STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES IN INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNTING

This paper reports the results of a survey of student attitudes towards a first year accounting program at the tertiary level. The program incorporates innovatory features including syllabi defined in terms of behavioural objectives, content broken into modules, a range of learning resources for each module and flexible assessment at the student's option. Analysis of responses from two groups of students is presented, those studying in the program and those who had completed the program the previous year. Strong support for the program is apparent from the response analysis. Conclusions indicate that students generally view the program as providing a sound foundation for later accounting studies. In addition, many students consider the program's features would be beneficial in other subject areas.     

The Achievements and Future of Business Education

The dean of Columbia Business School is joined by the deans of Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton in discussing the challenges and opportunities facing today's graduate business schools. Most business schools aim to provide students with a certain body of knowledge—in disciplines such as marketing, finance, and accounting—as well as some general management and leadership training and skills. The biggest challenge to this model of business education is now coming from the high cost of the traditional two‐year MBA program and the threat of disruption by “online” alternatives. But the consensus of the four deans is that the combination of training and experience provided by today's top business schools will enable them to withstand the threat from online alternatives. And thus for the leaders of these top schools, one of the main challenges in designing and maintaining a successful business school program is to find the right mix of theory and practice, classroom and “experiential” learning. To the extent the schools succeed in achieving and maintaining this balance, they should continue to produce graduates who are sought by employers that include not only companies large and small, but non‐profits and, at some points in their careers, even the public sector. What's more, the deans all sense the growing demand for business to play a larger role in addressing social problems that have traditionally been seen as the responsibility of government and non‐profits. And one implication of this demand is that business schools, besides producing talent that finds its way to the public as well as private sectors, should prepare to play a greater role in the public debate over solutions to social challenges, such as protecting the environment while at the same time trying to stimulate enough economic growth to limit rising inequality.     

Reclaiming ‘Sense’ from ‘Cents’ in Accounting Education

Abstract

This essay adopts an interpretive methodology of relevant literature to explore the limitations of accounting education when it is taught purely as a technical practice. The essay proceeds from the assumption that conventional accounting education is captured by a positivistic neo-classical model of decision-making that draws on economic rationale to inform and report on corporate activities and make value judgements about accounting. Accounting with its emphasis on transactions and recording makes little sense unless accountability and stewardship objectives are effective. This essay calls for an increased use of active learning strategies (experiential and in-context activities) to connect students to the social realities of accounting. Cognitive dissonance, as an explicit objective of accounting education, provides the means to challenge accounting as a rational stage of endeavour through critical and dialogical perspectives in accounting. Two types of learning pedagogies based on ‘in’ and ‘out’ of classroom activities were discussed and analysed.     

Developing interviewing skills of accounting students on the Web – a case study approach

Increasing emphasis on the need for accounting graduates to develop personal skills has led to changes in many undergraduate programmes. This paper discusses one project at a Scottish university aimed at developing interviewing skills, using Web technology. Based on the theory of experiential learning, the project involves case study material delivered via a specially-written application which tracks students' questions and provides feedback on their interviewing styles. The interpersonal skills required in interviewing in a workplace context are analysed, and expressed in terms of the attributes of the questions used. The problem of providing feedback without excessive input from tutors is addressed and, finally, a method of evaluating the effectiveness of the learning experience is suggested.     

Surviving an executive MBA 'riot'

UK higher education institutes (HEIs) have widened participation of students from non-traditional backgrounds. These include students who are aged over 21, students in paid employment, and those with non-traditional qualifications, perhaps from other countries or access courses. This has led to a need to explore factors that might impact upon the learning of such students. A greater understanding of such factors might better enable HEIs to provide all students with opportunities to study accounting. The participants in this study are first year students studying accounting at a post-1992 UK university, which has a high proportion of students from non-traditional backgrounds. A series of interviews with such students and the lecturers who teach them explores what engages and what detaches them from learning when studying accounting. The study suggests factors, such as employment and other commitments away from university and the student's relationship with the university, which might impact on how students engage in learning. The Note discusses the findings with reference to Lucas's (2003, A National Teaching Fellowship Project: Introductory accounting: Achieving relevance interest and understanding, available at: http://www.uwe.ac.uk/bbs/research/research/ntfs/Jan03.pdf accessed 21 August 2004) call for research in the area to be more qualitative and Reay et al's. (2001) Sociological Research Online, 5(4), consideration of Bourdieu's concept of institutional habitus and its influence on HEIs.     

Accounting education: a cooperative learning strategy

This paper reveiews the experiential learning and learning-styles literature and applies it to accounting instruction. The authors show that the majority of Sophomore accounting students display a learning style which is inconsistent with traditional teaching methods. An experiential teaching approach is presented which utilizes a cooperative learning environment. This method resulted in improved student performance.     

