Teaching a Capstone Course With a Supply Chain Approach

• In Event: Emerging Research and Research Interaction 2

Abstract

The paper suggests an approach that can be used to develop a comprehensive structure and content for a capstone course.

Capstone course definitions differ within the academia but they generally agree that the course helps student to have a coherent view, not review, of all the different accounting (or other discipline) courses they have covered in the program. Though there is an overall consensus on capstone objectives, there appears to be no consensus on the structure and content of course. Different approaches have been suggested by various authors e.g. Jervis and Hartley (2005); Sharifi, McCombs, Fraser and McCabe (2009); and Ahlawat, Miller, and Shahid (2011). Lack of structure makes the course harder, relative to other structured accounting courses, to teach; therefore, many faculty are unwilling to teach it. Students too, who in most cases are used to structured textbook courses, are filled with anxiety as to the content and structure of the course and therefore their expected grade. The purpose of this article to suggest some structure in developing undergraduate and graduate capstone course content.

Currently, an anecdotal Internet search across a sample of five universities with capstone or equivalent courses shows that every institution has its approach. The broad focus appears to be on the political economy of accountancy, i.e. public policy and regulatory issues.
The supply chain model suggested herein presupposes that accounting information is the final product from the accounting process. The final product is produced through a series of (accounting) stages. Likewise the capstone course, which is designed to have a broad integrated view of accountancy, should follow similar steps involved in the supply chain showing how they are interrelated.

Basically the supply chain begins with the capture of economic transactions data through the accounting system. The data capturing step does not only involve the capturing technology (accounting information systems, controllership) but also involves the recognition and measurement of transactions (financial, managerial and tax accounting). The measurement and/or recognition may follow management requirements or GAAP standards. The next step is to perform quality control on the accounting data (assurances courses) before it is released to final users. The last step involves financial reporting and disclosures or dissemination of financial data to relevant users such as managers (internal users) tax authorities, investors and creditors.

Author

• Buagu Musazi, Morgan State University