Brian Patrick Green

Use of multiple information types in assessing accounting faculty teaching performance

Abstract This paper examines whether multiple types of information are used in assessing faculty teaching performance and provides insight into the characteristics of departments where administrators use this assessment approach. The results show that student ratings are used by 95% of accounting departments administrators. Although 82% of administrators use multiple types of information to assess teaching performance, they employ, on average, less than three types of information and show a preference for non-systematic, subjective types of information. While the AACSB, the AECC and others have encouraged the use of multiple types of information in assessing teaching performance, the overall number of information types used by accounting administrators is significantly less than the broad set of items suggested for inclusion in a teaching portfolio. Administrators from accounting departments with Ph.D. programs and from departments accredited at both the college and department levels are most likely to use multiple types of information in assessing faculty teaching performance.

An Exploratory Study of the Effect of Professional Internships on Students’ Perception of the Importance of Employment Traits

The authors measured the effects of a formal internship on students’ perceptions of the importance of traits employees consider during the hiring process. Prior studies have reported that accounting firms perceive students with internship experience as better entry-level accountants. This perception may be related to changes in student beliefs after participating in an internship program. The authors report student and employer values of specific hiring traits. The found that students distinguish between the value of various traits described as important to employers during the interview process. They also found that the values students apply to these traits change after their internship period.

Summary of promoting and evaluating effective teaching

Abstract Teaching, research and service have traditionally been viewed as the primary roles of institutions of higher learning. Recently colleges and universities have been reevaluating their commitment to teaching in response to new accreditation guidelines and pressure from state legislatures and other stakeholders who contribute to the budgets of higher education. Many professors and college administrators have also called for a renewed emphasis on teaching. In keeping with this renaissance of interest in teaching, the Teaching and Curriculum Section of the AAA initiated a project in the summer of 1994 to examine methods for promoting and evaluating effective teaching. This report presents an overview of the Committees work. In addition to identifying five accounting programs with “best practice” systems for promoting and evaluating teaching effectiveness, the Committees report stresses the importance of a comprehensive administrative system and the AECCs dimensions of effective teaching.

Accounting department chairs’ perceptions of the importance of communication skills

Employers state that their major concern with accounting graduates is their inadequate skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening (Kranacher, 2007, p. 80). Yet, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and some state boards of accountancy have minimized the importance of these skills on professional certification exams. This conflict creates a mixed message. The purpose of our study is to determine accounting department chairs’ perceptions of the importance of writing, speaking, listening, interpersonal, and technological communication skills for both the accounting and the business curricula and where in the curriculum these skills are taught. In our study, we surveyed 122 accounting administrators from the largest North American accountancy programs. Survey respondents report that most required communication courses are in the general business curriculum and, to a lesser extent, as a required course in the accounting major. Consistent across demographics, respondents also indicate that all communication skills are important, but writing skills followed by technological skills are the most valued for the accounting curriculum, while writing and speaking skills are most important in the business curriculum. Implications for the curriculum are discussed.

Using real-world cases to illustrate the power of analytical procedures

Abstract Accounting instructors often introduce analytical procedures (APs) to students as a series of techniques that help to reduce audit time and cost. However, they do not generally provide students with sufficient real-world cases that encourage students to use data from multiple sources, exercise judgment, and evaluate risks. This paper uses MiniScribe Corporation to illustrate how a real-world case might be incorporated into an auditing class to achieve some of the recommendations of the Accounting Education Change Commission and, at the same time, highlight the efficiency and effectiveness of APs. The case also reinforces the joint importance of qualitative and quantitative factors in detecting management fraud

Perspectives on implementing a framework for evaluating effective teaching

Abstract The recently published report of the Committee on Promoting and Evaluating Teaching Effectiveness (AAA, Teaching & Curriculum Section) recommends a comprehensive framework for evaluating effective teaching (Calderon, T., Gabbin, A., & Green, B. (1997). Framework for encouraging effective teaching. Harrisonburg, VA: Center for Research in Accounting Education, James Madison University). As part of the framework, the Committee advocates a portfolio approach to fully assess the various dimensions of effective teaching. This paper describes the experience of three accounting departments in their initial application of selected PETE Committee recommendations. Each case describes the departments motivation, how chosen recommendations are applied, information resources required, and the problems and concerns encountered. An evaluation of the lessons learned during the first year in each of these cases is also provided. The material presented in this paper should be of interest to accounting programs that wish to focus attention on the dimensions of effective teaching in assessing faculty teaching performance.

