Constance M. Lehmann

IS PBL AN IMPROVED DELIVERY METHOD FOR THE ACCOUNTING CURRICULUM

One purpose of this paper is to explain how problem-based learning (PBL) can be used as a teaching method in accounting courses. We introduced this method in a graduate and an undergraduate accounting information systems (AIS) course. Another purpose is to attempt to validate the learning value of PBL to determine whether it is an improved delivery method for the accounting curriculum. For this purpose, we compared the performance of students in a class with PBL on basic knowledge questions to the performance of students in a class without PBL at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Accounting education research has called for a reorientation in the delivery methods of accounting curriculum, suggesting students be given ‘‘real-world’’ examples. PBL claims to meet this educational objective, and the AICPA has advocated its use for teaching core competencies. Although PBL has existed for decades in medicine and other disciplines, educators disagree whether PBL imparts the basic knowledge essential to professional success, particularly in the sciences. Several studies in the medical field have shown that performance on basic knowledge exams did not differ significantly between students in PBL and traditional curriculum. Our validation tests found similar results. Advances in Accounting Education: Teaching and Curriculum Innovations, Volume 7, 221–251 Copyright r 2005 by Elsevier Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1085-4622/doi:10.1016/S1085-4622(05)07010-0

Teaching Business Students to Recognize a Firm in Distress: What Information Is Important to Experts?

Business failures are the result of many decisions within individual companies—Can business students be taught to recognize a firm that is in financial distress? If it can be known and understood how professionals acquire expertise in evaluating the financial health of a firm, then it follows that structuring both the college classroom experience and the corporate training environment to enhance learning will be easier. In this article, the authors investigated the amount and types of information and tests requested by professionals concerning a firm in distress compared to those requested by intermediates and novices. The authors found that the amount and kinds of information and tests requested by novices differed significantly from that requested by experts in the field. Based on the results, the authors make recommendations to help business educators better prepare business students to recognize a firm in financial distress.

The Evaluation of Application Controls in Accounting Software: A Short Instructional Case

Internal control is a central topic in auditing and accounting information systems courses and is even more important since enactment of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002. The purpose of this case is to help students identify whether appropriate controls exist by attempting to execute unauthorized or improper transactions in a popular accounting software package. Students then compose a memo to summarize and explain the results of their transactions. This case helps students (1) identify application controls, (2) think about controls that may be weak, missing, or violated by an employee, and (3) consider and document potential risk exposures to an organization.

Effects of Professional Experience and Group Interaction on Information Requested in Analyzing IT Cases.

The authors investigated the effects of professional experience and group interaction on the information that information technology professionals and graduate accounting information system (AIS) students request when analyzing business cases related to information systems design and implementation. Understanding these effects can contribute to the success of the college classroom and corporate training learning environments. The results suggest that as the amount of professional experience increases, the number of information requests that match the information requests determined by a master panel (matched answers) also increase. In addition, higher numbers of matched answers by novices were associated with being in established groups prior to completing the experimental case individually.

An Introduction to the Clinical Case Representation Paradigm for Information Systems Research

The purpose of this paper is to explain how the use of the Clinical Case Representation Paradigm (CCRP) in accounting information systems (IS) research has the potential to enrich our knowledge of expertise development in IS. The CCRP has been tested extensively in the medical literature, improving the previous novice‐expert research by introducing a stage theory of expertise development, which analyzes novice, intermediate, and expert‐level judgment and decision making. We propose the use of this paradigm in IS research and provide suggestions for its application using data collected from IS professionals and AIS students. Our results are similar to those found in other CCRP studies in that the more experienced professionals had more concise problem representations, included more inferences (i.e., indicating encapsulated knowledge), and matched the canonical representation and solution more closely. Interestingly, evidence of solution quality was found at the intermediate level. We indicate the limitatio...