Using an “Electronic Text” to Keep Accounting Courses on the Cutting Edge

The Challenge

As professors who educate tomorrow’s business leaders, we have an important responsibility to teach our students the most current information possible. For instance, in the recent past, both national and international accounting regulators have issued significant new rules that dramatically change accounting requirements.

Following the Enron scandal in the US, government regulators have also jumped into the standard-setting fray. Keeping courses up-to-date in such a fluid environment is not an easy process. This process has been complicated by two external factors:

1. most accounting textbooks have a triennial revision cycle
2. as Albrecht and Sack (2000, 53) have noted, textbooks tend to serve as course drivers

The Suggested Solution

One solution to this problem is a course for which the primary “text” consists of current, reliable information compiled and posted to a university’s electronic reserves system. (To avoid copyright violations, a small custom published text might need to supplement the primary text.)

A course based primarily on electronic information contrasts with the model many professors (including ourselves) traditionally use: placing on reserve course materials that supplement a fairly large primary text.

The idea of using an electronic medium as the primary text arose from discussions with several of our students. They indicated that the course materials we placed on electronic reserve were the most useful for their studies because they were so timely. Further, they told us that they preferred to use resources accessible at any time from their computers.

Guidelines for Implementation

Several factors must be considered to transition successfully to primary course materials based on electronic reserves.

• First, it is important to understand the permissible uses of copyrighted materials. For instance, copyright acts frequently require faculty to obtain permission from the copyright-holder to use copyrighted materials. In contrast, materials in the public domain (e.g., those for which the copyright has expired) may generally be used without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. Therefore, copyright acts impact both the time required for, and the cost of, compiling text materials. Copyright clearinghouses are available to help faculty get permission to use copyrighted materials in their electronic texts (e.g., Canada’s Post-Secondary Electronic Course Content Service, PECCS).
• The next essential step is to select the most appropriate material for the course. This may include both copyright-protected material and information in the public domain. In selecting materials, it is important to consider the question posed by Albrecht and Sack (2000, 630), “Is what we are teaching and the level at which we are covering topics really important in the business world today…?” Answering this question requires a review of the literature, consultation with faculty at other institutions, and heeding the advice of professional organizations (e.g., AICPA 1999, 2000; IMA 1999; Robert Half International, Inc. 2001).
• All material to be included in the electronic text should be acceptable in terms of timeliness, appropriateness for the audience, and reliability. Finding timely materials is of obvious concern, as that is the overriding reason for using the electronic text. Comprehensibility to students is also critically important. Smith and DeRidder (1997) find that comprehensibility to students is the most important factor accounting faculty consider when selecting texts. Finally, the reliability of materials, particularly those selected from the Internet, is a source of concern.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• A clear advantage of using an electronic text instead of a traditional one is timeliness. Since the contents of the text are fluid, materials can be added or deleted as necessary. The text thus truly reflects the latest authoritative guidance.
• New materials can also be added if student feedback suggests that they need additional guidance in a particular area.
• Students can easily access their text materials from multiple locations without carrying heavy textbooks.
• Students also appreciate the lower cost associated with using an electronic text as opposed to a traditional one.

Cons

• The biggest disadvantage associated with using an electronic text is the time required to assemble the materials. Finding sources to include is often a very time-consuming project.
• A text that truly reflects the latest advances in accounting theory and regulation can never really be “completed”. There is a constant search for new and better materials to supplement or replace previously selected materials. Bear in mind, however, that keeping any course on the cutting edge requires a time commitment similar to that required for keeping up with advances in the profession.

Conclusion

We have suggested the use of an electronic text as a means of keeping accounting courses on the cutting edge. We believe that this approach offers accounting faculty a novel and cost-effective means of assuring that their courses reflect the latest advances in the field.

References

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). 1999. Focus on the Horizon, the CPA Profession in 2011. (New York: AICPA).

2000. Vision-Aligned Academic Framework. Available at: http://www.aicpa.org/edu/corecomp.htm.

Albrecht, W. S. and R. J. Sack. 2000. Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future.” A joint project of: AAA, AICPA, IMA, Arthur Andersen, Deloitte and Touche, Ernst and Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers. In Accounting Education Series, Vol. 16. (Sarasota, FL: AAA).

IMA. 1999. Counting More, Counting Less: Transformations in the Management Accounting Profession. (Montvale, NJ: IMA).

Robert Half International Inc. 2001. Next Generation Accountant: New Competencies, Converging Disciplines, Expanding Roles. (Menlo Park, CA: Robert Half International Inc.)

Smith, K. J. and J. J. DeRidder. 1997. The selection process for accounting textbooks: general criteria and publisher incentives—a survey. Issues in Accounting Education 12 (Fall): 367-384.

Dawn Massey and Joan Van Hise
Fairfield University