Banking Industry Financial Statement Fraud and the Effects of Regulation Enforcement and Increased Public Scrutiny

In October 1987, the chairman of the SEC released his committees Report of the National Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting, stating that regulations and standards for auditing public companies must be adequate to safeguard public trust (CFFR p. 5). Using publicly owned banks and savings & loan institutions as a backdrop, we study the effects of regulation and increased public scrutiny on financial statement fraud. Specifically, we examine how the characteristics of bank fraud have changed over the past two decades. We hypothesize that increased public scrutiny through changes in regulation on banks and savings & loans, as well as general financial statement fraud detection standards have altered fraud strategies. The study further explores key characteristics of management fraud that occur in bank and savings & loan organizations. Results indicate that bank frauds have changed over time, and are now more likely to involve withholding real information than create fictitious information. While the frequency of frauds did not significantly change over time, the magnitude of each fraud event has declined. This may imply that public regulation and scrutiny may have little effect on the frequency of fraud, but does affect fraud strategies.

Summary of promoting and evaluating effective teaching: American accounting association teaching and curriculum section

Abstract Teaching, research and service have traditionally been viewed as the primary roles of institutions of higher learning. Recently colleges and universities have been reevaluating their commitment to teaching in response to new accreditation guidelines and pressure from state legislatures and other stakeholders who contribute to the budgets of higher education. Many professors and college administrators have also called for a renewed emphasis on teaching. In keeping with this renaissance of interest in teaching, the Teaching and Curriculum Section of the AAA initiated a project in the summer of 1994 to examine methods for promoting and evaluating effective teaching. This report presents an overview of the Committees work. In addition to identifying five accounting programs with “best practice” systems for promoting and evaluating teaching effectiveness, the Committees report stresses the importance of a comprehensive administrative system and the AECCs dimensions of effective teaching.

Identifying sources of evidence used to assess faculty teaching performance

Most universities have relied on student evaluations as a source of evidence in their assessment of teaching performance. However, a complete evaluation of all dimensions of a faculty members teaching requires multiple sources of evidence. The purpose of this chapter is to identify the sources of evidence that accounting chairs report they currently use to assess teaching. Calderon and Green first examined this issue in their 1997 study. However, their results may be outdated due to changes in accreditation requirements, teaching delivery methods, and the continued evolution of assessment tools. Responding department chairs report that peer observation followed by course syllabus, exams given in class, and instructor course notes are the most frequently used evidence types, with an average of 3.16 sources beyond student evaluations. The source and quantity of evidence vary across different types of institutions. While Calderon and Green reported that most schools use ad hoc and subjective sources of evidence, respondents in this study focus more on instructor-supplied materials and direct evidence from inside the classroom.

Examining the Current Legal Environment Facing the Public Accounting Profession: Recommendations for a Consistent U.S. Policy

We examine the recent history and trends of U.S. auditor liability to third parties to help regulators and legislators develop policies to protect and maintain audit quality while limiting auditor liability exposure. Although the United States has yet developed a formal policy to address auditor liability, some European Union member countries and Australia, in varying degrees, support such limitation. Thus, we also explore current EU and Australian policies as examples of potential recommendations to U.S. policy makers. In light of a litigious environment, U.S. Certified Public Accounting firms generally accept potential clients only after analyzing potential risks, dismiss many risky clients, raise their total or hourly fees, spend more time examining attestation evidence, and perform other procedures to reduce their litigation risk. This risk arises largely from the federal and state legal systems, assuming that auditors can better absorb and control losses from misleading financial statements than can financial statement users. While culpable, this litigious environment led to the demise of two large international Certified Public Accounting firms—Arthur Andersen and Laventhol & Horwath. Is the global economy better off having fewer accounting firms with the capacity to perform international audits? A Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s recent Exposure Draft would require auditors of issuers to expand significantly their audit reports beyond current Pass/Fail standards, which could increase audit firms’ disclosures and resultant liabilities. After examining U.S. federal and state statutes plus court decisions regarding auditor liability, we suggest methods to protect the public while allowing audit firms to thrive in these environments.