AAA Spark Meeting of Regions

Teaching Students to Identify, Document, and Evaluate Controls

• In Event: Reevaluating Ways of Teaching Accounting

Abstract

Accounting graduates today must be able to think critically and evaluate information. (Freeman 2018). In particular, accountants must be able to identify and document business processes and evaluate the associated internal controls. These skills are becoming more-and-more a requirement and less a luxury, as “the profession is demanding that newly licensed CPAs perform at a more advanced level early in their careers….” (AICPA, 2016, p.11, as cited in Freeman, 2018). These increased demands are reflected in the latest changes to the CPA exam, which has significantly increased exam coverage of business processes, risk identification, and internal control mapping (AICPA 2020).
This semester-long project uses experiential learning in three areas considered important by educators and employers: internal controls, business-process analysis, and system documentation/flowcharting (Garnsey, Doganaksoy, Phelan 2019). It addresses all four levels of the skills taxonomy tested in the CPA exam and, in addition, incorporates practice in both written and oral communications skills. And, unlike many case studies which begin with written process narratives, this exercise requires students to obtain an understanding of the relevant processes through interaction with an actual process owner. This additional step gives students the opportunity to develop interpersonal communications as well as technical accounting skills.

Authors

• Jean R. Bradley, Eastern Washington University

• Matthew James Behrend, St Edward's University