An International Meeting of the American Accounting Association 2005 Annual Meeting August 7–10, 2005 San Francisco, California Come to the City by the Bay!

Effective Learning Strategies Forum
Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Session 7
PwC's Alchemy Inc.: A Curriculum Innovation in Auditing

Presenter:
Srini Ragothaman, University of South Dakota

Description:
This presentation will summarize the experience of one professor in using Alchemy simulation materials provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The presenter was also awarded a competitive grant by PricewaterhouseCoopers to fund this curriculum innovation effort. Learning objectives for Alchemy Inc. simulation include SOX 404 concepts, audit committee and internal auditor roles, and performing walkthroughs.

Students learn the importance of process auditing. Current practice comes alive for the students here. Process auditing gets additional information to the auditor about control weaknesses. Movies in the Alchemy simulation, where partners from PwC are the main players, help students learn important auditing concepts from professionals in the field. The CAVR framework helps students to learn how to evaluate the design and operation weaknesses in application controls. Several other concepts such as professsional skepticism, statistical sampling, anti-fraud programs, SOX 404, etc., are examined. Students learn to indentify control weaknesses. Students learn how troublesome management overrides can be. The roles of audit committee and the internal auditor are well described. Faculty members listening to the session will gain key insights about how and how not to use this widely distributed simulation exercise. Pre- and post-test results will be discussed.

Back to Tuesday Sessions

AAA Home Page