Susan P. Ravenscroft

Cooperative learning : a literature guide

Many accounting academics have expressed interest in the possibility of including cooperative learning in their courses. The purpose of this guide is to introduce interested readers to cooperative learning literature. This guide is intended to provide an introduction for accounting educators interested in applying and/or researching cooperative learning techniques. We start this guide by providing a definition of cooperative learning. We then review the underlying theories supporting the use of cooperative learning. An annotated bibliography of some of the major articles dealing with cooperative learning are presented in the final section.

Considering accounting education in the USA post-Enron

This paper is based on an address delivered by the lead author as Distinguished Visiting Speaker at the Annual Conference of the Special Interest Group in Accounting Education of the British Accounting Association in Bournemouth England held in May, 2003. The recent financial scandals, epitomized by Enron, raise the question of whether and how accounting educators should respond. It is proposed that accounting educators consider certain changes in the accounting curriculum. Specifically, five areas are identified that need serious rethinking about how they are taught to accounting students. These areas are: (1) corporations – their roles and responsibilities; (2) the status of investors; (3) auditing as a professional franchise; (4) purpose of accounting reports; and, (5) ethics. Currently, the accounting curriculum teaches these areas more as received wisdom or dogma than as problematic issues for accountants. A more critical examination of these areas is proposed so that students are educated, rather than indoctrinated.

Rules, rogues, and risk assessors: Academic responses to Enron and other accounting scandals

Abstract The recent accounting scandals in the USA and the resulting regulation of the US profession via the Sarbanes–Oxley Act have led to the resurrection of an old debate: principles vs. rules. We argue that such a debate is jejune and serves as little more than a diversion from discussing more substantive issues raised by events like Enron and Andersen. Accounting is not confronted by a choice of principles to the exclusion of rules or vice versa. Principles underlie any set of rules, and any implementation of principles will inevitably involve adopting some rules. We take issue with various analyses of the accounting scandals that rely too exclusively on the principles of neo-classical economics. We conclude by identifying four major obstacles impeding meaningful academic and educational treatment of the maladies of which Enron is merely a symptom.

The importance of being ‘wordy’: willingness to write and publication productivity among accounting academics

Recent attention to institutional variables that underlie the publication productivity levels of academic accountants threatens to obscure the fact that research is conducted by individuals who bring differing levels of ability, motivation and interest to scholarship. This study introduces willingness to write as a new correlate of productivity. Using the population of PhDs in accounting from US universities with conferred degrees between 1986 and 1996 as a sample, the results show that willingness to write is significant in the explanation of publication productivity when this is measured in a variety of ways. In turn, willingness to write is explained by institutional status. However, the direction of these relationships needs to differentiate the type of publishing that the individual undertakes.

Social and Economic Implications of Increasing Income Inequality: Accountability Concerns

Any discussion of CSR extends beyond the concept of accounting for productive capacity and operations to the broader notion of accountability. That notion includes looking at how social resources are allocated. Accountants should assume greater responsibility to help the public understand the implications of corporate behavior, especially in relation to a major social pattern, income inequality, which has created significant social problems. We look at how income distribution patterns have changed since the Great Depression and the reasons for those changes, one of which is a shift in government policies towards neoliberalism. We then suggest information that we believe should be required in corporate reports in order to help the public understand whether and how corporate behavior contributes to increased income inequality.