Nancy A. Bagranoff

Adopting commercial software in the accounting classroom: A focus on learning

Abstract Concerns about the current state of accounting education are well documented. A common anxiety is that students are not prepared to deal with the complex issues and unstructured problems that they will encounter throughout their professional lives. Recent studies conclude that an educational objective for accounting is to teach students how to learn. This paper discusses adopting commercial-use software as an approach to accomplish this objective. The paper also provides an example for an accounting information systems class. Because “learning to learn” involves teaching students learning strategies, accounting educators need to find new ways to help students acquire these strategies. This paper will be useful for instructors seeking ways to assist students in developing strategies for learning that will better prepare them for careers in a complex and dynamic environment.

PMB Investments: An Enterprise System Implementation

This case describes the implementation of an enterprise information system at the printed materials division of a multinational investment company. There are several issues in the implementation that are worthy of class discussion. These issues include enterprise system implementation rationale and investment justification, software and consultant selection, business process reengineering, change and project management, and evaluation of enterprise system success.

Growing a Nontraditional Accounting Firm: Warren and Associates

This case presents the history of a small CPA firm that is a value‐added reseller (VAR) providing IT consulting services to mid‐sized and small business clients. Since this firm does not provide audit, compilation and review, or tax services, it provides a view of a CPA firm that is different from the traditional audit and tax organization. The main question posed is determining the best growth strategy for this CPA firm. To answer this question, you must research and evaluate consulting opportunities related to Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act, as well as several of the recently developed AICPA services such as WebTrust, SysTrust™, and ElderCare. The research that you do will provide a deeper understanding of the role of accountants as consultants. The case affords an excellent opportunity to stimulate class discussion or presentations about the nature of CPA services beyond audit and tax services.