Offering a Menu of Software and Case Study Options for the Group Project for Students Enrolled in...

Offering a ‘Menu’ of Software and Case Offering a ‘Menu’ of Software and Case Study Options for the Group Project for Study Options for the Group Project for

Students Enrolled in the Introductory AIS Students Enrolled in the Introductory AIS Course: Course:

An Experimental Application StudyAn Experimental Application Study

Dr. Ronald F. Premuroso(co-author: Tara Kirkham-Undergraduate

Accounting Student at the UM)Accounting and Finance Department

School of Business AdministrationThe University of Montana

American Accounting Association Annual MeetingAugust 6, 2012

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Credits and Thank YouCredits and Thank You Research Committee of the SOBA -- 2011

Summer Grant Funding SoBA: Survey Monkey web site Tara Kirkham, Undergraduate Accounting Major-

my co-author, survey developer SOBA Advising Department for data gathering of

student info from Banner SOBA IT Support (software in GBB 213) Margarita Dorzhiyeva (Macct GA) for preparation

of the Tables in the paper 3 Reviewers from AIS Educators Association and

Annual Conference Participants (May/June 2012) University of Montana SoBA Workshop

Participants (December 2011)

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Motivations for the Motivations for the PaperPaper

Results of Student Feedback and Surveys: 2008-09 and 2009-10 School Years taking the AIS class (offered 1 case study for all students to perform: Tasteless Tea* and COSO**)

Attendance at AIS Educator Annual Meetings (each June) Informal surveys of other AIS educators Review of software at textbook publisher websites (AIS) and

others Review of relevant case studies in prominent accounting

education journals (both ACT/MIS case studies) Talked with reps of both large (Big 4) and local CPA firms Past research (Briscoe et al. 1996) shows AIS accounting

instructors/courses generally receive lower ratings than instructors of traditional types (financial; cost) of ACT courses; (same for Auditing course)-re: judgment nature of the class.

A well-structured AIS course, including a choice of case studies, may help improve instructor AIS course ratings

*published in Issues in Accounting Education 2011. **published in International Journal of Accounting and Information Management 2012

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Main Topical Coverage in Main Topical Coverage in the Introductory AIS the Introductory AIS

ClassClass Internal Controls:---COSO; COBIT; SOX; ERM; Separation

of Duties; P/D/C Controls; IT Controls Transaction Processing Cycles:---Revenues, Expenses, HRM/Payroll,

Production, leading to General Ledger and Financial Reporting

System Documentation Techniques: Flowcharting; ID Internal Control Strengths and Weaknesses

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AICPAs Core Competency AICPAs Core Competency FrameworkFramework

Functional competencies (technical competencies, including research and technology);

Personal competencies (problem solving; decision making; working and interacting with others in teams); and

Broad business perspective competencies (strategic/critical thinking; industry/sector perspective; marketing/client focus).

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Profiles of UM Profiles of UM Undergraduate Undergraduate

Accounting MajorsAccounting Majors∽25% work for large (Big 4/Regional) CPA firm;

∽25% work for locally-based CPA firms;∽25% work in private industry;∽25% work in areas other than these.

Therefore, there is no ideal ‘one-size fits all’ type of project available in the AIS class helpful in developing the specific skills required of UM accounting majors when taking the introductory AIS course, considering the different skills required for each of the above types of future jobs.

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The ‘Menu’ Project Choice The ‘Menu’ Project Choice Experiment for the Introductory AIS Experiment for the Introductory AIS

Course: 2010-2011 School YearCourse: 2010-2011 School Year Software Choices: ---QuickBooks with an Internal Controls component-non-Big 4

Majors (Pearson Education); or ---MSD Dynamics with an Internal Controls Component-non-Big

4 Majors (Pearson Education).

Case Study Choices*: ---COSO Financial Statement Risk Assessment** (ERM

Applications to publicly-listed firms/various industries)-Big 4; or

---XBRL Case Study (Issues in Accounting Education)-experiential application to analysis of Pepsi/Coca Cola XBRL filings; or

---IT General Controls Case Study (Issues in Accounting Education)-experiential application to a firm. IT Advisory.

*changed in 2011-2012 school year to include UM Internal Audit projects (Golf course; Griz card; athletic dept. books), and deleted XBRL (out-of-date already).

**published in International Journal of Accounting and Information Management, January 2012. Winner of Best Paper Award at 2010 AIS Educators Conference. Concept taken from KPMG Faculty website.

