Ethics and professionalism: Bringing the topic to life in the classroom

Much attention has been focused in recent years on the benefits of enhancing student understanding of ethical perspectives and professionalism in the workplace. An ongoing challenge for accounting educators is the need to address ethics in a way that will hold student interest, especially when most students have yet to experience an ethical situation in a work setting. We have developed a classroom game that incorporates the Institute of Management Accountants’ (IMA’s) Statement of Ethical Professional Practice, a newly revised model of ethical conduct. In this game, students identify how the IMA’s standards and principles are either upheld or violated in mini-case scenarios from workplace settings. The game facilitates student reflective thinking – a learning process where an individual addresses a problem that has many reasonable solutions rather than just one answer. The approach was introduced in managerial and cost accounting courses and has been employed also in an intermediate accounting setting. Feedback suggests that the game holds student interest, fosters reflective thinking, and can be used across multiple courses.     

The use of short role-plays for an ethics intervention in university auditing courses

This paper reports how short 10-minute role-plays can be used as an effective tool for ethics education within university auditing classes. A mixed method approach elicited student perceptions of role-plays in developing ethical awareness. While many students self-reported difficulty in recognising and dealing with the ethical dilemmas appropriately, most agreed role-plays helped them to prepare for dealing with these issues in the workplace. This was especially the case for students with English as an additional language. Students reported the role-play ethical dilemmas raised their awareness of the need to protect their professional independence. Students commented that they had a better understanding of the importance of the professional code of conduct and the code of ethics. Role-plays are a simple experiential learning approach that helps students to recognise ethical dilemmas, explore strategies to deal with such dilemmas in a safe environment, and practice listening and questioning skills to obtain information. Short role-plays can offer critical thinking opportunities that are more relevant to the student’s personal experience than case studies of historical ethical breaches.     

Introducing a Learning Portfolio in an Undergraduate Financial Accounting Course

This paper evaluates changes made to the internal assessment component of a third year financial accounting course at a university in New Zealand. A learning portfolio was designed to supplement existing coursework. The aim was to engender in students a deep rather than a surface approach to learning. As a record of the students' learning, the learning portfolio was an attempt to produce an innovative development in the assessment of what was a traditionally taught financial accounting course. Within their learning portfolios, students were required to complete a number of tasks, each aimed at improving critical thinking skills and creativity. Students were also required to maintain a personal or reflective section aimed at personalising and deepening the quality of their learning.     

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.     

Meta programmes for identifying thinking preferences and their impact on accounting students’ educational experience

Meta programmes are a way of indicating unconscious thinking preferences that influence how a person perceives the world, and how that person behaves and communicates with others. Meta programmes provide an easily understood language that can facilitate an understanding on the part of accounting students and faculty, of metacognitive processes, an important pre-requisite to developing the skill of learning to learn. This paper reports the results of an interview-based study which identifies 11 meta programmes important to the specific context of students’ educational experience. Meta programmes are found to affect the ability/inability of certain students to manage the educational process, a result that improves our understanding of why some students are better at coping with the demands of higher education than others. Since meta programmes are considered to operate at an unconscious or metacognitive level, raising awareness of their thinking and learning styles offers students the opportunity to influence, or change, their own cognitive processes involved in learning and therefore to enhance that learning. An increased understanding on the part of accounting faculty of their own and their students’ meta programmes offers potential for improving communication with students and designing more effective teaching and feedback strategies.     

Service-learning: an innovative approach to teaching accounting: a teaching note

Service-learning allows students to enhance their learning through real-world applications of accounting concepts. This Teaching Note describes the service-learning process and the benefits to students, faculty, the university, the community, and the accounting profession. Quotations from students' reflective journals are used as illustrations regarding how students develop communication, leadership, strategic, and critical thinking skills. Practical issues for implementing and supervising service-learning projects are also given.     

Developing Learning Objectives for Accounting Ethics Using Bloom's Taxonomy

The purpose of our article is to offer a set of core knowledge learning objectives for accounting ethics education. Using Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives, we develop learning objectives in six content areas: codes of ethical conduct, corporate governance, the accounting profession, moral development, classical ethics theories, and decision models. We believe that defining core knowledge is important for two reasons. First, many accounting educators continue to debate whether ethics can be taught, apparently unaware that a common body of ethics knowledge exists. This knowledge needs to be imparted before higher-level classroom discussions can ensue. Second, we believe agreement on learning objectives is necessary for the development of meaningful assessment tools. Students should be able to demonstrate ethics knowledge, and accounting educators should be held accountable for whether or not students are learning.     

Students’ perceptions of their first accounting class: implications for instructors

The purpose of this action research study is to learn directly from undergraduate students, through focus groups, about their experiences in their first accounting class, especially about the students’ knowledge and practice of critical thinking and about which classroom experiences engaged their attention and enhanced learning. The findings show that students want to understand how the first accounting course connects to the business world and to their other classes. Participants were unsure about when and how they practiced critical thinking; for improved learning outcomes, instructors need to keep critical thinking front and center. Students also need instruction in how to study accounting and how to utilize effectively the resources provided in their textbooks and as supplemental tools (e.g. integrated accounting software). Accounting professors must adapt their teaching methods to help students to meet professional demands, such as critical thinking skills and ability to handle a complex global business environment.     

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.     

