Preparer versus user introductory sequence: the impact on performance in Intermediate Accounting I

The normal subject matter in the first semester of a traditional introductory accounting course closely parallels the content in Intermediate Accounting I. Because research shows that student performance in college accounting courses is influenced by prerequisite courses, one would expect that those who take a user-approach introductory sequence will not perform as well in later courses. The research reported in this paper compares the performance of students in a traditional Intermediate Accounting I course who took either a preparer-or-user approach introductory sequence. Of the 150 accounting majors in the sample, 53 (97) took a user-approach (preparer-approach) introductory sequence. Of the 97 preparer-approach students, 47 (50) were four-year (transfer) students. The results are consistent with prior research and indicate that SAT scores and student effort are significant for each of the individual tests and for the overall average in course examinations. Gender is not consistent a factor in performance, which also supports prior research. The data indicate that students who took a preparer-approach sequence did not score higher in Intermediate Accounting I and that entry status is not a factor in this performance. This finding leads to the question of whether or not a user-approach would better service those students in our introductory accounting courses who are not accounting majors.     

Green accounting: A primer

This article, intended as a collateral reading assignment for a principles or intermediate accounting course, explores the current state and future issues of environmental accounting and reporting. The primer is divided into two parts: (1) a brief rationale directed to accounting professors for allocating precious class time to environmental reporting, and (2) a much fuller exposition for students of the associated issues past, present, and future that will serve to generate classroom discussion. Accounting faculty can use the student portion of the primer to incorporate environmental accounting and reporting into their courses without the need for extensive advance preparation.     

Out-West Products, Inc.: A financial modeling and decision analysis case

The Out-West Products, Inc. instructional case requires students to build a comprehensive financial model to support planning and decision-making. Part 1 of this team-oriented Excel project requires students to construct a baseline model, while Part 2 provides sensitivity analysis and decision-making extensions. The case incorporates cost-volume-profit, accounting income versus cash flow, and benchmarking analyses. Case objectives provide students with a realistic financial modeling experience that includes: building models; linking data across financial statements; testing solutions and analyzing scenarios; and improving critical thinking skills. These objectives closely align to the AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession. The case can be used in introductory and upper-division managerial accounting, upper-division cost accounting, and MBA managerial accounting courses, and can be modularized to achieve instructor-specific objectives.     

Recruiting top students: A letter writing approach

This paper presents the outcome of a letter writing technique to influence top business students to consider enrolling in the first intermediate accounting course. Accounting educators and professional recruiters have expressed concern that accounting may not always be attracting the “best and brightest” students. What can accounting educators do to mitigate this concern? A study was conducted to see whether a simple letter writing effort can make a difference in attracting top students to the first intermediate accounting course.     

THE COMPUTER BASED ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS COURSE

This note examines the importance of the accounting information systems course in the undergraduate accounting curriculum. Most accounting departments offer this course on an elective basis. However, the course should be required by all undergraduate accounting majors. By scheduling the course late in the formal academic program, the material will serve as a consolidating and integrating device. Accounting students will learn specific techniques enabling them to fully comprehend the interrelationships among all accounting courses completed.     

Accounting for other postretirement benefits and pension costs at Ohio Edison

This is a case on accounting for Other Post Retirement Employee Benefits (OPEB) (SFAS 106, 1990) and Pensions (SFAS 87, 1985). The objective of the case is to enable accounting students to bridge the gap between the two standards and in so doing achieve a better understanding of both. Students can use their knowledge of pension accounting to improve their comprehension of OPEB accounting. This case is suitable for use in Intermediate Accounting, Accounting Policy, and Financial Management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.     

Faculty perspectives on international accounting topics

Given the increasing globalization of business, including the widening acceptance of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the capital markets, the international dimension is of great importance to the accounting profession. The international accounting course plays a key role in the accounting curriculum in providing students with information about this critical area of accounting. This study examines the relative importance of various international accounting topics through a survey of members of the American Accounting Association's International Accounting Section. Results are compared with those of prior studies in order to determine whether and to what extent perspectives have changed over time. The findings should be helpful for faculty designing or updating an international accounting course or curriculum or desiring to integrate international issues into various accounting courses. They should also help practitioners identify with which areas their new hires are likely to be more familiar.     