Experiential learning in accounting education: A prison visit

Traditional pedagogic methods in accounting education have been the subject of some criticism with potential solutions referring to out of classroom experiences. This paper relies on the concepts of situated and experiential learning to assess the effects of a learning opportunity involving visits to prison by students enrolled in the final year of an accounting degree program. Data collected from a self-designed survey suggest that the students were intellectually and emotionally engaged in the experience emanating from the novelty and anticipation of entering closed walls and meeting inmates who were former professional accountants. Students appeared to learn a number of lessons including the nature of conflicts faced by professional accountants, factors contributing to fraudulent conduct, and strategies on how they might deal with such conflicts in their professional careers.     

A longitudinal study of undergraduate accounting students' learning style preferences at two UK universities

A learning style indicates a person's preferred way of learning. Students do not learn in the same way and a number of different learning style preferences exist which can change according to experience, i.e. a student's learning style preference may change over time. For accounting students this experience varies according to the institution attended and the programme of study. This paper presents the results of a study of 410 students enrolled on an undergraduate accounting programme in 1998/1999 at two UK universities where students underwent different experiences. Their learning style preferences are analysed against background variables of gender, nationality and institution attended. Also the changes in learning style preferences of students enrolled on the first year in 1998/1999 and who completed their final year in 2000/2001 are analysed. The study shows that differences in learning style preferences exist and that learning style preferences change over time. The paper discusses the implications of these changes and calls for further work in the area.     

Comparative analysis of accounting treatments for derivatives

This paper provides educators with a classroom example or a self-study tutorial to teach Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133 (FAS 133), Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities. The example can be used in courses such as intermediate or advanced accounting that discuss derivative instruments or investments topics or in a training program that focuses on implementing FAS 133. This teaching material can help students gain technical knowledge of FAS 133. It can also help develop critical thinking skills in analyzing the impact of an accounting standard on a firm's operation. A scenario based on a futures contract used by a natural gas company to hedge price fluctuations of its gas inventory is applied across four cases to show the impact of derivative designation on the accounting treatment and to provide a comparative analysis of the economic results from using different accounting treatments for the derivative. Case 1 and Case 2 demonstrate hedge accounting under FAS 133 by designating the derivative as a fair value hedge and a cash flow hedge, respectively. Case 3 illustrates accounting for a derivative that is not designated as a hedge. Case 4 demonstrates the impact of not entering or using a derivative to mitigate market risk. A downloadable spreadsheet on the author's website can be customized for use in the classroom.     

Accounting education research: a retrospective over ten years with some pointers to the future

Abstract

This paper proposes principles to guide accounting students' and accounting educators' use of Facebook as an educational resource to engage students with their learning. A body of cross-disciplinary research has investigated potential applications of Facebook to invigorate student engagement. Generic guidelines for educators who are contemplating integrating Facebook into pedagogical practice are a recent addition to this research. However, there is a lack of disciplinary-specific guidelines to inform both accounting educators' and accounting students' use of Facebook as a learning resource. Indeed, Facebook's pedagogical affordances are a generally overlooked field of enquiry in accounting education research. The principles proposed in the paper are informed by the literature on Facebook and student engagement, and the concept of digital citizenship, which illuminates the importance of the responsible and professional use of Facebook by accounting students and the development of online practices and behaviours that enhance students' appeal to the accounting profession.     

The association between cognitive style and accounting students' preference for cooperative learning: an empirical investigation

This paper investigates the use of cooperative learning in accounting education, in particular, the issue of whether an individual's cognitive style impacts upon their preference for cooperative learning techniques. The study extends the existing literature by using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to examine the association between all four dimensions of cognitive style and accounting students' preference for cooperative learning. Results show that preference for cooperative learning is significantly associated with the extroversion/introversion dimension [a result which extends the findings of Hutchinson, M., & Gul, F. (1997). The interactive effects of extroversion/introversion traits and collectivism/individualism cultural beliefs on student group learning preferences, Journal of Accounting Education, 15, 95–107.], and with the thinking/feeling dimension, which is a new result in the literature.     

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.     

Final Year Accounting Undergraduates' Attitudes to Group Assessment and the Role of Learning Logs

Abstract

Group assessment now plays a significant role in higher education. Existing research has identified a number of benefits that derive from group assessment including the development of generic skills and the promotion of deeper learning. Despite its importance as a learning tool, there has been little research reported in the accounting literature, which has examined accounting students' attitudes towards the use of group assessment. This paper attempts to address this deficiency by exploring students' attitudes to the use of group assessment, in terms of group dynamics and generic skills development, in a cooperative learning environment within a final year undergraduate accounting module. In addition, the study analyses students' attitudes to maintaining a journal or learning log, which recorded the group's experience of completing the group assessment. Specifically, the study considers whether students' attitudes differ according to academic ability and it proffers explanations for the findings.     

Business-model (intent)-based accounting

We discuss how basing financial reporting on an entity's business model is, in effect, basing financial reporting on management's intent with respect to the use, transfer or other disposition of an asset or liability. We provide several examples of existing International Financial Reporting Standards and US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles that permit or require intent-based accounting. We describe the meaning and consequences of basing the accounting for financial assets on management's intentions for realising value from those assets. We analyse the positive and negative features of intent-based accounting in the context of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's and International Accounting Standards Board's conceptual frameworks, specifically, the qualitative characteristics relevance and comparability and the objective of financial reporting, and apply that analysis to existing and proposed guidance for measuring financial assets. We also discuss evidence from academic research on the measurement of financial assets.     

