Tell me a story: Using creative writing in introductory accounting courses to enhance and assess student learning

Low student motivation, apprehension and anxiety towards accounting, and diversity in learning styles are a few incentives for employing non-traditional tools for teaching introductory accounting courses. Three modes of storytelling – fairy tales, fables, and poetry – are used in financial and managerial accounting courses to enhance and assess student learning. We find the storytelling exercises give us good insight as to whether students genuinely understand course content. Students indicate that storytelling helps them to understand accounting concepts and make the course more fun. Assignment outcomes have been used at conferences and campus events and have generated conversations about accounting beyond business faculty.     

Accounting Community of Practice pedagogy: a course management invention for developing personal competencies in accounting education

This paper reports the findings of an exploratory qualitative study using the implementation of Wenger’s [(1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), 225–246] Theory of Communities of Practice to develop an Accounting Community of Practice (ACOP) pedagogy. Students from eight accounting courses who participated, in the120 narratives and 280 surveys used as data, practice and develop critical real-world professional accounting competencies by linking three structural foundations: (1) accountability to joint enterprise, (2) mutual engagement, and (3) shared repertoire of communal resources. Competencies promoted by the AICPA [(1999). Core competency framework of entry into the accounting profession. Retrieved from http://www.aicpa.org/edu/corecomp.htm; AICPA. (2006). Core competency framework of entry into the accounting profession. Retrieved from http://www.aicpa.org/edu/corecomp.htm); International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). (2003). International education standard No. 3, professional skills. Retrieved from www.ifac.org; IFAC. (2015). Meeting future expectations of professional competence: A consultation on the IAESB’S future strategies and priorities. Retrieved from www.iaesb.org; ICAEW. (1996). Added value professionals: Chartered accountants in England and Wales. London: Author], and other professional bodies include problem-solving, leadership, project management, and interaction. ACOP strategy is effective in maintaining dynamic learning environments, increasing students’ awareness of trust, open communication, and creative thinking. Meaning and knowledge are owned in ACOP where the focus of the class shifts from instructor to students. This study adds to limited empirical research in communal forms of learning in accounting.     

Optimal execution strategies in limit order books with general shape functions

We consider optimal execution strategies for block market orders placed in a limit order book (LOB). We build on the resilience model proposed by Obizhaeva and Wang (2005 Obizhaeva, A and Wang, J. 2005. Optimal trading strategy and supply/demand dynamics, Preprint Available online at: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/faculty/obizhaeva/OW060408.pdf (accessed 16 February 2009)[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) but allow for a general shape of the LOB defined via a given density function. Thus, we can allow for empirically observed LOB shapes and obtain a nonlinear price impact of market orders. We distinguish two possibilities for modelling the resilience of the LOB after a large market order: the exponential recovery of the number of limit orders, i.e. of the volume of the LOB, or the exponential recovery of the bid–ask spread. We consider both of these resilience modes and, in each case, derive explicit optimal execution strategies in discrete time. Applying our results to a block-shaped LOB, we obtain a new closed-form representation for the optimal strategy of a risk-neutral investor, which explicitly solves the recursive scheme given in Obizhaeva and Wang (2005 Obizhaeva, A and Wang, J. 2005. Optimal trading strategy and supply/demand dynamics, Preprint Available online at: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/faculty/obizhaeva/OW060408.pdf (accessed 16 February 2009)[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). We also provide some evidence for the robustness of optimal strategies with respect to the choice of the shape function and the resilience-type.     

