drink and discuss writing.

Thank you, Dr. Dawna Drum, for your passion for Oracle Academy and for preparing your students to make a positive impact.