Interpreting the meaning of objectives of an accounting program

AACSB mission-linked accreditation gives business schools and accounting programs an incentive to review their mission statements. Faculty and administrators are responsible for developing mission statements supported by specific objectives. Although the individuals participating in and affected by accounting education programs have objectives, the literature is not precise in defining what it means for the programs themselves to have objectives. Educational programs are social (multiperson) activities involving heterogeneous constituencies. Previous accounting literature outside the education context identifies three interpretations of the objectives of a social activity. An examination of these interpretations sheds light on the difficulty of identifying a manageable, specific, internally consistent, meaningful, and broadly accepted set of objectives to support a general statement of mission.     

Accounting curriculum responses to the 150-hour requirement

Since the 1959 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Council resolution on the standards of accounting education, a 5-year post-secondary educational requirement for CPA licensing has been deemed important. Twenty-three states have enacted legislation requiring 150 hours of education before a person may take the national CPA exam. Within these states, many colleges and universities have both graduate business administration or accounting programs to prepare their accounting students for the certification exam. The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) member schools in these 23 states were surveyed to determine the curriculum in their graduate business administration and accounting programs. A significant number (31%) of the schools have installed a 30semester-hour or more accounting post-baccalaureate program. The trends in state licensing and the academic responses have been: 1. An undergraduate concentration in accounting, 2. A graduate degree granted at the completion of the post-baccalaureate hours, 3. Most state legislatures select the state boards of accountancy to determine specific courses of advanced study, 4. Most state boards of accountancy specify broad areas of subject categories, 5. Most surveyed AACSB member schools with advanced accounting programs specify over 60% of their hours in accounting subjects, 6. A majority of surveyed MBA programs with an accounting concentration (72%) required less than 40% of their total graduate credit hours in accounting courses, and 7. A higher percentage of surveyed nonaccredited advanced accounting programs (72%) required 60% of their graduate requirements in accounting courses compared to advanced accounting degree programs with both business and accounting AACSB accreditation (58%).     

Management Accounting Education In Australian Universities: A Review Of The Current State

The teaching of management accounting at tertiary institutions drew criticism in the mid-to-late 1980s on the grounds that course content and teaching methods were not keeping pace with changes in manufacturing technologies and the business environment. A study of management accounting programs in 30 Australian universities shows that the criticisms are largely being addressed, with most programs being well up-to-date in their coverage of many of the new topics and practices that have emerged in management accounting in recent years. Nonetheless, management accounting educators continue to see a number of constraints on effective teaching in this area.     

A survey of international accounting education in the US and some other countries

This study compares the extent of coverage and methods employed by US and non-US business schools to internationalize the accounting curriculum. Using a survey methodology, the study comparatively explores: (1) approaches to internationalize the accounting curriculum: separate course vs integration; (2) relative importance of international accounting topics; (3) strategies and obstacles to implement the integration approach to internationalization; and (4) the level of satisfaction with the internationalization achieved. The findings of the study should benefit both schools currently involved in internationalizing their accounting curriculum as well as those planning to internationalize their programs in the future.     

Journal Influence on the Design of Finance Doctoral Education

This article surveys the influence of research journals on finance doctoral education. Influence is measured by citations from syllabi of finance seminars. A sample of 101 distinct syllabi submitted by 33 finance doctoral programs yields a list of 1,031 articles cited by at least two schools. These 1,031 articles generate 3,273 citations referencing 17 finance, economics, and accounting journals, where multiple citations from a single school are counted as a single citation. The most notable findings are the wide variety of seminar content across finance doctoral programs and the dominance of five finance journals in providing this diverse content.     

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.     

The Importance of Understanding Student Learning Styles in Accounting Degree Programs

Improvements in the tertiary education of accounting students benefit the profession. Analysis of the interaction of learning styles and teaching methodologies in accounting degree programs revealed that when learning styles matched teaching methods used, usefulness was assessed as high. When they differed, usefulness deteriorated. To maximise educational benefit this interaction should be considered, but this has resource implications. Accounting education is critical and any improvements in the tertiary education of accounting students should result in better prepared graduates entering the profession. This study evaluates accounting students’ learning styles and the interaction of learning styles and teaching methodologies in degree programs. Nine classes of accounting students (648 students) spread across four years and two degree programs were evaluated. Students self‐evaluated their learning styles, pre‐instruction. They were then subject to two separate teaching techniques (one active and one passive) in each course. Learning styles were then re‐assessed and teaching techniques evaluated. Accounting students displayed a preference for passive learning, even those far advanced in their degrees. Furthermore, when learning styles matched teaching methods used, usefulness was assessed as high but when learning styles and teaching methods differed, usefulness deteriorated. Overall, active learners rather than passive learners deemed the teaching methods to be more effective. The implications are significant. To maximise educational benefit for the accounting profession, student learning styles should be assessed before designing appropriate teaching methodologies. This has resource implications, which would have to be considered.     

Incorporating authoritative pronouncements with intermediate and advanced accounting syllabi

Incorporating authoritative pronouncements with intermediate and advanced accounting syllabi is a relatively simple means of introducing students to research, familiarizing them with the primary authoritative sources for accounting standards, and teaching them to interpret, analyze, and apply technical material they will be using immediately on graduation. The incorporation insures that topics covered in the courses are updated with respect to developments occurring subsequent to the printing of the textbooks in use and may provide greater in-depth coverage of the topics than is otherwise possible.     