Teaching ethics in accounting: a discussion of cross-cultural factors with a focus on Confucian and Western philosophy

There has been pressure from various business and professional accounting bodies to place greater emphasis on ethics education. This has been reflected in academic research and curriculum development. The purpose of this paper is to expand the debate on accounting ethics education to take into account the globalization of business, accounting and educational services and to draw attention to the importance of cross-cultural factors. To illustrate this the paper discusses the impact that Confucius has had on the ethical thinking of East and South East Asia. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with Western attitudes and secular philosophies. This focus has been chosen because of the current and future importance of the Asian area to global commerce, and the fact that an understanding of its ethical thinking and behaviour is not possible without an appreciation of Confucian thought.     

The ethics of accounting research

Doctoral students and many accounting professors and practicing accountants conduct theoretical or empirical accounting research. Human subjects have been recruited in increasing numbers to participate in behavioral and attitudinal accounting studies. However, the ethical obligations of accounting researchers to other researchers and readers, to subjects, and to participating organizations have received little attention. In this paper, the history of research ethics codes in other disciplines and the ethical obligations of accounting researchers are discussed. A tentative code of ethics is presented for the purpose of stimulating discussion about ethical issues in accounting research.     

Impact of group exams in a graduate intermediate accounting class

Cooperative learning techniques have been found to be quite successful in a variety of learning environments. However, in university-level accounting courses, investigations of the efficacy of cooperative learning pedagogical methods have produced mixed results at best. To continue the search for a cooperative learning method that is effective in accounting education, this study examines the use of group exams in a graduate intermediate accounting class. We provide evidence of a number of positive effects. Average scores on group exams were consistently higher than average scores on exams taken in individual format. Students adapted to the new assessment format rapidly and effectively. Further, students found the experience positive and believed they had improved important skills such as communication, time management, and teamwork. While some evidence of a free-rider effect and negative behavior associated with it was found in the beginning, this behavior was apparently temporary.     

The impact of unstructured case studies on surface learners: a study of second-year accounting students

The empirical study described here uses the R-SPQ-2F questionnaire [Biggs, J., Kember, D., & Leung, D. Y. (2001). The revised two-factor study process questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(1), 133–149] to test deep and surface approaches to learning in a university intermediate-level accounting class that uses business cases in group presentations. Statistical testing of results for learning style before and after group presentations indicates an increase in surface learning over time, with no detectable change in deep learning style. The type of business case used has no effect, in this setting. Course grades, however, are significantly less for students who did not participate in the group presentation activity at all. The results support the claim that students focus on what is required; they may adopt a strategic approach to learning. In a similar way, accounting academics and workload models may be reacting to incentives that discourage reflective and formative feedback. If deeper approaches to learning are desirable, assessments need to reward this behaviour.     

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.     

Meeting threshold learning standards through self-management in group oral presentations: observations on accounting postgraduate students

This study explores the development of student self-management skills through an oral presentation task. It is motivated by the challenge to maintain consistent quality in students’ oral skills and to incorporate national accounting curriculum requirements for threshold learning standards into an accounting subject. The study has been conducted in Australia using a sample of postgraduate accounting students, and the task required the students to prepare a group presentation using action learning. The data were collected using in-class observation and a survey. Students indicated that they were more confident and comfortable in preparing and presenting the oral presentations as compared with their previous experiences. This was especially due to students having a second opportunity to improve their presentations allowing a better understanding of the expected standard. The oral presentation task benefitted all students but was especially useful for those who had limited experience speaking in front of a larger audience.     

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.     

Analogical Reasoning and the case of Accounting for Cashback Programs in the Casino Industry

The primary objective of this instructional case is to develop students' analogical reasoning skills. This objective is accomplished by directing the students to resolve an actual accounting issue involving an unstructured, open-ended, and real situation for which there are no specific authoritative pronouncements. To resolve the issue, students must draw upon and apply their knowledge and understanding of accounting principles as embodied in GAAP. Students are likely to disagree on the proper accounting treatment to be used in this situation. Therefore, the case can also be used to expose them to issues arising in the context of resolving disagreements in a group setting.     

Further Evidence of Critical Thinking and Final Examination Performance in Advanced Financial Accounting

This study examines whether in-course test components requiring stronger critical thinking skills can help explain final examination performance in an advanced undergraduate financial accounting course, conducted in 2003 and 2004 over three continuous semesters at an Australian university. It proposes and validates two levels of dimensions affecting final examination performance: in-course test components and students’ previous university academic performance. Analysis of a database of 1,816 students using standardised multiple regression over three continuous semesters suggests that while overall Grade Point Advantage (GPA) is the single best predictor of final examination performance, in-course test components that require more critical thinking are better predictors than others, except for the in-course ethics essay test. Length of stay also had some predictive ability. This study suggests that academics should pay attention to monitoring and providing feedback to students on their in-course performance in tests that examine critical-thinking skills covering a wide range of topics. Such monitoring and feedback may assist in improving the final examination performance of students in this course.     

论会计教学中的思维教学法

会计专业本科教学的核心目标是让学生掌握专业技能,利用技能解决实际的问题,强调的是知识应用能力。但是在现有的教学方式下,学生学到的只是惰性知识,学习迁移能力差。解决的出路是,在现有教学方法中加强对学生思维模式的培养。思维教学法是帮助学生克服知识应用与学习迁移问题的有用工具。     

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.