Accounting professionals have consistently called for educators to develop curriculum designed to encourage students to develop intellectual skills. The purpose of this action research study was to develop and implement an instructional method that requires intermediate financial accounting (IFA) students to consistently practice higher order thinking. Students completed a semester-long authentic comprehensive project (CP) that required them to consistently practice critical and reflective thinking (Facione, 1990; Mezirow, 1991). Findings led to the resolution of implementation issues associated with using a CP. Most implementation issues originated from students' inability to apply learning obtained from working structured problems to unstructured accounting work. Short reflection papers (RPs) replaced periodic objective tests to encourage deep and meaningful learning. Students' responses to question prompts gave evidence of one of Mezirow's (1991) four stages of professional reflection. The depth of reflection trended with students' understanding of when and how accountants use judgment. Students who consistently practiced higher order thinking also learned to adequately perform routine accounting procedures. This study resulted in an instructional method that requires accounting students to practice using the intellectual skills necessary for success in the accounting profession without sacrificing procedural knowledge. The findings will benefit other instructors working to develop learning materials that require students to practice higher order thinking as they complete authentic professional work. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]