Intermediate Accounting Course Research Articles

Using a Blended versus Online Course Design for Teaching Intermediate Accounting - an Empirical Study of the Teaching/Learning Environments

The increasing importance of technology use in instructional design and delivery suggests significant implications for accounting educators and administrators. This study examines the effect of delivering an Intermediate Accounting course in a fully online format as compared with the effect of delivering the same course in a blended, face-to-face format over two semesters. The quasi- experimental design tests whether use of common course materials and instruction offered concurrently in both formats results in comparable learning and performance outcomes. Initial data collection took place in fall quarter 2012. Preliminary analysis suggests the importance of student computer skills and grade point average to performance. No difference in student performance between the two delivery approaches is noted, probably due to small sample size. To build upon fall quarter 2012 findings, the study was extended to provide for additional observations in the same settings in the spring quarter 2013 just completed. Analysis of spring 2013 data shows students in online mode obtained more accounting knowledge than the blended mode. Students aged younger than 29 perceive the technology application more favorably enhanced their learning than others. Students enrolled in the blended setting indicate they are more willing to use the technology than the online setting. Students with different learning styles perform differently and perceive differently about the amount of computer skills enhanced by taking the blended vs. online courses. The findings in this paper show promise of relevance to administrators for future planning and implementation of technology-based instructional design and delivery, for faculty in their development planning, and for educators who seek to develop a better awareness of student performance and learning preferences in each setting.

Accounting or Finance? The Role of Differential Career Beliefs on Undergraduate Students’ Choices of Major

ABSTRACT This study examines the role of four differential career beliefs on students’ decisions to major in accounting or finance. Differential career beliefs were calculated as the belief about an accounting versus a finance career for the following four career beliefs: interesting work, job security, job variety, and high earnings potential. Students’ background characteristics (such as age, gender, etc.) were included as control variables. A survey was administered to 271 accounting and finance majors enrolled in the first intermediate accounting course. Results indicate that the differential career belief about interesting work had the greatest impact on choices of major and that differential career beliefs about job security and high earnings potential were also significant. Our findings suggest that finance students would be more likely to choose accounting as a major if their beliefs about accounting involving interesting work could be increased.

Accounting for Revenue Recognition in the Gig Economy: An Instructional Case

ABSTRACT The “gig” economy has exploded as more consumers purchase products and services from gig businesses and more workers pursue gig employment. This case uses a fictional gig company, HungryHound (HH), mirroring services provided by Grubhub, DoorDash, and UberEats, to expose students to the complexities of gig businesses and to areas requiring judgment in the revenue recognition standard. Specifically, students determine the appropriate revenue treatment among varying alternatives and apply the guidance in identifying the customer(s), determining principal and/or agent classifications, and reporting the financial statement effect for transactions. Completion of the case requires critical thinking in evaluating and applying ambiguous revenue guidance. Students also learn about current variation in accounting treatments among gig companies. The case is designed to give instructors flexibility, where case deliverables can be used together or as standalone assignments and can be deployed in an undergraduate or graduate intermediate accounting course or capstone course.

Managing and Disclosing Environmental Risks: A Tale of Two Utilities

ABSTRACTThis case introduces students to the topic of contingent liabilities by examining the actual management decisions of two energy companies facing increased regulatory scrutiny over the environmental risks associated with coal ash. The case learning objectives include (1) researching and summarizing the guidance governing the recognition and disclosure of contingent liabilities; (2) critically assessing a company's decisions regarding the recognition and disclosure of environmental liabilities; (3) accounting for asset retirement obligations; and (4) articulating the ethical implications of a company's management and disclosure of environmental risks from the perspectives of various stakeholders. The case is designed for use in an intermediate accounting course at the undergraduate level. Students reported improvement in their knowledge and comprehension of contingent liabilities and their appreciation for the ethical implications of accounting decisions. Students also noted that they enjoyed discussing these issues in the context of real companies facing complex environmental challenges.

Does Utilizing the CANVAS Discussion Tool in Synchronous Setting Help Student’s Learning?

The study has a two-fold purpose. First, it documents an experience of post and reply-graded discussions in the synchronous online teaching environment of an upper-level undergraduate intermediate accounting course. Then, it examines some skills-set of the students attended to the course. The CANVAS Discussion Tool of the course management system is utilized for the experience that is planned to support the efficiency of teaching and learning in the college level accounting education. Three different short cases are provided in different periods of time then students first posted their responses without accessing others’ posts, later they make comments on two peers’ posts, and finally they provide their feedback about the processes of the study they are involved. Students’ posts and feedback are statistically analyzed thru qualitative and quantitative research methods. The results are interesting, and they encourage to continue utilizing the CANVAS Discussion Tool for increasing the learning efficiency. The paper could argue that the experience would even be a component of face-to-face teaching environment of accounting education.

