On Thursday, November 20^th, members of the Accounting & Finance Advisory Board participated in a roundtable discussion on the financial crisis.  Over 60 students attended and mingled with panelists at a dessert reception following the roundtable.  Panelists included representatives from banking, investing, agriculture, nonprofit, public accounting, and academia.  The panel was moderated by Dr. Bruce Costa, Associate Professor of Finance.  After Dr. Tim Manuel, Professor of Finance, provided an overview of how the situation developed, panelists fielded questions from the audience.  The panel agreed that the most significant challenge in the market today is one of lack of consumer confidence.  Until consumers have confidence that recent government interventions will be effective, they will withhold spending and borrowing, inhibiting the economy’s recovery.  When asked if regular Montanan’s and Montana small business could get loans in today’s environment, Mike Grove, president of Bank of the Rockies, answered with an unequivocal “yes.”  He noted that small community banks did not engage in the same practices as the larger banks and investment banks, and your local banks continue to use sound lending practices and make loans.  A student asked the panel what lessons he should learn from this time in history, and Joe Shevlin, shareholder at JCCS, put it best – “Don’t spend more than you make.”