The Financial Statement Interview: Intentional Learning in the First Accounting Course

Abstract

The first accounting course should do more than equip students with technical knowledge and skills. It should also engender respect for the accounting profession and help students explore accounting-related careers. Above all, it should help students develop intentional learning skills and become life-long learners. To help students achieve these goals, we developed an exercise that incorporates the five-part intentional learning model created by Francis et al. (1995). Students identify a professional to interview about the uses and limitations of financial statements, conduct the interview, and then reflect on the experience using an instrument with reflective prompts. In this paper we discuss our motivation for the exercise, review the literature that guided our use of the exercise, and use qualitative research techniques to assess its effectiveness for achieving objectives of the first course. We conclude that the exercise is highly effective in helping students achieve intentional learning in the first accounting course and in promoting respect for the profession. It is effective in helping students identify accounting-related careers, but less effective in prompting them to consider the suitability of such careers for themselves. We provide recommendations to improve the exercise and address potential concerns that instructors may face as they implement this effective learning strategy.

Intentional learning: A concept analysis

“…Self‐direction also involves learner control where the learner makes his or her own decisions at an individual pace, learning strategies, and sequence of learning according to his or her own interests and preferences . Killian et al . identified that a key aspect of intentional learning is the learner being actively engaged in self‐directed learning.…”

“…In this interview, the students picked an accountant to interview related to the budgetary process and how it is used in practice. By picking the interviewee and developing questions during the interview, the students practice intentional learning skills . However, both of these accounting studies defined intentional learning mostly as self‐directed learning and their results of enhancing intentional learning is based on this definition.…”

Designing Flipped-Classes to be Taught with Limited Resources: Impact on Students’ Attitudes and Learning

“…This may have a positive impact on enrollment in future programs that depend on students successfully completing these difficult introductory accounting courses. Students that do not complete these gateway courses may end up dropping out of a program or enrolling in an easier program to avoid taking these "hard and/or boring" gateway courses (Killian, Huber, & Brandon, 2012).…”

O Que me Ensina a Ensinar? Um Estudo Sobre Fatores Explicativos das Práticas Pedagógicas no Ensino de Contabilidade

“…As Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), em Contabilidade enfrentam um grande desafio de formar profissionais com as novas habilidades requeridas. A maneira tradicional, passiva e com menor envolvimento discente, pode não atender mais às necessidades e expectativas dos discentes, dos próprios docentes e às expectativas do mercado, visto que poderia não proporcionar uma ampla relação de interação e colaboração entre professor e aluno para o desenvolvimento da habilidade de reflexão crítica (Killian, Huber & Brandon, 2012;Black, 2012;Coetzee & Schmulian, 2012;Pereira, Niyama & Freire, 2012). Faz-se necessário repensar sobre a forma de ensinar.…”

“…Na prática, julga-se existir um fraco alinhamento entre o que é discutido em sala ou a forma de condução dessa discussão e o que os alunos realmente utilizam ou fazem no cotidiano organizacional. Poderia ser uma falha no modo de ensinar que pode não contribuir de forma eficaz na formação do novo contador (Killian, Huber & Brandon, 2012;Peleias, Patrucci, Garcia & Silva, 2008). Conforme Silva, Bruni e Baqueiro (2013) -e Pereira, Niyama e Freire (2012), as práticas de um modelo tradicional, centralizado no professor, com simples transferência de informação e uma relação distante entre professor e aluno, persistem.…”