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‘‘Menu’ Choice Setup, Menu’ Choice Setup, Schedule, and Schedule, and RequirementsRequirementsMaximum of 5 students per group: self-

selection.Software (QB and MSD) installed on desktops

in GBB 213 with help of SOBA helpdesk----note: changed to 3 students for SW project

choices in 2011-2012 school yearSoftware: group assignments starting Week 5-

Week 15; individual assignment due Week 15; no group presentation. Assignments varied per group

Case Studies: work on case study throughout the semester; formal presentation week before finals using PowerPoint to KPMG-Audit (Billings); each group member required to present (30-45 minutes per group).

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Instructor Instructor Organization/Administration of the Organization/Administration of the

Group ProjectsGroup Projects Use of the University LMS to administer the ‘Menu’ choices

(Group Pages; Assignment Drop boxes; paperless grading) Establish an outline (schedule) of requirements and

deadlines for students-both for the group and individual SW assignments-with different groups assigned different problems-all in the LMS

For individual SW assignments, develop different assignments to reduce chances of copying – and no two members of one group perform the same individual assignment-all in the LMS

Grading schedules and feedback to students and groups for submitted requirements using Excel and LMS (paperless)

GA assistance for grading (especially the SW assignments) Required Group Member end of Project Member Feedback

(rating) form (to avoid slouching)-instructor reflects in final grades

Instructor grades the Group Case Study requirements and presentations using a rubric; student post final deliverables, including PowerPoint presentation, on their Group page in the LMS

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Student Survey Results (using Student Survey Results (using Survey Monkey)-Beginning of the Survey Monkey)-Beginning of the

SemesterSemesterFirst survey: Week 4, student project choice

basically decided (some late exceptions)School Year 2010-11: n = 113 taking AIS

class63 (54%) female; 86 (75%) have self-

reported GPA of at least 3.0; majority were ACTG majors; 50% plan to work for some type of CPA firm upon graduation; 89 (78%) plan to sit for the CPA exam; 84 (74%) chose one of the SW Projects; remainder (29: 26%) chose one of the case studies.

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Student Survey ResultsStudent Survey ResultsBOS-SW ChoicesBOS-SW Choices

n =84 students choosing a SW project choice (57: QB; 27: MSD):

--60 expected to use the SW during their future careers; and

--10 believed it was important for resume purposes.

And in another survey question, 73 (87%) believed their SW choice would benefit them professionally in the future.

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Student Survey Results: Student Survey Results: BOS-Case Study ChoicesBOS-Case Study Choices

n = 28 students (17=COSO):--16 believe their case study choice

better suited their career goals at this time; and

--9 expected to work with colleagues on projects like this in the future.

• And in another survey question, 23 believed their choice would benefit them professionally in the future.

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Student Survey Results: Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study Choices-EOS-Case Study Choices-

QuickBooksQuickBooks

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Part A: How Would You Rate Your Overall Experience on the Group Project Using QuickBooks? No. of

Students %

Positive 46 85.2%

Negative 0 0.0%

Neutral 8 14.8%

Total number of respondents 54 100.0%

Part B: Do You Feel That This Project Helped You Understand the Relevance and Importance of the

Concepts Covered in the AIS Course This Semester? No. of Students %

I agree 33 63.0%

I somewhat agree 14 22.6%

I am not sure 3 3.6%

I somewhat disagree 3 6.6%

I disagree 1 4.2%



QuickBooksQuickBooksPart C: Which Response Best Summarizes Your Personal “Take-away” From Your Group Project This Semester?

No. of Students %Gained a solid understanding of QuickBooks 33 61.1%Applied accounting/AIS concepts using real

accounting software 8 14.8%Learned how to keep track of business

transactions, etc. 6 11.1%Learned how to work in groups 5 9.3%

Learned how to prioritize and better manage my time 2 3.7%


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Part D: Approximately How Many Hours Did You Spend on the Group Project This Semester?

No. of Students %

25-29 hours 26 48.1%

30-35 hours 9 16.7%

35-40 hours 10 18.5%

>40 hours 9 16.7%



QuickBooksQuickBooksPart E: Do You Wish You Had Chosen For Your

Group Project Another Project Besides the QuickBooks Software Group Project? If So,

Which Project? No. of Students %

COSO Risk Assessment Group Project 5 8.9%

XBRL Group Project 2 5.4%

ITGC Group Project 0 0.0%

Microsoft Dynamics Software Group Project 9 16.7%

I am satisfied with my choice of QuickBooks 38 69.0%


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Part F: Comments and Suggestions Provided by Students to an Open-Ended Question Regarding

the QuickBooks Software Group Project

No. of Students

Limit the groups to 2-3 people 10

Too time consuming 5Thank you for the opportunity to learn

QuickBooks 10

Thank you for giving us the choice between different projects 15

Lab computers and software issues 7

Total number of respondents 47

Student Survey Results: Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study Choices-Microsoft EOS-Case Study Choices-Microsoft