The four truths of the storyteller

A well-told story's power to captivate and inspire people has been recognized for thousands of years. Peter Guber is in the business of creating compelling stories: He has headed several entertainment companies--including Sony Pictures, PolyGram, and Columbia Pictures--and produced Rain Man, Batman, and The Color Purple, among many other movies. In this article, he offers a method for effectively exercising that power. For a story to enrapture its listeners, says Guber, it must be true to the teller, embodying his or her deepest values and conveying them with candor; true to the audience, delivering on the promise that it will be worth people's time by acknowledging listeners' needs and involving them in the narrative; true to the moment, appropriately matching the context--whether it's an address to 2,000 customers or a chat with a colleague over drinks--yet flexible enough to allow for improvisation; and true to the mission, conveying the teller's passion for the worthy endeavor that the story illustrates and enlisting support for it. In this article, Guber's advice--distilled not only from his years in the entertainment industry but also from an intense discussion over dinner one evening with storytelling experts from various walks of life--is illustrated with numerous examples of effective storytelling from business and elsewhere. Perhaps the most startling is a colorful anecdote about how Guber's own impromptu use of storytelling, while standing on the deck of a ship in Havana harbor, won Fidel Castro's grudging support for a film project.     

Flipped v’s traditional teaching perspectives in a first year accounting unit: an action research study

With the need to move accounting students towards deeper learning approaches and understandings, this first cycle of an action research study sought to determine the student’s perspective of the flipped learning approach. With this learning approach gaining momentum in recent times, this study focuses on a first-year introductory accounting class in an undergraduate business degree. In making changes to the learning environment, we survey students and find that there are significant differences between the flexible student, that is, students that are already exposed in a limited way to this approach, and the face-to-face student. Results indicate further action research is required if the flipped learning approach is to be considered a serious teaching and learning contender for the first-year student.     

Accounting Ph.D. program graduates: affiliation performance and publication performance

We examine the affiliation performance and publication performance of 1991–1997 accounting Ph.D. graduates. We define affiliation performance as whether or not an individual is employed at a school with an accounting program ranked by Trieschmann et al. (Academy of Management Journal 43:1130–1141, 2000). We define publication performance in two ways, whether or not the Ph.D. graduate published in at least one of: (1) three premier accounting journals, and (2) a broader set of eight accounting journals. We examine the influence of the institutional status (private versus public) of the graduating institution on both affiliation performance and publication performance. We examine the institutional status both unconditionally and conditionally on four article types published in three premier journals: (1) articles from Ph.D. dissertations, (2) co-authored articles with degree-school faculty, (3) co-authored articles with degree-school Ph.D. students, and (4) co-authored articles with affiliated faculty. We show that accounting graduates of private schools are more likely to be affiliated with higher ranked schools, but they are not more likely to publish in the premier journals or the broader set of eight journals.

Web-based practice and feedback improve tax students’ written communication skills

To prepare students for successful accounting careers, educators must be involved in developing students’ written communication skills. This article provides evidence that web-based lessons and self-tests appearing at www.gsu.edu/~accerl and dealing with three sentence structure issues significantly improve written communication skills. Our study involves control and treatment groups in a pre- versus post-treatment design. The authors measure passive voice, punctuation, and wordiness through in-class quizzes and writing assignments. Prior research has shown that a combined approach of lectures addressing writing skills within accounting classes, writing consultants, and detailed grading of assignments improve students’ written communication skills. However, this combined approach involves significant in-class time, departmental funds, and professor time. In contrast, this study shows that improved writing can occur without the substantial institutional resources these prior approaches required.     

SCAM: Design of a learning and teaching resource

University accounting students often have to assimilate technical auditing knowledge without practical audit experience. The desire to develop an appropriate experiential opportunity motivated this research - to create an audit teaching and learning resource to simulate audit experience and facilitate the development of transferable skills. Literature findings and dedicated questionnaire survey results suggested that such a resource should: (i) use a web based case-study to simulate a real-life audit scenario; (ii) require group working of the participants; (iii) facilitate the use and development of a range of transferable skills; and (iv) encourage a consideration of the wider business context. The web-based resource SCAM (www.scam-plc.co.uk) was developed to address these aims. This paper details this development process.     