IFRS within the Multi‐GAAP Canadian Reality: A Teaching and Learning Imperative for Intermediate Financial Accounting

Intermediate accounting instructors need to be engaged in the specific complexities and challenges of the new international financial reporting standards (IFRS) reality within the Canadian multi‐GAAP environment. Intermediate accounting courses are directly affected because they represent substantive coverage of the corporate reporting environment. In this article I make the case that these courses should primarily reflect IFRS standards in order to entrench IFRS competencies in students who wish to pursue a professional designation, to prepare students for the global environment, and to concentrate IFRS expertise issues in a robust instructor group. The competency maps of each of the three Canadian professional accounting bodies clearly reflect IFRS. Students can analyze the implications of major areas of policy differences between IFRS and private enterprise GAAP (PEGAAP) through specific targeted course coverage, but also through active learning elements, particularly research elements. This commentary reflects some of the active debate occurring regarding postsecondary curriculum as Canada adapts to IFRS and PEGAAP, and encourages action.     

Integrating a virtual learning environment into a second-year accounting course: determinants of overall student perception

Rapid acceptance of, and changes in, information technology are revolutionizing the way educators teach and students learn. This study reports on the use of Blackboard as a tool for creating a virtual learning environment (VLE). Responses from undergraduate accounting students in New Zealand provide data on the use of the VLE as a learning aid. Findings suggest that the students have openly embraced the VLE and support its adoption by faculty members in other courses. However, students appear unwilling to actively participate in two-way online activities. This has implications for faculty contemplating the adoption of a VLE in their courses.     

Bridging the education–profession gap: The Accounting Student–Practitioner Day (ASPD) program

This paper provides a detailed discussion of an annual (and cost-effective) professional-development event we call the Accounting Student–Practitioner Day (ASPD). This program brings together, for a single day, students, accounting faculty, and accounting professionals in a conference-like setting. The conference format provides a unique, and formal, link between the classroom environment and the professional world students will be entering. The program is attended by accounting and non-accounting students from our university, senior students from area high schools, and undergraduate students from other universities in the area. Specific objectives of the program are to help students learn what it takes to become an accounting professional, to provide students with information that facilitates their career-choice decision, and to encourage networking and community-building activities. Assessment data indicate that the ASPD program is successful in terms of its stated objectives. The relatively low cost of operating the program makes it attractive for other accounting programs. The paper includes a set of recommendations for those faculty interested in implementing an ASPD program at their own institution.     

Faculty perceptions of online homework software in accounting education

Emerging technologies are providing a variety of tools for accounting educators. One of these tools is Online Homework Software (OHS). This study collects survey data from accounting faculty in the U.S.A. who were queried as to the utilization and perception of OHS in undergraduate accounting courses. Analysis of the survey data indicated five differences between OHS users and nonusers: (1) years of teaching, (2) number of course sections taught, (3) Accounting AACSB accreditation status, (4) faculty rank, and (5) courses taught by the respondents. Faculty indicated the tool is helpful when teaching in the online format and that OHS saves faculty time by reducing the time spent grading and processing student work. Users of OHS raised concerns about whether and how the tool helps students learn, how the students view the tool, and the cost of OHS. The data reported in this study are relevant to educators who have never used OHS as well as those who are currently using OHS. The data collected is important in promoting dialog concerning OHS usage and developing recommendations for continued improvements in the software.     

A comprehensive effort to recruit and retain accounting students

This paper describes a series of coordinated and proactive recruitment and retention efforts within the accounting department of a southeastern university. Each semester, recruitment of successful students in Principles of Accounting classes is a departmental priority. The intention is to encourage Principles students to declare a major in accounting. For accounting majors in the junior and senior years, a series of programs is offered for professional development. Each year students are surveyed to gauge the perceived value of the time spent out-of-classroom. The results indicate that the time spent out-of-classroom is beneficial. Most important, the results of our efforts to recruit to the major from Principles classes correlate to previous research that indicates contacting potential majors in the introductory course is crucial.     

