Problem-solving styles of accounting students: Are expectations of innovation reasonable?

In response to input from the profession, accounting programs are attempting to increase the innovative problem-solving skills of their students. However, they have done so without data on what the problem-solving styles of their students are, and without an understanding of the capacity for innovation by different problem-solving styles. This study compares the problem-solving styles of accounting students with other business majors and business minors. Results indicate that accounting students are predominantly adaptive in problem-solving style. Statistical analysis shows a significant difference in the problem-solving style of accounting students and other business majors, with other business majors more likely to be innovative. Implications of these findings for changes in the accounting curriculum and for the profession are discussed.     

Bridging the gap between green accounting and black ink

The essence of green accounting is accounting for the air we breathe, the water we drink. One way to do this is to create a natural asset account for essential natural resources — such as fertile land — on which an enterprise is economically dependent. As these assets are degraded, a natural resource expense would be recorded in an enterprise's financial statements. This would disclose pollution levels in excess of levels sustainable by an ecosystem. This accounting would reflect a new social contract between business and the stakeholders to whom they are accountable. It would also reflect a business mission that recognizes that some things are beyond accounting.     

Academicians' and practitioners' views on the content and importance of the advanced financial accounting course

This study reports the results of a survey of accounting academicians and accounting practitioners in public and private accounting. The purpose of the study was to examine the content and importance of the advanced financial accounting course. The results indicate that most schools require the course for accounting majors and the topics most often covered are consolidations and business combinations, partnership accounting, governmental/nonprofit accounting, and foreign currency accounting. Regarding the respondents' perceptions of what should be covered in this course, academicians indicated that significantly more time should be devoted to consolidations and business combinations while accounting practitioners indicated that a broader range of topics should be covered in the course. Also, academicians are more in agreement with the statement that the advanced financial accounting course is a good indicator of students' analytical skills. The results of this study should be of interest to accounting departments that are reviewing their curricula and individuals teaching advanced financial accounting.     

Racial biases in recruitment by accounting firms: The case of international Chinese applicants in Australia

This paper documents the difficulties in finding accounting work faced by international Chinese accounting graduates in Australia in the two years after graduation. We argue that Chinese accounting graduates remain a marginalised group within today's Australian society. The interview results support this assertion, with even high-achieving Chinese graduates finding it difficult to obtain work with mainstream accounting firms and corporations. The main reasons appear to be their lack of Australian working experience, lack of knowledge of Australian culture, and lack of “Australian English”. Australian accounting firms, due to a revealed preference to hire white Australian graduates, appear to be missing out on a vast reservoir of Chinese talent. Chinese accounting graduates speak two or three languages and have established business networks in China or at the very least insider knowledge of how that country's business culture operates. Whilst their sub-cultural capital may be lower on average than white graduates on some conventional measures, it is higher in those areas of bilingual capability and cross-cultural knowledge which are becoming of increasing importance to Australian business.     

Students' beliefs,attitudes and intentions to major in accounting

This study extends the literature that uses the theory of planned behaviour in examining the factors that impact on students' intentions to major in accounting and non-accounting disciplines. A survey of a sample of business students enrolled in an introductory accounting course in a New Zealand University was conducted to gather data about their intended academic majors, and their beliefs and attitudes towards majoring in accounting and non-accounting. The results show that three factors (personal, referents, and control) are determinants of students' intention to major in accounting or other business disciplines. Further analysis revealed that the students' major intentions are influenced by important referents' perceptions. In particular, parents appear to have a stronger influence on students' intentions to major in accounting. Comparisons of differential personal perceptions by accounting and non-accounting majors revealed that accounting majors hold positive perceptions of some of the qualities of the study of accounting and the accounting profession. Significant differences were also found in the control perception between accounting and non-accounting major students.     

Sustainability accounting—a brief history and conceptual framework

Research linking accounting to the emerging concept of sustainability surfaced in the early 1990s and has received continuing attention in academic and professional accounting literature. This paper tracks this brief history through to the release of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002, consolidating the various approaches into a sustainability accounting framework. The result is a comprehensive reporting model that presents an enormous challenge to business organisations, requiring a significant commitment of resources to achieve widespread implementation. Failure to meet this challenge enables business organisations to continue to avoid accountability for their continuing unsustainability. The paper concludes with a personal view as to how implementation of the sustainability accounting framework could proceed.     

Integration of law with accouting: A more comprehensive learning experience

Since accounting principles is often a surrogate for an introduction to business course, it is an ideal medium for introducing students to many aspects of commercial, civil, and criminal law. When using the approach suggested in this article, care must be taken not to detract from the accounting course or diminish the course content in any way. The accounting course may, however, be greatly enhanced by the allusions and references made by the accounting professor to the various laws.This approach to instructing accounting offers a number of benefits. Students are not only assisted in their immediate course work, but also throughout their entire business program. The accounting course is enhanced by comprehensive handout materials which are provided to the students and which can be retained by the students as ready references during the course and thereafter. (Examples of such supplemental materials are presented.) Upon conclusion of several terms of accounting, the students have obtained an otherwise unavailable exposure to the interrelationship of accounting and law.     

