CAT Executive Talks to Accounting Students

By Brandon Wallace '17

When Bradley alumni find success in their careers, many come back and share their experiences with students to help them reach similar success. Jason Pearce, the CFO for Caterpillar Japan, recently spoke to the students of Cost Accounting, taught by Dr. Stephen Kerr.

Pearce received his Bachelor’s from Bradley in 1996 and his Master’s in 1997. Since then, he’s spent 16 years with CAT and has worked at five different locations.

Pearce talked about the different finance issues he has faced in his career ranging from cost accounting to utilizing assets and profit loss statements.

"Coming out of Bradley, I used all of my finance and accounting skills," Pearce said. "Business communication is very important. I have made my career out of business communication."

Pearce also said that business communications skills help a person explain results in greater detail to management — situations such as sales being down or costs being up. Pearce's communication in a nutshell: “Here are the numbers, here's what it means, here's how you move forward.”

Kerr connected with Pearce in 2013 when Pearce was working for CAT in Peoria. Pearce came to Bradley to talk to accounting students about internship opportunities at CAT. Kerr and Pearce kept in touch when Pearce moved to Japan, and recently arranged a time for Pearce to talk to Kerr’s class when Pearce was next visiting the CAT office in Peoria.

“Without communication in understandable terms the information will not be useful to the intended parties,” Dr. Kerr said. “Jason spoke to the class of examples in his own work and unit where clear communication of detailed cost information was leading to personal and corporate success.”

When asked by a student what his biggest asset coming out of college was, Pearce mentioned perspective.

"The different courses — exposure to marketing, finance, and then internships gave me a great perspective on the business world and how to interact in it," Pearce said. “The Foster College of Business got me prepared and I definitely felt fully prepared [for my first job].”

Kerr discussed what the students took away from Pearce's visit.

“I have noticed an increased interest in how the technical curriculum is used in the workplace,” Kerr said. “There is an understandable emphasis on passing a test, but this does not lead to a great career. In nursing, for example, the students are faced with very specific clinical applications that keep the client front and center. Having executives like Jason come into class brings that same clinical awareness to our students — and thereby better prepares them to be effective as they graduate.”