Faculty perspectives on international taxation topics

This paper presents perspectives of accounting faculty members on the relative importance of topics that should be presented in a one-semester graduate level international taxation course. Understanding of international taxation has become an increasingly critical part of the tax and accounting practices of the big four and other major public accounting firms as well as to U.S. multinational business firms. Therefore, college and universities may find it useful to provide at least some coverage of international taxation topics in a separate course or as part of other courses in their tax and accounting programs. If a separate course is offered, an important consideration of which topics should be covered in the course, since there are more topics than can be reasonably covered in one course. This paper analyzes the responses of members of the American Accounting Association's International Accounting Section to a survey of which topics should be included in a one-semester international tax course. Results are compared with those of prior studies to determine whether and the extent to which perspectives have changed over time and based on the type of survey respondent. Findings of this paper will offer guidance regarding topic selection to the accounting faculty members who are charged with developing an international taxation course. The findings may also be of interest to anyone concerned with international business in general and taxation in particular.     

Setting realistic expectations for publishing in leading accounting research journals

At most colleges and universities, an accounting academic's publication record is a primary consideration in promotion and tenure decisions. Many institutions encourage and expect faculty members to publish in leading accounting research journals. No longer limited to institutions with strong research orientations, these expectations often become an informal part of promotion and tenure guidelines at other colleges and universities. This article evaluates the use of such criteria in light of a five-year study (1978–1982) of several attributes of academics who have published in two leading research journals, The Accounting Review and The Journal of Accounting Research. The objective is to initiate dialogue and promote reasonable expectations among and between accounting faculty and administrators.     

Using a stakeholder-based process to develop and implement an innovative graduate-level course in management accounting

Accounting programs have been challenged (e.g., W.S. Albrecht, R.J. Sack, Accounting Education: Charting the Course Through a Perilous Future, Accounting Education Series, vol. 16, American Accounting Association, Sarasota, FL, 2000; AICPA Core Competency Framework for Entry into the Accounting Profession, AICPA, New York, NY, 1999) to create innovative, cross-disciplinary courses/curricula and to tie such offerings to institutional strategic plans (e.g., I.T. Nelson, J.A. Bailey, A.T. Nelson, Issues in Accounting Education, 13 (1999) 301; AACSB International, Standards for accounting accreditation (April 21, 2000), AACSB, St. Louis, MO, 2000; AACSB International, Final draft – Eligibility procedures and standards for accounting accreditation 2004). This paper provides details about both the process used to develop an innovative graduate-level accounting course and the modules (Strategic Cost Management, Planning, and Performance Measurement) comprising the course. The paper therefore describes how one accounting program responded to the aforementioned challenges.At a strategic level, the paper discusses a three-stage process (planning, implementation, and assessment) that guided new-course design. Of particular interest is the impact of our business school's Strategic Plan and the AICPA core competency framework for entry into the accounting profession. (AICPA, New York, NY, 1999) on the development of educational objectives for the new course. Selected implementation issues (e.g., resource commitments needed to support delivery of the new course) are discussed. We also provide details regarding an assessment plan for the course and how data collected for the first three offerings of the course have guided course improvements. Because of its focus on process, this paper should be of interest to other accounting educators, particularly those interested in a stakeholder-based approach to developing and implementing new courses and curricula.     