Concept Mapping in a Financial Accounting Theory Course

ABSTRACT

This paper assesses the usefulness of concept mapping (an educational learning, assessment, and curriculum development technique developed by Novak, widely used in the natural sciences) within an accounting education context. It shows how an accounting-based concept map can be constructed by students and educators to provide a visual, conceptually transparent graphical representation of an individual's understanding of a particular knowledge domain. The method is firmly routed in Ausubel's theory of meaningful learning and its emphasis upon the hierarchical structure of concepts is particularly relevant to accounting. While concept mapping has been used extensively in many (particularly science) disciplines, it has received relatively little attention within accounting education. The paper's contribution is to extend its application within an accounting education context by focusing upon how concept mapping can enhance students' learning by evaluating student-prepared concept maps, showing how concept mapping can be used at different levels within a course (i.e. curriculum, topic and activity) and reporting feedback of its use with two cohorts of students, within a financial accounting theory component. The use of educator-prepared concept maps, with concepts omitted, proved popular as tutorial quiz exercises and increased the quantity and quality of participation. However, students were less willing to construct their own concept maps and engage in meaningful learning. While most students were able to build upon aspects of their prior knowledge, stronger students used a greater range of concepts, a richer set of linkages and more examples than weaker students did. Concept maps were useful in diagnosing students' and instructors' misconceptions. Many students found concept mapping relatively easy to use, provided a better understanding of complex issues, liked the visual representation and holistic view, and so supported their learning. However, educators need to become proficient in constructing maps and using appropriate software, not make the maps too complex, provide students with some initial training in the technique and consider the fit between using the techniques as a learning tool and as an assessment tool. While no significant differences were found in the usefulness of the method for students of different ages and gender, Asian students generally found the method to be more useful than did UK students.     

Expanding the perspective and knowledge of the accounting curriculum and pedagogy in other locations: The case of Mexico

In our analysis of the accounting career and practice in Mexico, we include a comparative examination of the university curriculum, noting how it has changed over time, and we examine the differences between the accounting programs in the public and private higher education systems. We took this approach to investigate recent concerns raised by many academics from the field of accounting, about the ethicality of the accounting practice and the role played by universities in teaching would-be accountants ethics, and how Mexico compares to other countries that are currently being studied in response to Chabrak and Craig's (2012) work. Our perspective and experience with Community Service-Learning as a tool to achieve critical self-reflexivity, foster community engagement, and experiential understanding with principles of social justice, leads us to suggest CSL as another method to help address the valid concerns that have been raised about ethics education in the accounting career.     

The sign value of accounting: IMF structural adjustment programs and African banking reform

This paper examines an IMF structural adjustment program and the role of accounting technologies and agents within that program. Focusing on banking sector reform in Nigeria, the paper shows how IMF attempts to remake economic life come up against formidable contextual challenges, and how accounting may or may not be taken up to confront those challenges. Specifically, it shows that even where accounting numbers are ‘managed’, the potential disciplinary power of accounting's system of signs remains, though again that power may not be exploited if those who are responsible for governing lack the necessary desire. The study's findings challenge two sets of understandings: that which sees the economy as somehow separate or distinct from the wider socio-political field, and that which sees crises such as occurred in Nigeria as simply resulting from inadequate or insufficient accounting regulations and controls.     

Accounting for complex investment transactions

This case study exposes students to complex investment transactions. You must document the following: (1) apply the appropriate accounting literature along with its provisions and justify the order of its application; (2) identify and interpret key facts to classify the given investments and relations; (3) discuss the choice of key assumptions that are central to the analysis; (4) interpret the nature of all investment relations with Holdings; discuss all Owner level and below relations; (5) discuss how accounting for varied levels of influence impact the items reported on/off the face of investors' financial statements; (6) from DT's perspective, discuss the potential positives and negatives of its arrangement with Owner with respect to Holdings; and (7) after analyzing additional facts, discuss the nature of the relations of Simon and Herb III with Owner.     

AE Briefings — Statement of Intent

This paper seeks to address the perceived failure of university teaching to foster critical understanding of audit practice and to identify a potential remedy. It contributes to the debate (Maltby, 2001, “Second thoughts about ‘Cases in Auditing’,” Accounting Education: an international journal, 10(4), 421–428) by investigating the double-faceted nature of auditing: as a sub-set of the academic discipline of accounting and as professional practice. Although case studies are helpful for students of auditing, they tend to be artificial, or at best, retrospective. This paper introduces a different type of case study for audit education using corporate failure stories from the media as an example, proposing and explaining the notion of the ‘living case’ in order to foster critical appraisal of audit practice. It contributes to the literature on audit education by describing how this different type of case can address both the technical activities and the social practice of audit through Kolb's (1984, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall) experiential learning theory and thus concludes that there is a place for the practical nature of auditing in academic study, in order to fully appreciate the social aspects.