Charles P. Baril

Critical thinking in the public accounting profession: aptitudes and attitudes

Abstract The public accounting profession has called for enhanced critical thinking skills in accounting graduates. However, critical thinking is a term which does not enjoy a universally-accepted definition. This study attempts to identify the critical thinking competencies essential to success in public accounting, and articulates those competencies to facilitate future research aimed at curricular change to meet the needs of the profession. The findings reveal that the profession uses the term critical thinking to refer to a broad set of competencies which includes both cognitive and non-cognitive attributes, attitudes, and behaviors. These competencies are presented as an operational definition of critical thinking useful to accounting education researchers.

Scholarly accomplishments in promotion and tenure decisions of accounting faculty

Abstract Deans and accounting department heads are surveyed to measure the relative importance assigned to various scholarly accomplishments in promotion and tenure decisions of accounting faculty at AACSB-accredited institutions. We also investigate whether these importance ratings vary across colleges of business and their departments of accounting in accordance with their educational missions, as determined by an institutions classification under the Carnegie Foundation system. The results demonstrate that accomplishments involving publication, external recognition, and funding count most in tenure and promotion decisions. Academic publications and awards are rated the highest at all institutional types. And, of the 39 scholarly accomplishments examined, fewer than half were assigned an average importance of four or higher on a 7-point scale. Further, the importance assigned to certain scholarly accomplishments by deans and accounting heads varies with the educational missions of their institutions. At doctoral-granting, high research support institutions, deans and heads employ a different definition of scholarship than do their colleagues at Comprehensive institutions. Academic publication activities and external recognition tend to dominate tenure and promotion decisions at doctoral-granting, high research support institutions. Comprehensive deans and heads place significantly more importance on scholarly accomplishments associated with practitioner publications, pedagogical publications, national and regional academic meetings, and instruction.

The New SEC Rules for Money Market Funds: Financial Reporting and Tax Consequences

In this article, the authors explain the new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules for money market mutual funds (MMFs), which are designed to improve their transparency and provide investor protection during periods of market stress. With their effective date just over one year away, it is clear that corporate accountants and financial executives need to understand the financial reporting and tax implications so that any changes needed to accounting and tax systems can be implemented in a timely manner.