Finding an Easier Way to Explain the Statement of Cash Flows

The statement of cash flows is one of the required financial statements of public companies, and thus is required of all accounting majors. After learning the other required financial statements in an introductory financial accounting course and, again, in the first intermediate accounting course, accounting majors learn how to prepare the statement of cash flows in the second or last intermediate accounting course. Most accounting majors find the statement of cash flows significantly more difficult to learn than any other financial statements. Especially, students find it most difficult to understand the indirect method of preparing the statement of cash flows. Preparing the statement of cash flows using the indirect method, students go through the most difficult time, specifically, doing the adjustments that are made to net income to reconcile to cash flows from operating activities.In this paper, presented is a different way to explain the principles of indirect method of preparing the statement of cash flows with a focus on the reconciliation of net income to cash flows from operating activities. Different from the explanations in the textbooks available in the market, the approach presented in the paper is preferred by all the students who were taught the statement of cash flows. Also, pointed out in the paper are a few things that students are easily confused of in learning the statement of cash flows.

Prestige Projects Limited: Challenges in Transitioning to New Accounting Policy

ABSTRACT This case provides an experiential learning opportunity to (1) appreciate the role of professional judgment in accounting policy choices, (2) evaluate the effect of accounting decisions on other business functions, and (3) understand the challenges in transitioning to a new accounting policy. Prestige's previous auditors had allowed the use of output-based measure (milestones completed) to compute the percentage-of-completion (POC) for its long-term construction contracts. The newly appointed auditors recommended switching to input-based measures (costs incurred) to compute POC. Students must choose the appropriate financial reporting policy, considering accounting and non-accounting issues. The case addresses an important context because almost one in every eight large 500 companies is engaged in long-term construction contracts (AICPA 2013). Although the case setting is in India, it can be used in any country given its GAAP-agnostic nature. The case is best suited for intermediate accounting courses in which the topic of revenue recognition is addressed.

Minority shareholders dispute tang Plaza’s value

Theoretical basis This case covers the framework and process to determine fair value as specified in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 13. It illustrates an instance in which auditors interpret the concept of fair value to be consistent with other principles in standards such as the principle of prudence in the conceptual framework. In addition, a lot of the discussion in the case is applicable to accounting education in any regulatory jurisdictions given the convergence of US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and IFRS 13. In addition, while fair value accounting may have been designed to give investors more useful information, in practise it could involve highly subjective judgement and the resulting implementation may be affected by incentives of different stakeholders. The CK Tang’s case provides an excellent opportunity to discuss incentives of varies parties in determining the fair value in financial reporting decisions. In short, this case could be a good jumping-off point to talk about management and auditors’ incentives in financial reporting in general. Research methodology Publicly available information (e.g. financial reporting standards, corporate announcements and reports, news reports) was used as the basis for this case. Case overview/synopsis The case centres on an iconic Singaporean integrated retailing and property landlord entity: Tang holdings. As part of its succession planning, the company’s founding family decided to take its listing arm, C.K. Tang Limited (CK Tang hereafter), private in May 2006. The Tang brothers, who represented the controlling family, initiated several attempts to delist the company. The minority shareholders of CK Tang were unhappy that the offer price was below the net asset value of the company. The minority shareholders also highlighted that the reported fair value of the flagship Tang Plaza complex understated its highest and best use and might not possibly comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 13. Complexity academic level The case can be used for class discussions with undergraduate students or master students in intermediate accounting courses.

Channel-Stuffing Reinvented: Earnings Management in Toshiba's Personal Computers Division

ABSTRACTThis case describes how Toshiba, a well-known Japanese conglomerate, creatively used the technique of channel-stuffing to inflate its earnings by $478 million during 2008–2014. Students evaluate the uniqueness of Toshiba's practice of channel-stuffing, determine whether Toshiba's financial statements faithfully depicted the economic reality of underlying transactions, and understand the spiraling effects of channel-stuffing on reported profits. Students also learn that the responsibility for integrity in financial reporting lies not just with the top management, but also with the junior employees. The case requires an understanding of only basic accounting concepts and can be used in a variety of courses, especially in the M.B.A. introductory accounting course, and in the intermediate accounting courses at the undergraduate or graduate level.

Building Critical Awareness of Accounting Students: A Transformative Learning Process

This study is intended to describe and critically analysis how transformative learning experienced by accounting students make them more aware on the importance of understanding accounting from social context. As other qualitative research this study, this study was naturally conducted in social setting by using accounting students taking Intermediate Accounting course as informants. All data were based on textual materials generated from the course and its syllabus, fieldnotes and the result of examination. All data were then analyzed critically to obtain the evidence of how transformative learning change students’ paradigm in seeing accounting issues. Our findings show that the implementation of transformative learning have able to change the students’ paradigm and help them solve social problems in their community. This implies that accounting education is not only concerned with conceptual aspects but also concerned with the contextual contents that are rooted in their communities. In other words, when we learn accounting issues in our community, we socially construct our own reality.

