Cerf, Doug  

I really liked Cerf. I also thought accounting was really overwhelming until I took his class. He is really good at explaining the examples in the book and the curve will save your grade. His office hours are really helpful too. I would definitely recommend him to any accounting student.

Professor Cerf is an outstanding Professor. Cerf instructs with the theme of “back to the basics” status. This class consists of two midterms and one final. Homework is assigned but not collected. There is in-class note card assignments that are based on some part of the homework problem(s). This is only 10% of your final grade. The mid terms are some what difficult and challenging, there is 30 multiple choice and 2 problems. If you complete the homework and think about the other ways the homework problems could be solved you should do fine (hint, hint). Professor Cerf takes plenty of time to explain the theory of accounting principles and does it very well. To do well in this class, it requires effort and interest. The grade I earned was a B but I took this class during accounting interviews and I don’t recommend taking this course during that season (JAN-FEB). Overall, Cerf was great and his grading scale works in everyone’s favor.

Cerf was an awesome professor! Very understanding guy and generous curves! The tests were definitely difficult, but if you do the problems that he gives you at the beginning of the quarter you will be fine. I skimmed the reading really just looked at the examples and didn't do the problems until right before the exams to study. Definitely would recommend Cerf

Dr. Cerf is a great teacher. He really enjoys accounting and tries to get you involved. His lectures for the most part, are clear and engaging. Not as structured as other teachers so the classroom atmosphere is much less serious. One downside though is his tests are too long and rather difficult. His final was pretty hard as well. Overall, except for Dr. Bishop, the best accounting teacher in the COB.

Dr. Cerf is one of the best accounting professors I have had. He does not sway from his schedule, which is good because there is never extra information you are all of a sudden responsible for. Also, he is very student-oriented. He cares very much about his student's well-being and whether or not they are understanding the material. His tests are quite long and not easy at all, so that's a down-side, but overall, I would highly recommend Dr. Cerf.

Excellent instructor. Unfortunately, he is not associate dean so you may not get a chance to have him as an instructor. His methodology was consise and left you with a better understanding of how to approach any accounting problem, rather than having you just memorize facets that are easily forgotten after the test. Very nice man who makes sure you understand the material and puts no surprises on tests.

Excellent instructor. Unfortunately, he is associate dean so you may not get a chance to have him as an instructor. His methodology was consise and left you with a better understanding of how to approach any accounting problem, rather than having you just memorize facets that are easily forgotten after the test. Very nice man who makes sure you understand the material and puts no surprises on tests.

This teacher wastes our time by asking US questions the entire class period. He says its HIS method and its the best way but he asks the dumbest questions (they are either impossible for us to know, or so obvious that people are embarassed to raise their hands because they think he might be tricking us and asking a hard one) and when nobody answers him he just sits there and waits until someone says something, and if no one does he complains about it. This class is going nowhere! We are a week behind already because of this and it is only the second week of classes. Also, he is horrible at presenting material clearly. He throws up irrelavent information on the board which just confuses the hell out of everyone. He may be the head of accounting or whatever, and he is a nice guy, but he needs to work on his teaching skills!

I loved Cerf, however, he is not for everyone. As one person from PWC who had Cerf ten years ago put it "He talks like an accountant, not like a professor. I hated him then, but would love him now." Cerf is all about the "why" of all the questions, and it really did work for me, especially after a memorization-driven 321 (Dang, anyone?). Reading the book before lecture is pretty useful, that way you can think about all the questions he keeps asking, rather than trying to figure out where the journal entries go. Getting a good grade (A) really comes from understanding how and why everything fits in with just a little memorization(I actually forgot that we could use a cheat sheet on the first test). If you really feel like accounting is or could be interesting and not just a bunch of memorization, then I 100% recommend Cerf. Otherwise, if you can't get around either the stigma of accounting or the actual material, you'll probably get hung up over the constant questions (which seem pointless if you're looking at accounting wrong) and his jokes (which aren't funny, but more of an attempt to break the ice).

I loved Cerf as a professor. Unlike the person below me, I thought he was pretty funny in a goofy, nerdy, but likable way. He occassionally would update the class on how much rainfall SLO has had for the day (since the last time he checked) and mention sports (he LOVES basketball). Overall, he's a very nice guy who only tests on material that he's actually gone over in class and he does a great job going over the concepts. one of the greatest professors I've had here at poly. 2 midterms and a final (not cumulative) oh and he curves a little as well

Cerf is a good teacher, he takes the time to make sure that everyone thoroughly understands the material.

excellent teacher, by far the best i've had in the business school!

