Monte Wynder

A Whole-of-program Approach to the Development of Generic and Professional Skills in a University Accounting Program

This paper describes a strategy for conducting a whole-of-program review of the teaching of generic skills in a university Accounting program. Importantly, the strategy also builds the longer-term capacity of accounting staff to maintain the relevance and coherence of their program. In a systematic process, Accounting staff first map the courses they teach, ensuring alignment between generic skills and objectives, and objectives and teaching and assessment activities. On the basis of the individual course maps, an Accounting program map is then developed. The information contained in the program map is subsequently analysed to provide data about the depth to which generic skills are being taught. This analysis underpins a review of the teaching of generic skills by all academic staff teaching on the Accounting program and, as discussed, can lead to changes in objectives, teaching activities and teaching methods. The strategy thus builds in academic staff an awareness of and the capacity to apply effective course design principles while at the same time improving generic skill learning outcomes for students.

Employee Participation in Continuous Improvement Programs: The Interaction Effects of Accounting Information and Control

The design of management accounting control systems (MACS) is an important factor affecting the extent and success of employee involvement in continuous improvement (CI) programs. The results of an experiment reported here indicate that the combination of Activity-Based Cost (ABC) information and an emphasis on idea generation are both important in determining the number of recommendations received. Cost information is important in determining the overhead reduction associated with those recommendations. Furthermore, results-based control leads to less overhead reduction when Volume-Based Cost information (VBC) is provided, but greater average overhead reduction per recommendation when ABC information is provided.

The Interaction Between Domain-Relevant Knowledge and Control System Design on Creativity

I examine the effect of control system design, under conditions of high and low domain-relevant knowledge, on creativity. The results indicate that process-based control impedes creativity when domain-relevant knowledge is high, but may increase creativity when domain-relevant knowledge is low. Employees can be an important source of improvement opportunities within organisations. The results highlight that special care should be taken, however, to establish appropriate controls based on the level of domain-relevant knowledge that they possess.

Ethical values in the evaluation of corporate social performance

Purpose - – This paper aims to explore two factors that may moderate the relation between an individual’s ethical values and their evaluation of competing ethical and financial outcomes. It is argued that distance (i.e. low proximity) attenuates moral intensity, thereby inhibiting ethical decision-making (EDM). In contrast, it is argued that presenting outcomes in a separate social and environmental perspective in the balanced scorecard (BSC) increases EDM. Design/methodology/approach - – In an experiment, participants evaluated social outcomes presented in a BSC. Proximity and scorecard format were manipulated in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Findings - – The results indicate that physical and social proximity increase the extent to which performance evaluation is influenced by the ethical values of the evaluator. Contrary to expectations, BSC format did not influence the EDM of the evaluator. Research limitations/implications - – Participants were undergraduate students which may limit the generalisability of the results. Further research should be conducted with practicing managers. The study focused on a particular ethical issue, hiring and training from the local community. Further research is necessary to consider the effect of personal ethical values on other aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Practical implications - – This study indicates that ethical values will be less salient when the outcomes relate to distant locations. There are important implications for multinational corporations seeking to avoid the liability of foreignness in their distant operations. Originality/value - – Previous CSR research has focused on the institutional level. The focus of the authors on the individual’s decision-making process increases our understanding of the biases that can affect EDM.

Visualising accounting concepts: insights from Cognitive Load Theory for English as a Second Language students

ABSTRACT Visualisations, in the form of Multimedia Digital Learning Objects (MDLOs), offer accounting educators potential efficiency in the creation of effective learning materials. Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) can guide instructional design by providing a theoretical framework to help the educator understand the mental processes involved in learning. Recognising the linguistic and cultural differences of international students for whom English is a Second Language (ESL) helps sensitise the educator to the additional cognitive demands that these students face. Visualisations offer a powerful way to increase the efficiency for ESL students’ learning. This paper describes CLT and uses it as a theoretical model to ex-post evaluate the initial introduction of MDLOs, and then to inform and evaluate the modification of those MDLOs. This paper responds to Mostyn’s (2012) call [Cognitive load theory: What it is, why its important for accounting instruction and research. Issues in Accounting Education, 27(1), 227–245] for accounting educators to recognise the insights of CLT.

Will Rhetoric ever Become Reality? A Rejoinder to Larrinaga and Schaltegger

Let me start by thanking Professor Schaltegger (2013) and Professor Larrinaga (2013) for their insightful Commentaries. As both commentators note, the research reported in Wynder, Wellner and Reinhold (2013) prompts more questions than it answers, but it touches on some interesting issues. An in-depth discussion of these core issues was beyond the scope of our initial paper. Addressing them is critical, however, to advancing the debate, guiding further research, and increasing our understanding of the role and impact of accounting education in promoting sustainability within organisations. One of these fundamental issues is whether social and environmental performance can, or even should, be justified on economic grounds. This has significant implications for how sustainability is integrated into the accounting curriculum. As noted by Professor Schaltegger (2013), it has been argued that incorporating sustainability into the profit-centric paradigm runs the risk of perverting the social and environmental objectives. In particular, an important question for further research is whether an economic rationale undermines the moral imperative for social and environmental performance. In situations where social and environmental performance can’t be economically justified, will moral arguments be crowded out? Furthermore, an economic rationale alone may be insufficient to justify an appropriate level of investment in social and environmental performance. Perhaps the answer is that moral and economic rationales should not be seen, or taught, as alternatives. Rather, that they are both important, and may be compatible objectives. Such an approach recognises the economic necessity of fiduciary responsibility to shareholders without placing that duty above the moral responsibility to other stakeholders. It may also be a more pragmatic and effective way to bring about change than philosophical arguments alone. Gibson (2012) provides an interesting discussion of the problems of relying solely on aesthetic or personal values to drive environmental performance. Rather than debate the fundamental differences on this question, however, it is sufficient here to note a number of premises and conclusions that underlie our position.