DynamicsDynamicsResults are similar to the QuickBooks

results: MSD n = 22 students.--75% positive about using MSD--77% agreed experience supplemented

the AIS course materials coverage--13 students wished they had done QB--Similar number of hours spent on QB

project; suggestions for improvements similar to QB

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Student Survey Results: Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study ChoicesEOS-Case Study Choices

COSO FS Risk Assessment Project COSO FS Risk Assessment Project (n=17)(n=17)

Part A: How Would You Rate Your Overall Experience on the COSO Financial Statement Risk

Assessment Group Project? No. of Students %

Positive 11 78.6%

Negative 3 10.7%

Neutral 3 10.7%


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Part B: Do You Feel That This Project Helped You Understand the Relevance and Importance of the Concepts Covered in the AIS

Course This Semester? No. of Students %

I agree 9 71.4%

I somewhat agree 7 25.0%

I am not sure 0 0.0%

I somewhat disagree 0 0.0%

I disagree 1 3.6%



COSO FS Risk Assessment ProjectCOSO FS Risk Assessment ProjectPart C: Which Response Best Summarizes Your Personal “Take-away”

From Your Group Project This Semester? No. of Students %

Gained a solid understanding of internal controls and risk assessment 11 64.7%

Learned how to problem solve by using judgment 4 23.5%

Learned how to put together a professional presentation 2 11.8%


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Part D: Approximately How Many Hours Did You Spend on the Group Project This Semester? No. of

Students %

25-29 hours 13 76.4%

30-35 hours 2 11.8%

35-40 hours 1 5.9%

>40 hours 1 5.9%



COSO FS Risk Assessment ProjectCOSO FS Risk Assessment ProjectPart E: Do You Wish You Had Chosen For Your Group Project Another Project Besides the COSO Financial Statement Risk Assessment Group

Project? If So, Which Project? No. of Students %

XBRL Group Project 1 3.5%

ITGC Group Project 2 33.3%

QuickBooks Software Group Project 7 25.0%

Microsoft Dynamics Software Group Project 0 0.0%

I am satisfied with the COSO Risk Assessment Project 7 38.2%


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Part F: Comments and Suggestions Provided by Students to an Open-Ended Question Regarding the COSO Financial

Statement Risk Assessment Group Project

No. of Students

Very beneficial, thank you 4

The project was very challenging 10

Limit the number of people in groups 1

Total number of respondents 15


XBRL and IT General ControlsXBRL and IT General ControlsResults were similar to the COSO

survey results for the EOS surveys for students performing the XBRL/ITGC group case study projects

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Impact on AIS Instructor Teaching Impact on AIS Instructor Teaching Evaluations Evaluations

of the ‘Menu’ Approachof the ‘Menu’ Approach(Rating Scale of 1 to 5)(Rating Scale of 1 to 5)

School Years School Year

Instructor Evaluation Category: 2008-9/2009-10 2010-11

n = 176 n = 103 t-statA. Consider Your Answers Relative to

Other University Courses You Have Taken:

Student Interest Level 3.95 3.77 0.065

Intellectual Challenge of Course 4.56 4.66 0.549

Student Effort Level 4.33 4.56 2.007

General Course Quality 4.19 4.11 -0.157

B. Taking into Account the Level of the

Course, Consider Your Answers Relative to Other University Instructors

Who Have Taught You:

Instructor Availability 4.91 4.91 0.000

Instructor Explanations 4.53 4.44 -0.258

Instructor Preparedness 4.88 4.80 -0.118

Instructor Effectiveness 4.56 4.53 -0.111

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Conclusions, Limitations, Conclusions, Limitations, SuggestionsSuggestions

Students appear to choose project aligned to their future career interest

Students feels project chosen will benefit them professionally in the future

Using menu approach to group project may increase at least ‘perceived’ student effort in the AIS course

Testing different types of projects with our students may change the results one way or the other

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Conclusions, Limitations, Conclusions, Limitations, SuggestionsSuggestions

Testing the ‘menu’ approach using AIS instructors with low teaching ratings and a mix of difference types of projects would inform future AIS instructors of project approaches which may help their overall student ratings

Results are valid possibly only in Universities where you have such a diverse mix of accounting majors interested in a large range of careers in the profession, like we have at the SOBA

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Next Steps-Menu PaperNext Steps-Menu PaperIncorporate comments received from

Reviewers from Issues and the 2012 AIS Educators Conference

Submit to AIS Educator Journal next month

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‘‘Menu’ Approach to the Menu’ Approach to the Introductory AIS ClassIntroductory AIS Class

Thank you for your comments and attending

today!25

Offering a Menu of Software and Case Study Options for the Group Project for Students Enrolled in...

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