An Examination of the Pass Rates on the CPA Exam: A Suggested Redesign of the Accounting Curriculum 2013 – 2017

The purpose of this study is to examine the pass rates of certified public accountant examinations from 2013 – 2017 examination periods, and to suggest a redesign of the accounting curriculum. The study examined whether requiring 150 credit hours of accounting education, increasing intermediate accounting course deliveries to at least eight credit hours, as well as having auditing and advanced accounting to have six credit hours, respectively. Also, the study examines the inclusion of governmental accounting, regulations, and business environment and concepts as part of the accounting curriculum. Finally, the study inquired about the effects of computer-based format and knowledge depreciation on CPA candidate pass rates. Despite the publication of the Bedford Committee’s finding on the quality of accounting education, and the cosmetic changes that have been made to the accounting curriculum, the success rates of candidates continue to be dismal. In light of these concerns, it is obligatory for U.S. colleges and universities to embrace emergent accepted accounting curriculum findings to better position future certification examinations.

Assessing a golden opportunity: CEO performance at McDonald’s

Assessing a golden opportunity: CEO performance at McDonald’s

Pirate Wireless: Revenue Recognition in the Telecommunications Industry

AbstractPirate Wireless is a telecommunications company with stores and offices all over the globe. Jim Bayley is an extremely busy professional who enters into a contract with Pirate Wireless for the ultimate purchase of a smartphone with one‐year warranty, voice and data services, Cryptonite encryption software, and an extended warranty. The case requires students to act as Assistant Controller of Pirate Wireless Corporate and determine the appropriate revenue recognition for Pirate Wireless's contract with Jim Bayley. This mandates a thorough review of the five steps of revenue recognition set forth in Revenue from Contracts with Customers, the jointly converged standard issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in May 2014. The FASB's Accounting Standards Codification 606 is effective for all U.S. public entities for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2017. The IASB's International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 15 applies to an entity's first annual IFRS financial statements for a period beginning on or after January 1, 2018. This case is appropriate for an undergraduate or graduate level Intermediate Accounting course.

Beyond debits and credits: Using integrated projects to improve students’ understanding of financial accounting

This paper discusses a method for developing integrated, multi-step projects that will help students better understand the accounting cycle and develop the problem-solving and technology skills that they need to become successful accounting professionals. More specifically, this method allows instructors to develop projects designed to review specific topics, introduce basic tax consequences, demonstrate how transactions affect the financial statements and encourage students to think about investor reactions and possible ethical dilemmas without sacrificing substantial amounts of class time. After discussing how to develop this type of project, the paper provides suggestions on how to incorporate the project into an intermediate accounting course.

Evaluating pedagogy in educating business majors: an empirical analysis of teaching accounting without debits and credits

An upper-level intermediate accounting course taught at two large mid-west universities in the United States provides a natural experimental setting to examine whether teaching debits/credits in the introductory financial accounting course matters. Students in the upper-level course fall into two groups: those who learned debits/credits in the introductory course and those who weren’t. The performance of both groups is evaluated during the semester while they take the upper level accounting course. Regression results show that the prior knowledge of debits/credits offers only a mild advantage in the first mid-term exam, but not thereafter. Results also indicate that grade point average (standardized tests like ACT scores) are a good (not a good) predictor of the performance in the upper-level accounting class. These results suggest that teaching debits and credits in the introductory accounting course does not provide any advantage in learning the material of upper-level accounting course.

Paper Beats Rock, but does Digital Beat Paper? An Investigation of Information Delivery in the Accounting Classroom

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of the method of delivery in the classroom has on students in the accounting classroom. Specifically, this study explores whether providing students with information digitally or hardcopy influences students' performance and perceptions. We surveyed students enrolled in an Introductory Managerial Accounting and Intermediate Accounting courses. We find that at the Introductory Accounting level, hardcopy material is associated with higher student performance. However, there is no difference in student performance at the Intermediate level. The results of this study can help accounting faculty improve their student performance and keep printing costs low by strategically selecting accounting courses to provide hardcopy materials. Furthermore, this requires little effort on the part of the faculty.

Teaching Sustainability in an Accounting Classroom

Abstract Sustainability has become an important issue in the world today for both business and society. As accounting faculty members, it is important that we add aspects of sustainability into accounting classrooms to help prepare students for what they will see in the workplace. The article aims to discuss areas for faculty to share with students the importance of sustainability. The methods of discussing sustainability in the classroom come from the teaching experiences of the authors. Cost, managerial, and intermediate accounting courses, as well as auditing at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, serve as conduits for sustainability concepts. Examples include discussing the triple bottom line, examining CSR reports and assurance services for them, talking about required environmental reporting and integrated reporting, and examining green balanced scorecards. The hope is that faculty can help students learn not only accounting but how to be better citizens with a global perspective on sustainability.

