A Critical Learning Outcome Approach in Designing,Delivering and Assessing the IT Knowledge Syllabus

Although the accounting profession has embraced a competency-based approach in the education and training of students, some educators struggle to adapt the delivery and assessment of their accounting programmes to bring them in line with these outcomes. The challenge for all educators is to seek ways to marry the curriculum, the design and delivery of the syllabus and assessment in such a way as to maximize students’ learning in relation to priority goals. The aim of this paper is to discuss how the IFAC curriculum on the general knowledge of IT (IEPS 2) could be analysed using an alternative approach based on critical learning outcomes to develop a syllabus that would enable educators to deliver and assess it in line with the learning outcomes and competency requirements. The newly-developed syllabus should direct educators to adopt a holistic approach in the delivery and assessment of the IT course. This approach should ensure that students understand how information technology can support them as accountants in producing information in the format required by users.     

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.     

Extending the classroom boundaries – an evaluation of an asynchronous discussion board

Accounting educators are being challenged to revitalize the accounting curriculum and to expand methods of delivery, especially through the application of technology. Web-enhanced course delivery offers an opportunity to expand delivery techniques. This paper evaluates an asynchronous discussion board group exercise in an intermediate accounting course. Analysis of students' perceptions of the exercise indicated that they considered it had contributed to their learning. The discussion board gave them time to analyse other students' responses and to prepare their own contributions. The results show the discussion board made it easier for non-English background students and students over 30 years of age to express an opinion, and made them feel they had to contribute to the discussion. Students raised issues about the quality of the contributions, the lack of feedback from the lecturer on discussion topics, the time taken to complete the exercise and the amount of work involved for the assessment weighting.     

中国管理会计教育现状分析

管理会计师在企业中所扮演的角色日益重要,然而他们的职业发展能力则主要取决于他们在大学里所受的正规教育。本文用问卷调查方式研究中国管理会计教育的基本现状,以便提升中国管理会计的教学、研究与实际应用水平。     

A Knowledge-engineering approach to accounting education

In the context of the massive expansion of the knowledge base facing all fields of professional activity, instructional science (which embraces the use of a knowledge-engineering approach to curriculum design) could well help to unvael the complexity of important pedagogical issues confronting accounting educationalists. The delineation and use of an expert knowledge base within the framework of the ‘dimensions of processing model’ of human information processing provides a valuable focus for making decision about the breadth, depth and nature of specific educatinal objectives. Knowledge engineering, which is fundamental to this process, appears to provide an appropriate framework for the systematic planning, development, delivery and evaluation of high-quality education and training programmes. Such an approach base while ensuring practitioners and teachers to keep pace with their rapidly changing knowledge base while ensuring that students acquire and become competent in the use of the cognitive skills they need in order to work effectively in their chosen profession.     

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.     

Developing Accounting Students' Listening Skills: Barriers,Opportunities and an Integrated Stakeholder Approach

Accountants and employers of accounting graduates consider listening to be among the most important communication skills that graduates possess. However, accounting education practices that develop students' listening skills are uncommon. Further, in the case of listening development, the current approach of prescribing that educators do more to rectify students' skill deficiencies overlooks barriers that prevent greater incorporation of listening instruction in the accounting curriculum. An alternative integrated stakeholder approach to develop students' listening skills is proposed. Informed by a broad range of education literature, the approach identifies cross-disciplinary listening development best practice and barriers to the widespread implementation of such practices in the typical accounting programme, before determining and assigning interrelated listening development roles to key stakeholders who will benefit from improved student listening. While student listening development is feasible under the proposed approach, shared contributions by accounting students, the profession and educators are needed to achieve enhanced skills outcomes.     

Accounting educators'' problem-solving style and their pedagogical perceptions and preferences

The problem-solving style exhibited by accounting educators may affect their propensity to implement innovative pedagogical and curriculum changes. This study used Adaption-Innovation Theory as a framework to investigate the problem-solving style of accounting educators. The sample consisted of 82 accounting educators from Missouri and Tennessee. More participants were found to be adaptive than innovative problem solvers though not to the extent found in prior research with accounting students. Faculty problem-solving style was found to be associated with preferences for certain pedagogical methodologies in the education process.     

Students’ conceptions of learning in the context of an accounting degree

Students' conceptions of learning (CoL) play an important role in the learning process leading to the development of generic skills. This paper investigates whether CoL of accounting students can be developed by incorporating high-level cognitive skills progressively within the accounting curriculum. First, the study explored, using phenomenography, the variation in accounting students' CoL. The findings highlighted some nuances in accountings students' CoL and that lower-order CoL were prevalent among accounting students. However, more (less) third-year students than second-year students adopted higher- (lower-) order CoL. Upon examining the learning objectives, teaching methods and assessment of all units comprising the accounting major of the host university, evidence was found that CoL are progressively developed and shaped, albeit in a limited way, based on the levels of cognitive domain emphasised within the curriculum. The findings highlight the need for accounting educators to take a whole of the programme approach to developing higher-order CoL.     

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.     

Examining the Usefulness of an Accounting Work‐readiness Program as Perceived by Employed Program Graduates

This study investigates the usefulness of an Australian accounting work‐readiness program as perceived by international accounting graduates. Using logistic regression, the study reports the results of a survey of 186 graduates who completed the program in the period 2010–2013 and are now employed in either accounting or non‐accounting roles. The results show that graduates who were employed in an accounting role perceived internships and critical thinking skills to be the most useful curriculum components of the work‐readiness program in obtaining their employment. The findings have implications for various stakeholders, in particular educators and professional bodies involved in the curriculum design of the work‐readiness program. The government also has an interest in the value of this program as they grant visas for international students to study in Australia and fill a skills shortage in the profession. The results also provide insights for other Western economies that attract large numbers of international graduates as skilled migrants.     