Cerf is a great accounting professor. After having come from Li Dang's 321 a.k.a. "packet class," Cerf's 322 was a breath of fresh air. Not only did Cerf teach us the journal entries, he taught us WHY. Sometimes through Dang's class (who am I kidding, it was all the time) I would ask myself, why am I sitting here like a monkey drilling this crap into my head? Finally, with Cerf, he went beyond the memorization to explain the reasoning. Hm, perhaps accounting is getting a bit more interesting...I didn't know that was possible! At one point near the end of the quarter, Cerf busted out an article about pharmaceutical companies not stock piling drugs for 3rd world countries due to revenue recognition principals. Bad ass! Accounting APPLIED, not Accounting for monkeys.

He explained material very clearly and in a logical fashion that made the problems easy to follow. the material was pretty hard but all together i'd recommend him for 322.

Professor Cerf is my favorite teacher at Cal Poly thus far. He makes sure you understand accounting rather than just having you memorize journal entries and patterns. The class has two midterms, a final, and a 10% participation grade. As long as you go to class, you will get the full participation points. For the midterms, I would go through all the examples for the corresponding chapters. It is important to understand what you are doing and not just memorize the different steps. His tests are challenging, but if you understand the material they are definitely doable. He will not put anything on the test that was not explained in class. He is very straight forward and fair and good to talk to in office hours. I\'ve had him for both BUS 321 and BUS 322 and if I could I would take him for all my accounting classes!!!

I love Professor Cerf because he presented the material so clear in class that I didn't even need to read the book. Just listen to him in class, do your hws and make sure you understand the materials well enough. The exams are not easy but if you do the things mentioned before, you will for sure do well in the class. Professor Cerf ROCKS!!

Doug is one of the best professors I've had so far. The comments below are pretty much on target. He teaches accounting really well by which I mean he explains why stuff the way it is really well. What sets him apart from other professors is that Doug really pays attention to each student. If you go into office hours he will set aside what he is doing, look you in the eye, really spend some time with you. He'll ask you your name, try to get to know you a lil bit. Just a great guy. My only criticism is that he goes into detail too much sometimes, and gets bogged down teaching one point for too long. Tests are difficult - study up.

There's a reason this guy is the accounting chair. As opposed to most accounting professors I've had so far, he actually teaches accounting by explaning WHY you do what you do. The readings are manageable, problem sets take time, and tests are tough (but generously curved). If you put in the effort, your grade will reflect it. Overall, Cerf is the man, so take his course if possible. You'll learn that he actually cares about the students.

Cerf is a fantastic teacher, who really cares about his students. The quarter consists of 3 tests (non-cumulative) worth 1/3 of your grade each. No homework is collected, but if you do not complete it, you probably won't do well in the class. The tests are fairly difficult and comprehensive, but if you are able to do the homework, they shouldn't be an issue. He also applies a pretty generous curve at the end of each test. Overall, Cerf is easily the best accounting teacher I have had at Poly.

He's slow, but thorough. Class is relatively straightforward, and he really cares about the students.

Cerf is a great professor. He's definitely lecturing for the B and C students, but don't expect the tests to be easy. They are fair, some other professors will be harder. If you have a choice of professors, take Cerf. He will go out of his way to help you.

Cerf lectures at an acceptable pace and makes the material fairly straight forward. Reading before class is also helpful and as you'll see he quickly falls behind his projected pace for the quarter. The exams (3 total for all 100% of the grade) are fairly difficult and require an in-depth understanding of the material. The average was usually around a 73%. Tough but manageable class (and only option for 322)

In my opinion, Cerf was one of the best accounting professors I've ever had! In fact, he is most likely my favorite accounting professor at Cal Poly. He is very consistent when he lectures and wants you to learn the concepts of the financial statements versus pure memorizing journal entries. He grades based on how you approach a problem versus if the answer is correct or not so write out as much logical thinking as possible to maximize points. He is not intimidating and really cares about his students and does not play favorites. Don't underestimate his tests though, they are hard and tricky but he doesn't give any surprises for the most part. It is best to start studying his tests early, read and do the assigned HW problems before and after each lecture. Also practice all other similar HW problems, but prioritize the "harder" problems since he's most likely to test on those ones. He is approachable so I'd suggest going into his office hours, go to tutoring, and/or study in groups to discuss the concepts of each HW problem.

Dr. Cerf is very organized and keeps to the schedule for the most part. He is very detail oriented and gives participation points for asking questions during class. The first test was hard, but the class got easier after that. Overall, not too difficult of a class or teacher.

Dr. Cerf is very organized and keeps to the schedule for the most part. He is very detail oriented and gives participation points for asking questions during class. The first test was hard, but the class got easier after that. Overall, not too difficult of a class or teacher.

What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.