Of the accounting professors you can take for MGMT 120A, Ming Lu is definitely not on the easier side. That being said, Prof Lu's class is very helpful and Ming Lu is a great professor. He truly cares about his students and their knowledge of accounting. The course is great for those looking to take the CPA exam and although it covers a ton of accounting topics, it will reward you greatly if you stick with the course. Your grade will almost be entirely dependent on your midterm and final, which makes the workload not bad until preparing for exams. If you attend lectures and keep up with weekly homework problems, you will do just fine in this class. I would definitely recommend this class and Professor Lu.

Before looking at the rest of my (or anyone else's) review, please understand that Mgmt 120A and 120B are NOT EASY. Most people who take these classes are planning to complete the Accounting Minor and pursue a CPA license, so naturally it's not going to be easy. If you're not willing to put in work, you WILL NOT succeed in these two classes. That's not to say that if you're not planning to become a CPA, you shouldn't take these classes - in fact, given how useful the materials in these two classes are, I would encourage everyone to take them, regardless of your major or professional aspirations. But again, it's NOT an easy class, and if you want to do well, you HAVE TO put in the work.

That being said, Professor Lu is an incredibly caring Professor - he was always happy to answer any questions I had with class, and he never hesitated to give career advice based on your personal future aspirations. It's pretty evident how much he cares about teaching his students, especially since his notes are extensive and absolute PERFECTION.

The secret to doing well in his class is to really study the notes extensively, do all the practice problems and UNDERSTAND THEM, and ask clarifying questions if you have trouble understanding certain concepts. These things are essential since the class is completely exam-based: 10% quiz, and 90% midterm and final (can't remember the exact distribution). If you don't understand the concepts and don't get comfortable with doing problems under time-constraint, you won't do well in the class since the exams are pretty time-tight. However, if you put in the work, practice the textbook problems, and make sure to truly understand each concept, you will get a good grade.

For those who want to take the CPA, professor Lu will prepare you for it in this class better than anyone else can. You just need to be willing to put in the effort. This class is not easy, and you will have to study quite a bit, but if you've come this far, you're pretty much set on being an accounting minor and getting your CPA, so no reason to not study anyways. If you don't want to get a CPA, I wouldn't recommend you take this class. Go to lecture, make good study habits and study every day, even if just a bit. You won't memorize everything if you don't. I may not have done well in this class, but the blame lies solely on me, which is why I'm more than happy to give it a good rating.

Before coming into class, brush up on your accounting basics from 1A and 1B, you'll need it for the accounting fundamentals quiz (which is very easy if you know 1A 1B material well).

Beyond the class, Professor Lu is a great mentor and always prioritizes his students. He wants his students to succeed, and also wants to stay in touch after the class. Take Professor Lu, you won't regret it.

I worked hard, but it's still very hard.
It would help if you are already preparing for CPA.
Midterm & Final make up most grade

Professor Lu is truly invested in his students' success in his class and into their careers. With that being said, he is not one to give out easy A's. The class averages on exams were generally around 80-85%, so definitely manageable if you keep up with lectures and do the optional assigned textbook problems. There was never any unexpected material on exams, so I found them to be fair. What separates Professor Lu from other teachers is his emphasis on career opportunities and willingness to be a networking resource and inform his students via his YouTube channel. Overall I highly recommend Professor Lu, but keep in mind Intermediate Accounting is naturally challenging.

Professor Lu was the best accounting teacher I have had at UCLA. He is always very helpful and available for questions, and his hand typed notes are the best. His exams are a time crunch, but if you go to lecture and do the practice problems you will do fine. His exams also prepare you for the CPA exam, and make you memorize and learn all the material so you have less studying to do later for the CPA tests. Professor Lu also really cares for all his students. I wish he taught more classes at UCLA so I could take them.

He is one of the best accounting professors in UCLA. He tries a lot to clarify problems and answer questions from the students. Exams were straight forward if you know how to solve homework and in-class problems.

Professor Lu gave us all the notes for his class, which was nice of him. Online lectures are given via Zoom, and he doesn't post them online afterwards, but attendance isn't mandatory, and if you only study off of the notes, you technically could do fine.
You have to buy the online textbook to take the midterm and final, which was annoying.

The grades were 10% quiz (taken early week 1 to test your knowledge), 40% midterm, 50% final. Like all accounting classes, you'll probably have to work hard and study a lot no matter what, so, I mean, it could be worse.

Professor Lu was by far the most accommodating professor I had during COVID-19 and amidst the protests. One thing I wish he did was record the lectures because he often teaches early morning classes, but attendance is not mandatory and if you study his notes thoroughly, then you will be perfectly prepared. Attending lectures is nice though because he will use real-life examples, tell stories, and essentially makes the material more digestible. This class and 120b are typically really difficult, but during the pandemic, we used Connect for our tests and that made it easier. Connect test are pretty straight forward with no trick questions. Professor Lu also made the midterm and final open book, open notes because the Anderson School had not gotten funding yet for Proctorus. I am not sure if that will be the same for later quarters, but the open book definitely made it less stressful. You definitely have to know all the material well, but open book allowed me to go back into my notes and verify answers.
Overall, I really enjoyed Professor Lu. When I did go to lecture, I really enjoyed myself and he is really good at breaking down concepts in his notes

4% Accounting Fundamentals Quiz (taken at the beginning of the quarter)
40% Midterm
56% Final

Professor Lu is one of the best professors I have ever taken at UCLA. He clearly cares about his students a lot, and he provides notes he spent hours typing himself that cover the whole class. You don't need the textbook and the textbook is useless, his notes are more than enough. He also gives tips on what would be tested on the CPA exam, as well tips for recruiting and funny anecdotes that explain accounting concepts.

I took this class online so the exams were taken through the Connect system, which is easier than the normal exams he gives out. The exams were also open notes open book for me since Anderson hasn't approved the proctoring software Professor Lu wanted to use yet, but that might change in the future.

I can't recommend Professor Lu enough, and make sure to save the notes for the CPA exam!