The effect of cooperative learning on student perceptions of accounting in the principles courses

This paper describes an experiment that investigates the effect of cooperative learning techniques on introductory accounting students' perceptions of accounting. We administered identical survey instruments measuring students' perceptions of accounting to all accounting principles students at the beginning and end of a semester. Instructors used cooperative learning techniques in one-half of the sections (experimental), and a traditional lecture format in the other sections (control).We compared the pretest and posttest student responses for the experimental and control sections. For Accounting Principles I, 40% of the responses exhibited differences between experimental and control sections that were consistent with a cooperative learning effect. No effect was found for Accounting Principles II. An exploratory factor analysis of Accounting Principles I data showed that the factor “student interest in learning accounting” accounted for most of the differences that were consistent with cooperative learning effects. Also, students in the experimental sections of Accounting Principles I performed marginally better on a common final exam than students in the control sections.Overall, students began their introductory accounting courses with positive perceptions of accounting. Students in sections using cooperative learning techniques were, on average, more likely to maintain those positive perceptions than students in sections using the traditional lecture format.     

The need for change in accounting education: An educator survey

The Accounting Education Change Commission is leading an effort to change accounting education. Whether or not accounting faculty will support such change largely depends on whether or not they agree with the nature and extent of the needed change. This paper reports the results of a survey of 984 accounting faculty undertaken to determine views of accounting faculty concerning the issues involved in the accounting education change effort. Results indicate that although overall there is wide agreement that change is needed, there is significant disagreement over both the extent and form of that change. Evidence suggests that differences in the demographics of the teaching environment and differences in faculty background are associated with differences in perceptions of the extent and form of needed change.     

Where were the auditors? Using AAERs in introductory or advanced auditing courses

I provide instructions for use of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release (AAER) assignment by instructors in Introductory or Advanced Audit Courses. The assignment gives students an opportunity to use the knowledge they have gained from their auditing and other accounting courses. Students analyze what was done by individuals in a company to cause the SEC to issue an AAER and what the external auditors could have done to prevent the AAER from happening. A secondary feature of the assignment is that students are able to practice their presentation skills by presenting their analysis to their class members and instructor. The assignment can also lead to class discussion on ethics and what ethical dilemmas practicing auditors are faced with.     

Sustainability Northwest: An Integrative Case of a Not‐for‐Profit Organization

Sustainability Northwest (SNW) is a fictional not‐for‐profit organization (NPO) that seeks to develop thought leaders for a sustainable future. This instructional case allows professors to assign students with up to six different roles, including SNW's chair of the board, executive director, volunteer treasurer, and the external auditor. Unique learning objectives include (i) the application of the CPA Canada Handbook, Accounting—Part III to prepare an NPO's financial statements using fund accounting, (ii) the development of recommendations to improve an NPO's board of directors, (iii) the analysis of system flow documents to identify control weaknesses, and (iv) the preparation of an audit planning memo. Instructors can use this case in several milieus. First, professors can foster a student's ability to integrate technical knowledge by (i) assigning students all six roles in a capstone course to promote integration within an individual course or (ii) assigning multiple roles across multiple courses to promote integration across a program of studies. Second, instructors can focus on a particular technical skill by assigning specific roles. This case is ideal for senior‐level undergraduate students or graduate students.     

Expanding your accounting classroom with digital video technology

In the past, many activities of accounting professors were restricted or confined by their classroom walls. Bringing in guest speakers, taking students on field trips and teaching students off-campus (either locally or globally) were extraordinary efforts that required significant organization. Today, numerous technological advancements in communication infrastructure, equipment and online tools greatly facilitate such initiatives. Outside experts can now visit the classroom, students can explore or collaborate in distant places and professors can extend the geographical reach of their lessons simply via the means of digital video technology. Based on our 2010 Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting (CTLA) Master Class, we share our experiences in exploring the use of digital video in teaching accounting and explain how numerous accounting professors are taking advantage of the capabilities afforded by digital video technologies. Online video clips, student video projects, and online video lecture recordings hold great promise for accounting education. We have created a website that complements and demonstrates the teaching ideas presented in this article and that facilitates video integration into accounting courses. We discuss the pedagogical benefits of using video, including those from general education and accounting literature. The article concludes with suggestions for how accounting faculty can keep current with video technology, areas for future accounting research and a call to action for accounting educators. Our work with digital video technology has led to the 2011 American Accounting Association (AAA) Innovation in Accounting Education Award as well as the 2010 Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA) Howard Teall Innovation in Accounting Education Award.