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Accounting Scholars does it matter what we teach them? American Accounting Association Curriculum Challenge Contest San Antonio, Texas August 17, 2002 William R. Kinney, Jr. University of Texas at Austin

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1. Accounting curricula today Many good courses, but not necessarily good curricula especially at PhD level Three curricula with different objectives BBA/MAcc (professionals), MBA (users), PhD (scholars) Accounting scholarship is about consequences of accounting choice(s)

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Accounting is... used pre and post decision to: Run a business (management) Value a business (investors and analysts) Oversee a business (regulators, directors) Settle contracts and tax payments (trading partners, government) a blend of: measurement, information economics, technology, regulation, finance, individual and organizational behavior, industrial organization, law, history, and political economy

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Accounting and Corporate Governance General public Competitors Analysts/ intermediaries Stockholders Management Auditor Independent Directors FASB/ AICPA SEC Congress Customers Workers Suppliers Lenders FS

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Accounting and Corporate Governance Show me the money! General public Competitors Analysts/ intermediaries Stockholders Management Auditor Independent Directors FASB/ AICPA SEC Congress Customers Workers Suppliers Lenders FS $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $

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New Accounting Scholars need breadth of understanding of concepts underlying accounting choice(s) research methods depth in some areas, issues, and research methods efficient preparation for a scholarly career

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Today they get... Capital market research methods (90%) Behavioral research methods (53%) Analytic research methods (33%) Other individual courses (33% or fewer) (survey Doctoral Consortium students - 2002)

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2. An accounting concepts and issues-based curriculum Research Concepts and Methods Public Accounting Concepts Private Accounting Concepts Mini-specialty Comprehensive examination

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Research Concepts and Methods Introduction to philosophy of science Research design principles (validity and planning to minimize risk) Experiments, archival studies, and the advantages and limitations of each Theories about accounting (where to get them, how to adapt theories of others)

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Public Accounting Concepts Measurement and human behavior in regulated capital markets Economics of mandated (and voluntary) public reporting systems Theories of and about public accounting Politics and history of GAAP Accounting choice in society

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Private Accounting Concepts Measurement and human behavior in private transactions and contracting Technology, organization design and economics of private accounting Accounting measurements as decision facilitating and decision influencing Unintended consequences of systematic measurement within organizations

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Specialty and issues mini-courses (seven weeks each) Sub disciplines auditing, internal control, taxation, information systems Methods capital market archival, experiments, analysis, other Topics and issues earnings management, regulation, corporate governance, compensation, theories (Feltham/Ohlson, positive, contracting, behavioral finance)

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3. Conclusions Accounting choice has substance lets address its underlying concepts Accounting has current issues (and methods) lets explore them in classes Rewards to good PhD curricula are high: Better-prepared students (at all levels) More relevance in our own research A better society?