Business curriculums in many universities now include a senior Capstone course that integrates topics or materials from all business areas. This capstone course is designed to teach the skills of strategic thinking and analysis rather than mere facts or concepts. With that goal in mind, the ideal course is structured in such a way so that students…

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) revolutionized the accounting and audit industry. The use of preventative and process controls to evaluate the continuous audit process done via an SAP ERP ECC 6.0 system is key to compliance with SOX and managing costs. This paper can be used in a variety of ways to discuss issues associated with auditing and testing…

For more than a decade, researchers in accounting and business education have focused on the concept of mindfulness as a source of ideas that contribute to transforming the classroom experience and the quality of student learning. This research is founded on the work of social scientists studying the general application of mindfulness to teaching…

Theodore Roosevelt said, "To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society." With this quote in mind, this paper describes three ethical issues in the discipline area of accounting. The format of the paper is to first provide background information on the ethical question or scenario then to provide a…

This paper argues for a new approach to accounting textbook budgeting material. The business environment is not stable. Change is continuous, for large and small business alike. A business must act and react to generate shareholder value. The rolling forecast provides the necessary navigational insight. The traditional annual static budget does…

Business students take courses in Financial Accounting where they learn the basic financial statements and how to present and analyze them. Accounting majors immediately experience a frustrating situation as they continue their studies with the Intermediate Accounting I course. Practicing accountants realize when they attend continuing education…

We examine the effect of different contexts in an educational process on measures of ethical sensitivity and levels of moral reasoning of accounting majors in the first Intermediate Accounting course. The educational process compared a context that centers on ethical issues with one that focuses on technical accounting issues. At the end of the…

It is expected the SEC will require U.S. domestic companies to prepare and file their annual 10Ks in accordance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS) by 2016. Given the probability that the FASB-IASB convergence project (i.e., Norwalk Agreement) will continue subsequent to mandatory adoption, US accounting programs will be…

Trade or business expenses are deductible if they are ordinary and necessary with respect to the trade or business in which they were incurred. Treasury Regulations bring education expenses into this purview but only if they maintain or improve skills already acquired or allow a taxpayer to maintain his current position. Related travel expenses in…

This paper informs business instructors and educators about XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) so that they can introduce it to their students and expand their students' understanding of how it relates to the accounting profession. Even though the financial community has entered a new age with this standardized reporting language, many…

Accounting programs at colleges and universities across the country are offering more online courses, and in some cases entire degree programs. Given increasing enrollments in online accounting education, it is important that accounting educators become aware of the things that work and the things that don't work when delivering courses over the…

Each year accounting graduates are recruited by the accounting firms that hope the new crop of employees will be technically prepared to serve the clients of the firm. They are looking for these recruits to have a mastery of the principles and concepts of the accounting courses they have taken. Proof of mastery is the student's ability to apply…

By convention U.S. bond markets announce the actual price of a bond as the sum the quoted price plus accrued interest. The economic meaning of accrued interest and its role in this price announcing convention is generally misunderstood by accounting textbook authors who mistakenly provide accrued interest with both an economic and administrative…

The accounting curriculum (in fact business colleges in general) often is accused of operating in silos. As a result, it is claimed that students fail to see the connections among the assignments in their separate course work and the necessity to have an integrated understanding to function effectively in the real-world. As a response to the…

Professors who teach the introductory accounting course should ask themselves: "What are the core concepts that I wish to have my non-majors remember if I meet them at their ten-year alumni class reunion?" There is a fundamental logic to financial accounting. This teaching note presents foundational accounting concepts in a manner that…