Custom Fabric Ventures: An Instructional Resource in Job Costing for the Introductory Managerial Accounting Course

• In Event: Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum II

Abstract

Job costing is a mainstay of the introductory managerial accounting course, yet the current educational literature is deficient of cases and instructional resources focused on deepening introductory accounting students’ comprehension of the topic. The purpose of this instructional resource (IR) is to fill the existing void by providing a hands-on, active learning resource that will allow introductory students to experience the accounting and management activities necessary to produce a job and assign production costs to it. Since the IR was specifically developed as a learning tool for introductory managerial accounting students, adequate guidance is intentionally provided throughout the activity. However, to add realism and challenge students to think beyond the confines of simple mechanics, management and accounting issues are seeded throughout. Student feedback indicates that the IR not only helps students learn how a job costing system operates, but also helps students become aware of management decisions and accounting issues that impact the costs assigned to a job. Students also appreciated the hands-on, active-learning nature of the IR as well as the more “real-life” context it provided. As a result, this IR provides a means for introductory accounting students to experience and understand a topic which is a key component of most managerial accounting courses.

Author

• Karen W Braun, Case Western Reserve University