Themin Suwardy

Integrating a virtual learning environment into an introductory accounting course: determinants of student motivation

Technological change is altering the way educators deliver subject content. The phenomenal growth and widespread acceptance of the Internet has seen the creation of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in higher education. For the ease of integration of VLEs in higher education, software companies have provided products such as WebCT and Blackboard. From a pedagogical perspective, new technologies must be evaluated in an effort to establish whether their introduction has had a beneficial impact on learning outcomes. To this end, this investigation examines the attitudes of undergraduate accounting students in relation to a number of design features and attributes of WebCT (e.g. bulletin boards, on-line assessment and chat room) as a VLE. Responses from 292 on-campus undergraduate students provided data which associates four factors with improved student motivation. This study found that student satisfaction with the use of a VLE is significantly associated with the provision of: lecture notes, bulletin board, on-line assessment and other tools (chat and video summaries). The diagrammatic representation of the variables identified in this study provides a useful reference point for those educators contemplating the implementation of a VLE.

IT projects: evaluation, outcomes and impediments

Aims to identify the motivational factors for investing in information technology (IT), the impediments to IT investments and the outcomes of the planning and implementation of IT projects by chartered accountants in Australia. The results indicate that firms are motivated to invest in IT primarily for five reasons. IT investments face a number of challenges, the most prominent being the need to keep up with technology, which is likely to worsen as the technology cycles continue to shorten. Identifies resource procurement, lack of appropriate development tools, lack of proper planning or project management and user resistance to change as the four main problems encountered in implementation of IT projects. Many IT projects were undertaken for the purpose of improving efficiency within the organisation and reducing costs, rather than more strategic usage such as providing a flexible IT infrastructure or aligning IT with corporate strategy. The results suggest that firms have largely only utilised IT in their internal operations, rather than for strategic reasons.

Accounting students' perceptions of a Learning Management System: an international comparison

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate student perceptions of the design features included in an off the shelf Learning Management System (LMS) in teaching undergraduate accounting students. Design/methodology/approach - Questionnaire responses from 846 accounting students studying in the UK, Australia and New Zealand provide international data to develop a model to explain student perception of the LMS. Findings - The final model shows student satisfaction with the use of a LMS is positively associated with three variables: usefulness of lecture notes, bulletin boards and discussion forums, and other LMS tools. Further, the comparison of cultural differences of the three countries shows all students treat the provision of notes as a desirable attribute on a LMS. Findings also suggest that although students find the provision of materials over the LMS does not enhance student engagement in class, overall a comparison of the three countries shows all students treat the provision of notes as a desirable attribute of a LMS. Research limitations/implications - Future research should collect ethnicity data to enable an analysis of cultural influence on student perceptions of the LMS. Practical implications - As increased motivation to learn is found to contribute to improved achievement of learning outcomes, the studys findings have implications for faculty contemplating the adoption of a LMS in their courses. The findings specifically confirm that usefulness of lecture notes, use of bulletin/discussion boards, and other LMS tools are positively endorsed by students and hence increase their motivation to learn. Originality/value - The current paper adds to the literature as the motivation to use and engage with LMSs by accounting students is not well understood.

Continuing Professional Development in the Accounting Profession: Practices and Perceptions from the Asia Pacific Region

Abstract Drawing on research in the sociology of professions as a reference point, this study examines the practices and perceptions of professional accountants towards the requirements of IES7 on continuing professional development (CPD). Responses from 1310 accountants in the Asia Pacific region suggest while increasing globalisation has led to more unified standards of professionalism, the perceptions of these standards are not uniform across the region. While there is some consensus that the ongoing development of accounting as part of globalisation, significant differences were identified in perceptions towards CPD offerings between professional accountants in developed economies, compared with emerging economies. Differences in perceptions of CPD offerings were most prevalent in relation to satisfaction with requirements, experience, quality and the appropriateness of the level of CPD. The findings suggest that global uniform CPD offerings fail to meet the aspirations of accountants in emerging economies, highlighting the need for increasingly diverse forms of CPD activities.

Thoughts from the IAAER’s 12th World Congress of Accounting Educators and Researchers

This dedicated issue of Accounting Education contains papers that were accepted at the 12th World Congress of Accounting Educators and Researchers (hereafter the ‘12th World Congress’) of the International Association for Accounting Education and Research (IAAER), held in Florence, Italy, November 2014. Accounting Education is an official journal of the IAAER, and we are honoured to serve as guest editors to this special issue. The World Congress has a long history and is currently held every four years in conjunction with IFAC’s (International Federation of Accountants) similarly titled World Congress of Accountants. The last two IAAER World Congresses were held in Singapore (2010) and Istanbul (2006). The 12th World Congress saw a total of 83 papers in concurrent parallel sessions and 55 interactive forum or poster presentations. Table 1 below sets out the number of education papers in the last three World Congresses and the total number of authors and countries. As a proportion, accounting education-related papers represented 22% of the papers at the 12th World Congress. This compares favourably with the proportion in Singapore (16%), but is a little below the proportion in Istanbul (24%). In terms of geographical affiliation, authors from Australian universities dominated accounting education authorship at the 12th World Congress, representing more than 20% of the total authorship of 71 accounting education authors. This dominance of academics from Australia is not new, and is, in fact, a lower proportion than at the two previous World Congresses. Table 2 provides the author and countries breakdown of educationrelated paper in the last three World Congresses. The data also indicated the breadth of the geographical spread of authorship, with 21 countries represented over the three events. Clearly, the geographic affiliation of authors varies, and this may be in part due to the location of the congress. Overall, Singapore attracted fewer papers (both in accounting education papers and in total) than the conferences held in Istanbul and Florence, and there the proportion of Australian authors (50%) was understandably high. It is, however, notable that the proportion of USA-based authors dwindled from 16% in 2006 to 6% in 2014, and over the same period the proportion of Brazilian and South African affiliated accounting education authors have increased substantially, from 7% and 5% respectively to 15% and 14%. At the same time, representatives from Malaysia and Spain have dropped significantly, and a greater number of authors are represented from countries with a less ingrained tradition of teaching and publishing in English, especially Italy and France, though clearly this is likely to be in part due to a location effect. Of the 30 accounting education-related papers presented at the 12th World Congress, 16 were submitted for consideration for publication in this special issue. Of these, seven papers have successfully passed through the normal journal double blind review process, and are included in this special issue. The seven papers presented here involve 17 authors from seven countries: four from South Africa, three from each of the UK and Portugal, two from each of Italy, Russia and France, and one from Canada.