Adopting commercial software in the accounting classroom: A focus on learning

Concerns about the current state of accounting education are well documented. A common anxiety is that students are not prepared to deal with the complex issues and unstructured problems that they will encounter throughout their professional lives. Recent studies conclude that an educational objective for accounting is to teach students how to learn. This paper discusses adopting commercial-use software as an approach to accomplish this objective. The paper also provides an example for an accounting information systems class. Because “learning to learn” involves teaching students learning strategies, accounting educators need to find new ways to help students acquire these strategies. This paper will be useful for instructors seeking ways to assist students in developing strategies for learning that will better prepare them for careers in a complex and dynamic environment.     

Learning by doing: a case study of qualitative accounting research

The increasing number of master's degrees in accounting as well as specialist MBA's mean that an understanding of research methods is now an important part of the toolkit of accounting educators. In the literature there has been an increasing interest in qualitative accounting research. Whilst this interest has been mirrored by an increase in qualitative methods textbooks, less is known about the experience of undertaking such research. This presents a problem for educators, as they need material for students to work with and analyse before they are able to design their own research projects. This paper presents a case study based upon an extensive piece of qualitative research concerned with the use of accounting information in decision-making processes in banking. Review, exploratory and application questions provide a framework through which the case study can be used as a learning resource for accounting educators, supervisors and students.     

Electronic commerce education: Analysis of existing courses

E-commerce is reshaping business practices and education, yet many have expressed concern over the e-commerce education and training provided to students. This study examines the extent to which business schools, particularly accounting programs, are integrating e-commerce education into their curricula. An analysis of 79 syllabi provides evidence regarding: (1) the scope and nature of e-commerce education; (2) educational approaches to e-commerce; (3) e-commerce topics that could be taught as part of e-commerce education; (4) methods of coverage of e-commerce education; and (5) methods and reference materials for teaching an e-commerce course. This study initiates a general dialogue on the nature, content, objectives, and delivery of e-commerce education. An exploratory review and content analysis of a sample of 79 syllabi, representing different sizes of universities worldwide, reveals that business schools and accounting programs offer e-commerce courses emphasizing a broad range of skills, objectives, perspectives, teaching methods, and cognitive content. However, many common themes, topics, and assignments have emerged. The e-commerce education issues addressed in this study should help business schools and accounting programs prepare students for the challenges awaiting them in the area of emerging technological advances.     

An assessment of the learning benefits of using a Web-based Learning Environment when teaching accounting

The impact and use of information and communication technology on learning outcomes for accounting students is not well understood. This study investigates the impact of design features of Blackboard¹ used as a Web-based Learning Environment (WBLE) in teaching undergraduate accounting students. Specifically, this investigation reports on a number of Blackboard design features (e.g. delivery of lecture notes, announcements, online assessment and model answers) used to deliver learning materials regarded as necessary to enhance learning outcomes. Responses from 369 on-campus students provided data to develop a regression model that seeks to explain enhanced participation and mental effort. The final regression shows that student satisfaction with the use of a WBLE is associated with five design features or variables. These include usefulness and availability of lecture notes, online assessment, model answers, and online chat.     

Integrating tax and financial accounting concepts into the partnership accounting curriculum

The integration of partnership financial accounting and tax accounting into the accounting curriculum has become very important in the current environment of increased partnership activity. The primary purpose of this article is to assist accounting educators in both financial and tax courses with this integration process. To accomplish this objective, a partnership's life cycle is detailed from formation to liquidation. Journal entries are presented to enable the reader to quickly assimilate the transactions involved in the life cycle. Supporting worksheets and partners' tax basis tables are also presented to depict the position of the partnership and partners, respectively, at the end of each stage of the life cycle. This article's example is designed to permit accounting instructors to integrate both tax and financial accounting concepts when teaching either advanced accounting or partnership taxation in the most efficient manner.     

Taking the pulse of accounting education reform: liberal education,sociological perspectives,and exploring ways forward

This paper examines the ‘state of play’ with regard to accounting education reform, which has been advocated for decades but is notable for having failed to produce significant change. We build on prior calls to ‘liberalise’ accounting education, recommending a move to a more relevant curriculum that considers accounting in its social context. Based on an analysis of the accounting curriculum in 31 Australian and 8 New Zealand universities, we find that, despite widespread and continuing calls for a broader educational approach, there are very few examples of systemic curricular-wide change to the traditional technical and vocational focus of accounting education. As a way forward, a sociologically-informed accounting curriculum is proposed to overcome the widely-recognised limitations of current approaches and the apparent failure of efforts to liberalise the curriculum. We argue that our approach would facilitate the broadening of the curriculum, and the development of better-educated, well-rounded, and socially-aware graduates.     

Teaching management accounting in a competencies-based fashion

Traditionally, management accounting has been regarded as a monodisciplinary field of study that mainly focuses on calculating costs and prices. Today, it is seen that the field encompasses an ever-increasing number of knowledge domains including, for example, economics, sociology, psychology, and ethics. Modern-day management accountants have to be able to apply elements from all of these domains when solving concrete, real-life problems. The Open University of the Netherlands has therefore tried to construct a competencies-based management accounting curriculum that uses the well-known case method and integrates issues from various knowledge domains. In the curriculum, a unique problem-solving strategy is introduced that helps students to tackle as management accountants problems they may encounter during their studies, as well as the decision-making in their daily practice. This paper aims to give an overview of one of the courses in this curriculum, highlighting the use of the aforementioned problem-solving strategy.