Making accounting degrees fit for a university

This contribution is a commentary on the paper by Chabrak and Craig (2013) that calls for accounting pedagogy reforms that place accounting within its socio-economic context and enable students to formulate critiques and alternatives. It examines four areas pertinent to this: accounting curricula and pedagogy; accounting's relation within universities and to professional accounting institutions; student expectations; and accounting academics. The commentary concurs with the plea of Chabrak and Craig for curriculum and pedagogy reforms but notes the difficulties this faces in the UK (and possibly elsewhere) given the growing commercialisation of and competition between UK universities, and the influence of professional credentialing upon accounting academics who lack knowledge of accounting research. However, there is a public interest need, and a student and employer desire for curriculum and pedagogical reform and university teaching quality systems do not militate against this. The conclusion is that it lies with accounting academics to counter the drift of accounting degrees imitating from professional accounting courses.     

Drivers of Teaching Effectiveness: Views from Accounting Educator Exemplars in Australia

Abstract

This paper summarizes the views, obtained via a survey instrument created by the authors and reported in studies by Stout and Wygal, of 22 accounting educator teaching exemplars from Australia. Each of these individuals has been cited for teaching excellence through receipt of one or more formal teaching awards. The paper responds to calls in Australia for increased attention to the dimensions of teaching effectiveness and to initiatives in the United States calling for a broader sharing of information among members of the academy regarding the characteristics of teaching effectiveness. Little direct evidence from the field of accounting education is available to date regarding such characteristics or antecedents of teaching effectiveness in the student learning environment. Our research therefore extends in a fundamental way the work of Stice and Stocks and Stout and Wygal. Specifically, perceptions from a sample of award-winning non-US faculties regarding the ‘drivers of teaching effectiveness’ in accounting education are recorded and analyzed. In decreasing order of perceived importance, drivers of teaching effectiveness are: having a student focus; commitment to teaching (as a profession); high levels of preparation/organization; the ability to link subject matter to the practice environment; and, instructor skills and attributes. This paper adds to our understanding of the drivers of teaching effectiveness and begins the process of creating a worldwide knowledge base in accounting education. The paper should be of interest to accounting faculty members interested in improving their teaching effectiveness and/or mentoring junior faculty members.     

Forum Selection in International Business Contracts: Home Bias Portfolio Puzzle and Managerial Moral Hazard

We provide an economic analysis of forum selection in international business contracts. International business contracts or multi-state transactions within federally structured countries might be subject to more than one sovereign adjudication system. In case of conflict between the transacting parties, the appropriate tribunal must be identified. We examine the question of business firms' optimal choice of the forums to adjudicate future business disputes. We extend the investment model approach to litigation by applying a portfolio theory type analysis. We show that firms that prefer higher expected income and lower income volatility are better off diversifying the forums under which they litigate business disputes. This stands in contrast to real-world business practice that consistently shows a clear preference to selecting the home court and legal system to settle international business disputes. In a fraction of the cases, both parties gain by selecting a certain forum, because of specialization for example, and it becomes optimal to ignore diversification. In most cases, however, the relevant factors that affect forum selection are zero sum and priced ex ante, court bias, for example. Once priced, there is no incentive to disregard diversification. We hypothesize that, in addition to specialization, factors such as managerial moral hazard explain the real-world behavior of firms: managers are less likely to be blamed, ex post, for choosing the home court. We suggest that, as international barriers decline and international trade grows, firms will diversify the forums in which they adjudicate international business disputes.     