Great Galway Goslings: Organizational Context of Managerial Accounting*

This case seeks to enhance student understanding of the relationship between accounting information and the order fulfllment and production activities of a manufacturing frm, Great Galway Goslings. Great Galway Goslings manufactures goose sculptures and has been suffering losses in recent years. Students draw on the skills they learned in financial accounting to analyze the company's order fulfllment activities, identify economic transactions, and prepare journal entries. The case provides a link to managerial accounting topics as students use segment financial statements to create contribution margin income statements, perform break‐even analyses, and recommend whether Great Galway Goslings should keep its retail business segment. Students will become familiar with the key features of business process management (BPM) and the extensive, real‐world activities that a manufacturing entity engages in to fll an order. Students will analyze the company's existing order fulfllment process and apply their knowledge of BPM to recommend process improvements for Great Galway. This case contributes to the accounting case literature by serving as a bridge from financial accounting to managerial accounting, intertwining many topics from managerial accounting into one cohesive case, and providing real‐world business process knowledge. Student feedback indicates that, overall, the case met its stated learning objectives. Great Galway Goslings is appropriate for an undergraduate introductory managerial accounting course but can be adapted to the equivalent graduate‐level course or an accounting information systems course.     

The impact of introductory accounting courses on student perceptions about the purpose of accounting information and the objectives of business: A comparison of the UK and Japan

This paper is concerned with the impact of introductory financial accounting courses on student perceptions of business objectives. The paper reports the results of a questionnaire survey of UK and Japanese university students which investigated their views at the start and end of an introductory financial accounting module. The views of Japanese students, in comparison with those from the UK, are of particular interest given evidence in the literature that traditional “social market” traditions in Japan are being influenced by Anglo-American “stock market” values. Our results are consistent with such a phenomenon in that Japanese students’ values regarding business objectives show significant changes that are not mirrored by changes in the perceptions of their UK counterparts. We suggest that accounting education is acting as a conduit for views more commonly held in Anglo-American societies.     

Interdependencies, trust and information in relationships, alliances and networks

The last decade has been characterised by the increased development of cross-company relationships, alliances and more complex business networks. This paper examines fundamental concepts that relate to the needs for information, including accounting information, in these interactive structures. It considers, initially, some consequences for accounting when planning and control is to be exercised across organisational boundaries, but the main thrust of the paper is to focus on the fact that all relationships depend to some extent on trust. The interaction between trust and information in personal relationships is explored to serve as a template against which to consider whether the information needs of inter-organisational relationships are similar. Having examined information needs of business relationships in general, the analysis is developed to consider the needs of different forms of corporate alliances and then wider business networks. This paper is an attempt to create a debate on new questions that seem to be fundamental to the design of information and accounting systems. It is not claimed to have provided definitive answers, but it is proposed that the lack of a well-developed theory of the interaction between trust and information has been a fundamental gap in our knowledge.     

Inconsistencies in the business law education of accounting students: A survey of accounting educators

A general requirement for an accountant to take the CPA examination is the completion of a course in business law. It appears that what constitutes the business law course requirement is rather loosely defined and leaves excessive room for interpretation. What is a business law course? A survey of accounting educators regarding the business law requirement and the law courses taught at their respective schools reveals, inter alia, a divergence of opinion regarding the business law requirement, the perceived objective of teaching business law to accounting students, the importance of the legal topics included on the CPA exam, and the coverage of those topics at their respective institutions. In general, accounting educators are encouraged to both review their current business law requirements and to take a more active role in monitoring the business law curriculum.     

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.     

Disharmony in international accounting standards setting: The Chinese approach to accounting for business combinations

The paper addresses two distinct aspects of disharmony in international accounting standards setting. The first aspect relates to the political economic context of financial accounting standards. This is illustrated by the Chinese standards setters’ decision to allow the pooling of interests method of accounting for business combinations despite the prohibition of this method by both the FASB and the IASB. This decision by the Chinese standards setters appears to have been based on political economic factors related to the need for industrial reorganization in China rather than a desire to serve the needs of global capital markets. The second aspect of disharmony relates to the role played by differential understandings of the fundamental objectives of financial reporting in an international context. The IASB's goal of producing one set of global accounting standards to serve the needs of global capital markets has led to a reduction in the number of permissible accounting methods and a move towards the fair value accounting model. In particular, the IASB concluded that the acquisition method of accounting for business combinations should be the only method allowed for business combinations. In contrast, the Chinese standards setters have recognized the existence of both mergers and acquisitions, and in response they created two different methods of accounting for business combinations. Effectively, the Chinese standards setters developed an alternative approach to accounting for business combinations which challenges the IASB's goal of achieving international accounting convergence through the fair value model.     