From Plagiarism‐Plagued to Plagiarism‐Proof: Using Anonymized Case Assignments in Intermediate Accounting

AbstractPlagiarism in accounting case assignments is a serious problem that undercuts the important objectives the case assignments are used to achieve: the development of students’ critical thinking skills and the advancement of their written communication skills. This paper examines plagiarism behavior through the lens of fraud theory by targeting two elements of the fraud triangle: rationalization and opportunity. Efforts to target rationalization by changing student perceptions of peer behavior were not effective. This led to a shift in focus to the assignment itself which was providing the opportunity for misconduct. Students were sidestepping authentic engagement in the assignment by gaining access to published solutions or peer submissions from previous semesters. One failsafe design response to this problem is to use only originally written cases. However, writing a large number of original cases each semester is unrealistic within many instructors’ workloads. This article instead proposes the use of a case refreshing strategy that makes cases appear unique to each group of students. When this strategy was introduced in an intermediate accounting course, there was a dramatic decrease in plagiarism and a corresponding improvement of the academic integrity environment in the course.

Passion or profit: Bloody Creek Vineyard

Synopsis Edward Rowan, 89 year-old patriarch and the Rowan family were trying to decide if they should start a vineyard in the Nova Scotia Annapolis Valley. Edward had a life-long dream of starting a vineyard on this five-acre farm. Edward, his son David and granddaughter Mary along with their respective spouses had agreed to be partners and provide financing to start the vineyard. The time had arrived to make a decision because they had to order the vines by the end of the month. While they have an extended family to provide free labor for planting, pruning and harvesting along with free access to the necessary machinery, they wanted to be sure that they did not lose money on the venture. They recognized the first four to five years would not generate profits, but they wanted to ensure that in the long term the venture would be viable. Research methodology This case was developed from an interview with Donna Rowan, a documentary review of the family’s estimates as well as an interview with the owner of a well-established vineyard in the Annapolis Valley. Secondary sources were used to provide information on the industry and average costs to operate a vineyard. The case uses a partial disguise with respect to the names of family members. The case was tested at the Atlantic Schools of Business student case competition where ten teams from different Atlantic universities participated. The authors were not judges and all suggested changes have been incorporated in the case. Relevant courses and levels The relevant courses are: managerial accounting undergraduate programs; intermediate accounting and entrepreneurship courses in undergraduate programs; second-level accounting and entrepreneurship courses in MBA programs; and professional accounting programs’ CPA.

Accounting toward sweet success: Treadwell’s Ice Cream

Synopsis Tom Gould, an entrepreneur, had been operating Treadwell’s Ice Cream, a small ice cream restaurant since 2000. Treadwell’s Ice Cream had been preparing its financial statements under cash basis. Tom Gould turned over all his receipts, both personal and business expenses, to his bookkeeper who entered them into QuickBooks. At tax time, his tax accountant excluded non-qualifying expenses from the tax filing. Periodically, Tom met with his bookkeeper to determine the results of operations and financial position at the end of that period of time. Most of Treadwell’s transactions were easily recognized by Tom, who preferred to pay all expenses by cash rather than credit. However, the bookkeeper had not been separating operating from non-operating activities, and had been using multiple accounts to record the same or similar costs. Therefore, the current income statement and balance sheet were not appropriately categorized and organized. In addition, since the bookkeeper was not a tax account, business expenses had been mixed with Tom Gould’s personal expenses on the income statement. There were no adjustment to the income statement after the tax accountant identified non-qualifying expenses when preparing tax filing. As Tom and his wife were considering turning over more day to day operations to his son and hiring a non-family member as a manager to help his son, he would need the books to provide an accurate picture of the business. Research methodology Primary source materials included interviews with the owner, Thomas Gould, his son, Michael Gould, and their Accountant, Tom Mallas. Secondary source materials included monthly and annual financial data from QuickBooks (monthly data are available upon request but are not relevant to the case discussion). Other secondary source materials included geographic, economic, industry, and competitors’ information. Relevant courses and levels This case is well suited for an introductory level undergraduate financial accounting course, after accrual accounting and accounting information systems (accounting cycles) have been introduced. When analyzing this case, students will apply concepts and principles of financial statement preparation. The case is also appropriate to serve as a review of accrual accounting, and of income statement and balance sheet preparation at the beginning of an intermediate level financial accounting course. Students can be asked to reformat the income statement from the single-step format to the multiple-step format. By working through financial statements with common errors found in small businesses, students can practice identifying these errors, thus providing a review of the various sections of the income statement and prepare students for more in-depth discussions of each section. In a tax course, this case can stimulate discussions on non-qualifying expenses and common shortcomings in small business accounting.