shyam sunder yale university annual meetings of the american accounting association new york, august...
Post on 18-Jan-2016
216 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Shyam Sunder
Yale University
Annual Meetings of the American Accounting Association
New York, August 3, 2009
Accounting 101 Introductory course as the basis for street
image of accounting Is this image unfair, or well-deserved? What is the difference between Accounting
101 and XYZ 101? Debits and credits, double-entry bookkeeping,
journals and ledgers as answers But what are the questions? Do our students
know them? What will it take to impart a scientific content to
ACC 101
Imparting Scientific Content What are the the important questions? Why are they worth asking? What could be possible answers? How to find new answers, and evaluate
them? Pizzeria example Once students identify the problem to be
addressed, and learn how to address them, they do not forget
On Expressway, and Headed the Wrong Way Instead of moving in this direction, Accounting
101 is headed in the opposite direction Dominance of written standards of accounting
and auditing with support of regulators, auditors, and yes, academics
Progressively replacing teaching of accounting by teaching of standards
Replacing thinking and analysis by rote learning
What kind of student will come to these classes
What kind of people will be in the profession?
Accounting and University Curriculum In MBA programs, accounting is already reduced to
a service activity as opposed to a major in most schools
The history of universities is replete with disciplines being tossed out of curriculum for insufficient scientific or intellectual challenge
What is the intellectual challenge in memorizing a thick rule book which must be uniformly applied everywhere in the world under threat of punishment?
How long will accounting retain its place in university curriculum if we keep going in the present direction of standard setting and teaching standards?
Challenge for Accounting Educators Is not, how to prepare our students to memorize
IFRS. With proper education in analytical thinking about
accounting, the code can be read, understood and applied in a few weeks
Instead challenges are to help them : Learn to think and analyze Develop their judgment about true and fair, and
social norms of community Develop their sense of professionalism and personal
responsibility for their judgments Develop a commitment to voluntary “Hippocratic” (or
Paccioli, if you wish) oath for accounting graduates
top related