An Exploratory Examination of the Relationship between a Short Form of the Keirsey Temperament Sorter and Success in an Introductory Accounting Course: A Research Note

This Research Note examines the relationship between specific questions in the Keirsey Temperament Sorter personality preferences test and performance in an entry level accounting course. It develops a structural equation model linking specific questions in the Keirsey Temperament Sorter personality preferences test to grades obtained by majors in business disciplines other than accounting enrolled in an introductory accounting course at one mid-sized, public university located in the USA. The results indicate that six (6) questions in the Keirsey Temperament Sorter may be associated with success in the introductory accounting course. Those teaching an introductory accounting course may elect to take a few minutes to administer these six questions at the beginning of their first class period. Students who, through their responses to these six questions, do not demonstrate a predisposition for accounting could then be counseled as to what steps they may need to take in to succeed in the course.     

A factor analysis on knowledge and skill components of accounting education: Chinese case

Accounting education reform is being called upon by the profession and business communities in many countries under new business environment with high-tech production, economic globalization and intensified market competition. This study, by applying the factor analysis research method, has empirically-developed 6 latent constructs about the desirable knowledge and skill components that should be emphasized in accounting education in order to meet the challenges stemming from the changing business environment, i.e., business/management skills, business/management knowledge, core accounting knowledge, personal characteristics, general knowledge, and basic techniques. The structural order of, or the interrelationship among, these six dimensions of the knowledge and skill requirements in accounting education is also elaborated based on the analysis of factor loading results. The findings of this study should assist various groups of stakeholder (e.g., accounting practitioners, educators and students) to gain a better understanding of needed changes in accounting education and provide input for redesigning accounting curriculum to promote a smooth progress of accounting education reform in China and other countries.     

Accounting for varieties of capitalism: The case against a single set of global accounting standards

This paper argues that the optimal design of accounting standards may depend on the institutional characteristics of the political and economic system. There are several varieties of capitalism, and it is not obvious which of these varieties is best. Moreover, the existence of different varieties of capitalism arguably promotes economic progress. This being the case the paper urges a cautious approach to the imposition of a single set of global accounting standards for all companies. The forced adoption of single form of accounting runs the risk of severely restricting the different forms of capitalism that can develop. It also privileges one particular way of doing business over alternative forms that currently exist or, more importantly, may exist in the future. In effect the forced adoption of a single form of accounting can be viewed as a form of restrictive practice that prevents alternative and superior ways of doing business from taking shape. International accounting standards optimised for stock market based capitalism are not necessarily optimal for other forms of capitalism and, since stock market capitalism has lost credibility as a way of doing business, the world may be better served by encouraging alternative forms of capitalism to develop with accounting standards tailored to their needs.     

The use of microcomputers in accounting education

Developments in the microcomputer industry promise to revolutionize American business. Recent projections show 1983 retail sales to be almost 8 billion dollars.Four years ago Brigham Young University began using microcomputers to assist in accounting education. This article explains how the micro is used in a variety of undergraduate and graduate classes and for administrative purposes.The micro is a very powerful tool that has many future uses in accounting education. Examples include: accounting and data base packages and as an auditing or research tool.The use of the micro, however, is not without problems. For example: funding, training, student assistance, and quality teaching materials.Accounting educators must train their students in the use of the microcomputer since failure to do so would result in their missing one of the most significant trends in American business.     

Critical thinking and communication skills: Integration and implementation issues

This article describes issues associated with implementing an integrated approach to critical thinking and communication skills within accounting courses. The article builds on the work of Hirsch and Collins (1988) and discusses the following issues: (a) the collaboration of accounting and English faculty, (b) types of assignments, (c) assignment design, (d) the feedback process, (e) revisions in courses to accommodate a communication skills program, and (f) resources and motivation. The examples offered are from management/cost accounting courses, but our experience suggests that such an integrated approach to teaching critical thinking and both oral and written communication skills works well within most accounting and other business courses. However, individual programs will need to be tailored in order to address the issues defined here in ways that best fit their mission, goals, and resources.     

Accounting control systems and business strategy: An empirical analysis

Accounting theoreticians have argued that control systems should be modified in accordance with the business strategy of a firm. This study tests this hypothesis by examining differences in accounting control system attributes between two groups of firms following distinctly different strategies. Interview data and questionnaire data are used to provide evidence of the ways in which firms align their control systems and strategy. In addition, prelimenary evidence is discussed which suggests a relationship between accounting control systems, business strategy and firm performance.