Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations: Volume 14

We discuss an accounting fair designed to foster a more favorable perception of the accounting profession and to identify accounting career opportunities, thereby increasing students’ interest in the accounting major. The fair is a unique model that provides students with accurate information about the accounting profession, rather than to recruit firm employees. The model can be tailored to meet other objectives of accounting departments, such as, to increase diversity of students selecting the major, to increase the quality of students in the major, or other objectives a department might deem appropriate.

We studied the effects of the fair on students’ perceptions of the accounting profession and interest in the accounting major, using pre- and post-accounting fair surveys. Our statistical results indicate the accounting fair was successful in fostering a more favorable perception of the accounting profession. As a result, students’ interest in the accounting major increased, which is consistent with the actual increase in the number of accounting majors at our institution since implementing the fair. Similarly, by employing a fair similar to ours, the achievement of other departmental objectives should result from fostering a more favorable perception of the accounting profession.

Most undergraduate and graduate financial accounting exercises follow a “forward based” pedagogical approach where students learn how accounting events (causes) are captured in the accounting system and appear on the financial statements (effects). While these forward based approaches are necessary and effective ways to teach the fundamentals of accounting, they provide a relatively narrow procedural perspective on how to use such knowledge. The reality is that many students will be required to solve problems where the ultimate goal is to discern the causes of financial statement outcomes. To solve such problems, “backward based” procedural knowledge is required. Research in cognitive psychology indicates students need exposure to problems that require different procedural knowledge to develop the flexible problem solving schemas necessary to address problems with different end goals (Chen & Mo, 2004). We present a series of financial accounting exercises designed to help students develop skills associated with analyzing financial statement outcomes (effects) to determine the causal accounting events. The exercises also provide a comprehensive review of the primary financial accounting topics typically addressed in introductory accounting courses. This allows the exercises to be used as an ongoing end of chapter review problem or as a comprehensive course review exercise.

While there are many articles in the popular press and practitioner journals concerning the Millennials (i.e., who they are and what we need to do about them), the academic literature on the subject is more limited. This chapter (1) extensively reviews this literature as published in practitioner, popular press, and academic journals across disciplines including psychology, sociology, management, human resources, and accounting education, and (2) surveys the generational study literature to determine what, if any, rigorous empirical studies exist to support (or refute) the existence of a distinct Millennial generational cohort. While the popular press is voluminous when it comes to avowed generational differences between Millennials and their predecessors, there is a paucity of peer-reviewed, academic, empirical work in the area and most of the latter suffers in some way from the overarching problem with generational research: the linear relationship between age, period, and generation that results in these variables being inherently entwined. However, even absent strong empirical evidence of a unique generational cohort, the literature offers extensive suggestions about what to do about the Millennials in our classrooms and work places. This chapter better informs accounting faculty about the traits of the current generation of accounting students that are supported by empirical research versus claims made in the popular press. It argues for a more reasoned “continuous improvement” approach to Millennials while offering some classroom suggestions for accounting faculty members.

This chapter presents an approach for teaching divergent and evolving auditing standards in an introductory auditing course. The existence of divergent and continually evolving auditing standards can be challenging for students and for auditing educators. In addition to two separate sets of standards in the United States for the audits of public companies (issuers) and nonpublic companies (nonissuers), auditors also need to be aware of the growing prominence of international standards. In addition to providing background information on standard-setting bodies and divergent auditing standards, and suggestions for simplifying the process of guiding students to an understanding of these standards, this chapter provides figures that can be used for demonstration in class, along with a series of brief internet-based research exercises. The exercises and examples provided may help auditing educators to facilitate students’ understanding and mastery of the fundamental elements of the domestic and international auditing standard-setting forces and activities that impact, directly or indirectly, auditing practice in the United States and abroad.

At a small liberal arts university in Western New York, a second-year accounting professor and a fully tenured education professor worked together to develop a model of sustained mentoring across an entire semester with the goal of helping the accounting professor improve his teaching. The model was put to practice in a freshmen managerial accounting class during the spring 2011 semester. It involved frequent observations (roughly one-third of the classes) and immediate follow-up communications. Control over all decisions remained with the accounting professor at all times. The results were positive and substantial for all parties. The students reported better learning during in-class time. The accounting professor added to his “tool belt” and gained greater confidence in his teaching ability while the education professor reenergized his career by extending the body of his life’s work to include higher education.

This chapter reports how accounting professionals and students perceive the proficiency of their communication skills. We find that professionals perceive themselves as having higher interpersonal skills, writing skills, and speaking skills than do students. Despite decades of accounting curricula’s focus on communication skills, there remains a perception gap between students and professionals on the importance of these skills. Professionals not only perceive that they have stronger communication skills, but they also consider these skills as more important for career success than do students. Furthermore, we find that, even after controlling for the difference in perceived communication skill levels, this perception gap continues to exist between accounting professionals and students.

The primary objective of this study is to assess the effectiveness of supplemental instruction (SI) as an intervention strategy to improve student performance in the first intermediate accounting course. We perform analysis of covariance to evaluate the effect of SI attendance on course grades, after controlling for variables that have been found significant in prior research as grade determinants (cumulative incoming grade point average (GPA), financial principles grade, and whether the principles course was taken at a university or community college). Results indicate that SI attendance had a significant effect on the first intermediate course grade, with an improvement in course GPA of 0.74 for students who attended five or more SI sessions over those students who did not attend any sessions. Even moderate attendance (three to four SI sessions) showed a marginally significant improvement in course GPA of 0.41 compared with no attendance.