Teaching effectiveness of non-native English-speaking teachers in business disciplines: intercultural communication apprehension and ethnocentrism

Teaching effectiveness of non-native English-speaking teachers (NNEST) in accounting, economics and finance has become a significant issue due to the increasing trend of hiring NNEST in business schools. However, the literature has focused on the English language competence of NNEST, which is only one element of the factors that influence teaching effectiveness. This study examines students’ perceptions of teaching effectiveness of NNEST in business disciplines in an Australian university to understand relevant NNEST issues of teaching from a cross-cultural communication perspective. Data were gathered via focus groups and student evaluation of teacher performance surveys. The thematic content analysis of the data indicated that students acknowledge that NNEST are knowledgeable and hardworking teachers; however, issues of intercultural communication apprehension hinder their teaching effectiveness. Besides, ethnocentric world views of students tend to adversely influence the teaching evaluation of NNEST. This study concludes that NNEST’s issues are broader than mere linguistic competence, which suggests that business schools should focus on enhancing cultural understanding and minimising intercultural communication apprehension of NNEST in efforts aimed at enhancing NNEST’s teaching effectiveness.     

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.     

Accounting Education Lags CPE Ethics Requirements: Implications for the Profession and a Call to Action

Abstract

The accounting profession in the USA has experienced a crisis of legitimacy in the aftermath of a barrage of business scandals. Recent legislation has forced reforms reinforcing the need for additional ethics education. At the same time, the external pressure on university accounting degree programs has been to maintain the status quo of inadequate ethics in the curriculum, even while ethics courses in state CPE programs have grown dramatically. This creates a problem of bad pedagogy in that these new CPE ethics courses, focused on rote delivery of professional codes of conduct, are not grounded in conceptual frameworks which should be provided by university accounting programs. This state of affairs is circular in that it perpetuates inadequate ethics education for the profession. We propose that this deficiency be remedied by the requirement of a stand-alone ethics course delivered early in the accounting curriculum as a foundation for other degree requirements and subsequent CPE courses. The first step in this direction should be the creation of a White Paper that recommends specific content for such a course.     

语言经济学视角下的体验式商务英语教学探索——以《商务英语》课为例

体验式教学以学生为"中心",为达到既定的教学目的,教师引入或设计与教学内容相适应的情景,引起学生的情感体验,帮助学生在特定的情境中去习得相关知识,创造性地运用知识解决问题。目前的商务英语教育投入产出比效益低,体验式教学符合语言经济学基本规律,是提高商务英语教育投入产出比在教学方法上的必然选择。体验式教学要以专业知识的介绍为前提,以语言知识为基础,创设体验情境,掌控体验过程并向学生反馈体验结果。     

Personality types of accounting students and faculty: Comparisons and implications

This exploratory study presents and discusses differences found in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) types (personality preferences) of undergraduate and graduate accounting students, as well as accounting faculty members as they apply to two concerns. The first is the ability of today's accounting education programs to attract the types of students demanded by the profession. The second is the propensity of accounting faculty to expand traditional teaching modalities beyond those aimed at disseminating technical accounting knowledge. The results (using chi square tests) indicate significant differences in certain MBTI types among the groups, which have implications for accounting programs as they attempt to implement fundamental changes advocated by the profession and the Accounting Education Change Commission. The implications are discussed as they relate to accounting students who are predominantly extraverts, sensors, thinkers, and judgers, as well as to attracting and retaining a more diverse group of students. The implications of expected changes in teaching modalities are also discussed as they relate to accounting faculty who are predominantly introverts, sensors, thinkers, and judgers.     

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.     

Tax education in the UK: a survey of tax courses in undergraduate accounting degrees

This paper presents the results of a postal survey designed to examine the teaching of taxation in UK universities. The project looks at taxation in undergraduate accounting degree programmes and adopts an objective centred focus. The principal aim of the survey was to examine the relationships between some characteristics of individual tax courses, including the course objectives and coverage, staffing, teaching and assessment methods, in an attempt to draw some conclusions on the nature of tax education in UK accounting degrees. The results of the survey and consequent analysis may provide taxation and accounting educators, professional bodies and researchers into accounting education with an insight into approaches to, and methods used in, taxation teaching. It may also present a framework for comparative international research in tax education.     

Communication instruction: What is being done to develop the communication skills of accounting students?

A survey was conducted to determine what colleges and universities are doing to improve accounting students' communication skills and how they are doing it. Results indicate that much is already being done to improve the communication skills of accounting students, and that more programs are being planned. The survey revealed that accounting students at most of the responding colleges and universities have access to formal instruction in business communication, and that some communication programs are tailored for accounting majors. In addition to communication programs already in effect at the time of the survey, several schools were planning to add either an accounting communication course or an integrated skills program.     

An Empirical Analysis of the Positive Impact of Ethics Teaching on Accounting Students

Recent releases from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) highlight the importance of ethics education. Academic institutions employ varying methods and place varying levels of emphasis on ethics teaching during a business/accounting degree. This paper attempts to evaluate whether teaching ethics to final year accounting students is beneficial. At the commencement of a semester, one class of 155 students was given five ethical scenarios on which to make an ethical decision. All students were then subject to three different methods of ethical instruction. Several weeks later, the class was again given the original five ethical scenarios and asked to re-complete. In all five instances, the mean responses were more ethical after the instruction methodologies. The subjects also verified that the combined effect of the methodologies had impacted positively on hypothetical ethical decision-making. Hence, it appears that ethics education is beneficial, and the challenge is to find the optimal method(s).     

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.     

会计教学体系研究:来自英国大学的借鉴

通过在英国有关大学的实地调研,文章对英国大学会计教学目标、会计专业课程体系、会计教与学、会计课程考评等几个方面进行了考察和分析。在此基础上,借鉴英国大学的做法,提出了改进中国会计教育的教学目标、教学过程、课程体系和学生学习过程等的具体途径和方法。