Telling tales

A carefully chosen story can help the leader of an organization translate an abstract concept into a meaningful mandate for employees. The key is to know which narrative strategies are right for what circumstances. Knowledge management expert Stephen Denning explains that, for optimal effect, form should follow function. Challenging one professional storyteller's view that more is better, Denning points out that it's not always desirable (or practical) to launch into an epic that's jam-packed with complex characters, cleverly placed plot points, an intricate rising action, and a neatly resolved denouement. True, if listeners have time and interest, a narrative-savvy leader can use a vividly rendered tale to promote communication between management and staff, for instance, or even to foster collaboration--especially when the story is emotionally moving. However, if the aim is to motivate people to act when they might not be inclined to do so, it's best to take an approach that's light on detail. Otherwise, the particulars can bog listeners down and prevent them from focusing on the message. Drawing on his experiences at the World Bank and observations made elsewhere, the author provides several dos and don'ts for organizational storytellers, along with examples of narratives that get results. The sidebar "A Storytelling Catalog" presents seven distinct types of stories, the situations in which they should be told, and tips on how to tell them. Many of these aren't even stories in the "well-told" sense--they run the rhetorical gamut from one-liners to full-blown speeches--but they succeed because they're tailored to fit the situation. So even though it's common in business to favor the analytical over the anecdotal, leaders with the strength to push past some initial skepticism about the enterprise of storytelling will find that the creative effort pays off.     

Safety Products, Inc.: A case in financial analysis of a failing company

Safety Products, Inc. was a small, private corporation that manufactured acrylic sheet plastic. After a massive fire, the company filed a claim against its business interruption insurance for lost income. The policy covered profits that would have been earned, based on Safety’s financial records, had the disaster not occurred. The insurance company denied the claim on the grounds that Safety Products was not a going concern, and, therefore, there were no lost earnings.The basic learning objective of the case is to develop the students’ abilities to use and analyze a company history, along with its financial statements and ratios, to evaluate the going-concern assumption. The AICPA Core Competency Framework identifies a set of skills-based competencies needed to enter the accounting profession. The case provides a means to develop student skills in the Functional, Personal, and Broad Business Competencies, which are core skills relevant to long-term career opportunities. [American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (2001). AICPA core competency framework for entry into the accounting profession (the framework). Retrieved from < http://www.aicpa.org/edu/corecomp.htm > on April 3, 2006]The case is directed to an upper-division undergraduate or graduate course in Financial Statement Analysis. However, the case could be used in any accounting course that examines the going-concern or continuity assumption among the traditional assumptions of the accounting model.     

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.     

Using flowcharts to teach audit reports: an update

In the August 1991 issue of the Journal of Accounting Education, Groomer and Heintz (1991) presented an overview and detailed flowcharts for use in teaching audit reports. This article updates those flowcharts to reflect the reporting requirements of SAS No. 79 and SAS No. 82 ( AICPA, 1997), improve pedagogy, and provide a more efficient presentation. The utilization of flowcharts is a particularly effective way to communicate to the auditing student the operative logic of determining audit report types and format for GAAP-based financial statements.     

Book Reviews

In 1990, the Department of Accountancy in the Faculty of Business at RMIT undertook an experiment to combat the effects of reduced resources and increased pressures on teaching. It looked hard at what is known about good teaching and student learning and considered the ways in which an innovation that built on this knowledge might use education technology. This paper describes and evaluates an innovation that used videos, workbooks and a computer package to teach a component of management accounting. Overall, the innovation increased the level of critical and reflective learning by students and reduced considerably the formal student/staff contact time.     

Fusion of expertise among accounting faculty: towards an expertise model for academia in accounting

This paper aims to portray an accounting faculty expert. It is argued that neither the academic nor the professional orientation alone appears adequate in developing accounting faculty expertise. The accounting faculty expert is supposed to develop into a so-called ‘flexpert’ (Van der Heijden, 2003) who is able to deploy practical accounting exposure in teaching and research. This ‘fusion’ (mix of expertise) resulting from gaining expertise in quite different occupational areas, is attainable at academic career start levels in accounting, where during one's career orientation a professor is both an academic and a professional by training. Fusion is also attainable in complementary competence building wherein the faculty member invests in training and development in the non-core competence domain. The so-called ‘fusion framework’ that is depicted in this contribution could be usefully applied in recruitment efforts of business schools in search of a promising accounting professor.