This chapter reports the results of a study of student performance in upper-level accounting courses, especially intermediate accounting I and cost accounting. Of particular interest is the performance of students who transferred the introductory accounting courses from a two-year institution versus native four-year students. We found that after controlling for a number of aptitudinal and demographic variables, transfer students performed at a significantly lower level than native students. On average, the difference was about 0.8 of a grade point. This study also provides evidence of grade inflation at two-year institutions relative to our four-year institution; documents a mean lag time of more than two years for community college students between taking principles of accounting courses and the upper-level courses; and shows that although the transfer shock lessens as the students continue in the major, it does not disappear. We also discuss the implications of our findings.

This chapter examines whether students’ perceptions of learning, attitudes, and performance are affected by the use of multimedia technology. Both traditional and multimedia methodologies were used in the financial accounting II course offered at one of the leading universities in Lebanon, using data collected from a sample of 110 students. In order to eliminate faculty-specific characteristics, the same professor taught all sections, thereby minimizing the effect different instructors might have had on student evaluations. Results indicate that students perceived the use of multimedia, specifically PowerPoint (PPT) lectures, as being more entertaining and organized than the traditional method; however, the latter methodology demonstrated more efficiency in terms of explaining theories, enhancing problem-solving abilities, and allowing for greater interaction. The two methodologies, however, did not demonstrate a significant statistical difference in terms of student learning and comprehension. Despite the positive student perception of PPT lectures, results suggest that the systematic approach of traditional methodologies exceeds PPT in emphasizing course materials and enhancing problem-solving abilities. As measured by their final grade, PPT methodologies affected student performance negatively, especially for below-average business students.

We investigate the perceptions and attitudes of both students and tax professionals about the use of the Code and Regulations in an introductory tax course. We administer a survey at the beginning and end of the semester to 106 students enrolled in an introductory tax course, and a separate survey that is completed by 120 tax professionals. Students enrolled in an introductory tax course that integrates the use of the Code and Regulations feel significantly more proficient in using and interpreting this material at the end than at the beginning of the semester. Supplemental assessment of learning data also indicates that students who have been exposed to the Code and Regulations in this course have a fairly high degree of proficiency in accessing and interpreting material. Furthermore, tax professionals view the ability to read and interpret the Code and Regulations as particularly valuable when entering the workplace and somewhat valuable for the certified public accountants exam. This study’s findings extend prior literature on the introductory tax course and provide evidence that students display positive attitudes on the use of the Code and Regulations after being exposed to this skill, and that tax professionals consider the ability to access and interpret the authoritative support in the Code and Regulations quite useful for the workplace.

Student populations in higher education in the United States have become increasingly diverse as a result of demographic changes. As a result, educators need an understanding of the background and characteristics of these demographic subgroups in order to improve the quality of their education. Students’ approaches to learning affect their quality of learning and are influenced by their perceptions of the learning environment and assessment. The present study extends prior research by examining the approaches to learning, assessment preferences, and the relationship between approaches to learning and assessment preferences of intermediate accounting students enrolled in a public university in the United States with a diverse student population. Students with higher deep approaches to learning had higher preferences for assessment involving higher-order thinking tasks, integrated assessment, and nonconventional assessment. Students with higher surface approaches to learning had lower preferences for assessment involving higher-order thinking tasks. The differences in these relationships for subgroups of students defined by citizenship, age, gender, and race are presented. The implications of the results for teaching and learning in accounting education are discussed.

This chapter provides guidance on the types of questions appropriate for use with clickers in an introductory financial accounting course. This study further examines whether the use of clickers improved learning outcomes as measured by the students’ test scores. Our findings show that students had a positive experience with using clickers. We find that test scores were higher in the semester when we used clickers compared with the semester when we did not use clickers. Clicker scores also were positively associated with students’ test scores. Clickers may serve as a useful educational tool to assess assurance of learning of introductory financial accounting. The instructor receives immediate feedback regarding students’ understanding of the materials, and the students also receive feedback about whether their understanding is correct. Both the instructor and students can then work on reviewing materials that the class does not understand well.

A framework for developing a multi-course undergraduate research project is presented, which (1) allows students to connect coursework learning with real company data, (2) engages students in relevant critical analysis, and (3) provides meaningful, content-rich learning assessment data that can be used to improve student learning. Sample assignments, an assessment rubric, and sample assessment data reports are also presented to illustrate how diverse assignments, with regard to scope, structure, and accounting skills, can be evaluated and used to improve student learning across the accounting curriculum. Importantly, the process of responding to the assessment data to make improvements to “close the loop” is discussed.

Many accounting departments have implemented assurance of learning (AoL) processes in the last few years because accreditation agencies have mandated it. In prior articles, we described an early assessment process (Stivers, Campbell, & Hermanson, 2000), a revised assessment process, and a suggested systems-oriented methodology for implementing an AoL process (Hill & Campbell, 2007). The purpose of this article is to provide the post-implementation review of our revised AoL process. We evaluate whether the AoL process is meeting the users’ goals effectively and efficiently. To do this, we provide the feedback we received from our Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation visit, the results of a faculty survey, and some output from our AoL system. Our review indicates that while the AACSB accreditation team viewed our AoL process as a “best practice,” the faculty members evaluated the process less positively. Faculty members were concerned about the number and clarity of the learning goals, the usefulness of the information generated, and the cost/benefit of the process with respect to the time involved. We conclude that different goals for the AoL process, accountability versus course improvement, drive the difference in opinion between the accreditation team and the faculty. Changes in senior management in the college along with faculty opinions have led to significant changes in the college’s AoL process including changing the name from AoL to TLC (Teaching and Learning Community). The results of this research emphasize the importance of treating the AoL program as a dynamic process that must be periodically evaluated to determine if it is meeting the organizations’ goals for the process. If the AoL program is not meeting goals or costing too much to meet them, then it should be revised and improved.