Ronald Marden
Appalachian State University
Dept. Of Accounting, COB
Appalachian State University
Boone NC 28606
Office: 828-262-6211
Fax: 828-262-6640
Mardenre@Appstate.Edu
In the Members in Education newsletter (AICPA, May 1999), Elizabeth Koch, editor, writes: "... in the future, information technology and accounting must become integrated to the extent that the two disciplines are no longer separately distinguished." This project takes students one step toward realizing this goal by integrating several electronic information and computer technologies into an innovative student assignment completed during a semester-long first course in auditing. Students learn to utilize the Internet to research and gather accounting and audit information to answer assigned research questions about a publicly traded company. The information is obtained from a number of resources: electronic annual reports from the Report Gallery web-site (e.g. financial information); the SEC EDGAR data base (e.g., the auditors opinion, MD&A and Y2K discussions); the Lexis/Nexis electronic database; and the Wall Street Journal electronic data base (e.g., audit related news matters such as lawsuits, mergers, etc.). The advantage of using Report Gallery vs. NAARS, for example, is that it provides a variety of annual report sites which can be viewed from "any" Internet access point (reportgallery.com). Students are also given a short lecture and demonstration on presentation techniques and then present the results of their research using electronic presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint) and multimedia datashow equipment. An alternative to individual student research and presentation is the use of team presentations. Also, if students do not have ready access to computers (i.e., in the library or computer labs), faculty can simply use the project to "demonstrate" the integration of these technologies. The instructional resources and rigor of the project may easily be tailored to other accounting courses, and hence possess a broader scope of application than just in the audit curricula.
Professor Searfoss, Chair of the AICPA's AEEC notes: "It is not simply a matter of possessing the knowledge regarding available hardware and software, but recognizing the inherent, seamless relationship that should exist between accounting and information systems" (Members in Education newsletter, May 1999). Projects such as this benefit students by going beyond the simple memorization of facts; it requires the use of complex skills and involves active student-based learning about these relationships by: 1) preparing students to use and "integrate" these new information technologies, particularly by relating the assignment to real world entities and contemporary accounting issues, and 2) having students experience disseminating their research efforts using electronic technology equipment. Also, the early and expanded use of information technology is more likely to successfully coax greater usage and acceptance from students, thus closing the gap between what practitioners desire accounting students to know versus what academia traditionally equips them with.
In order to meet the demands of the 21st century workplace in the world of "fast-changing business environments" and "information overload," students must be able to merge both their creative and critical thinking skills. This project exposes them to an experience where they have to select from enormous amounts of electronic information to address various accounting/auditing questions and issues and then creatively present their results under a supervised time constraint. If the future success of the accounting profession is largely contingent upon its ability to effectively utilize information technology, then preparing students to use and incorporate these resources will be critical to their ability to utilize and leverage technology in ways that can be used to add value to their future employers, customers and clients. In sum, multimedia and electronic information is not tomorrow's technology; it's here today and this project can help students prepare for it.
Each of the following websites present a different individual student project. Note that the website will only offer a static view of each slide used in the project (the site does not contain the Powerpoint application software), however, there is a button one can click on to download the project and then view it through their own Powerpoint software. Also note that the students were given a lot of leeway in how they created their presentations so the amount of information on any particular screen ranges from being elementary to being very detailed. The purpose of each screen was used to present a concept, an image, or summary information while the student "discussed" the issues of each question.
www.Appstate.edu/~Mardenre/BPAmoco/index.htm
www.Appstate.edu/~Mardenre/Disney/index.htm
www.Appstate.edu/~Mardenre/Exxon/index.htm
www.Appstate.edu/~Mardenre/Pepsico/index.htm