Upload
airlinemani
View
56
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The Evolution of a Graduate Capstone Accounting Course
Cathleen S. Burns, PhD, CPASenior Instructor, Accounting Division
Leeds School of BusinessUniversity of Colorado – Boulder
419 UCBBoulder, CO 40309-0419
The author would like to thank Jim Rebele, Don Wygal, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments and suggestions. The author will share course materials described in this article.
July 3, 2006 Revision #4
The Evolution of a Graduate Capstone Accounting Course
Abstract
This paper discusses how the design of a graduate capstone accounting course
evolved over three years. Various stakeholders impacted the course design and materials
for a graduate capstone accounting course that is required for MS Accounting degree
students. The course has three, five-week modules: accounting ethics, earnings
management, and business strategy. The accounting ethics module emphasizes codified
principles of ethics and professional behavior in accounting. The integrating theme of the
last two modules is how accounting professionals can detect earnings management being
used as a short-term solution to a longer-term strategic problem. Materials are included
that may assist other schools contemplating a capstone accounting course in their 150-
hour program.
2
The Evolution of a Graduate Capstone Accounting Course
1. Introduction
This paper describes the design and materials for a graduate capstone accounting
course that integrates material covered on the revised CPA exam, core competencies
identified in the AICPA accounting education framework, and business and society goals
that are a part of a donor gift to the Leeds School of Business at the University of
Colorado at Boulder. The goal of this paper is to help others who may be designing new
accounting and ethics courses that respond to recommendations from various
stakeholders.
Capstone courses are an important part of most curricula because they provide an
opportunity to reflect on what has been learned, integrate both general education and
major coursework, and help the transition to the professional world (Gardner & Van deer
Veer, 1998). Jervis and Hartley (2005) described their experience designing and teaching
an undergraduate capstone accounting course addressing university goals, department
mission, and AICPA core competencies. Although capstone courses are recommended as
a key part of the accounting curriculum (Arya, Fellingham & Schroeder, 2003), there are
no articles in the accounting education literature that specifically describe experiences
designing and teaching a graduate capstone accounting course.
The first section of this article describes stakeholders that were considered when
designing the graduate capstone accounting course. The second section describes many
aspects of the course design and implementation over three semesters. The third section
summarizes how the course design responds to various stakeholders.
3
2. Stakeholder Input to Course Design
2.1. Ethics coverage in the accounting curriculum
As a result of recent scandals, there have been numerous requests from a variety
of stakeholders for university educators to increase their coverage of ethics in separate
courses, to integrate ethics into current courses, or to do both (Copeland, 2005; Garten,
2005; PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2003). Despite the debate on whether or not ethics can
be taught, or taught at a college student’s relatively late life stage (Piper, Gentile, and
Parks, 1993), most stakeholders recommend that ethics be taught in the business
curriculum, even if it is “just in case.”
How ethics is taught as part of the accounting curriculum is left to faculty who
design and teach separate or integrated courses (Titard, Braun, & Meyer, 2004). An
inventory of support materials has been assembled by Thomas (2004) to facilitate faculty
designing a separate ethics course or integrating ethics into existing accounting courses.
The World Resources Institute and The Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program
highlights courses that prepare MBAs for social and environmental stewardship at
http://beyondgreypinstripes.org/search/search_coursework.cfm for faculty thinking
broadly about potential topics that could be included in their course design.
2.2. Donor gift
A donor gift prompted the reevaluation of the accounting curriculum at the
University of Colorado at Boulder. The Leeds family provided a major gift to the
University to name a school that would “become a nationally recognized business school,
known and valued for its leadership in developing high-quality business professionals,
4
with an emphasis on socially responsible behavior, advancing diversity, and promoting
the natural environment” (donor gift letter dated 10-10-01).
The donors requested that the faculty require all undergraduates to take at least
two courses on business and society issues and that all graduate students take at least one
course on business and society. The faculty has broadly interpreted “business and
society” to include ethics, sustainability, and the environment. Students in the MS
Accounting program take the graduate capstone accounting course to satisfy their
graduate business and society requirement, while undergraduate accounting majors select
among a menu of business and society capstone courses such as Sustainable Marketing,
Global Business Ethics, and Microfinance.
2.3. AICPA core competency framework
About the same time as the donor gift, the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants (AICPA) published the core competency framework for accounting
education. The AICPA core competency framework identifies functional, personal, and
broad business competencies desired of all accounting graduates
http://ceae.aicpa.org/Resources/Education+and+Curriculum+Development/
Core+Competency+Framework+and+Educational+Competency+Assessment+
Web+Site/. Jervis and Hartley (2005) demonstrate how components of their
undergraduate capstone accounting course meet the AICPA core competencies. The
AICPA core competency framework is one way to address program goals required by the
new AACSB learning assurance standards
(http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/business/STANDARDS.pdf.)
5
2.4. CPA exam revisions
The third event that encouraged us to reevaluate our accounting curriculum was
recent revisions to the content and format of the uniform CPA exam. The revised CPA
exam includes a content section called Business Environment and Concepts (BEC).
Primary topics in this new section are economics, finance, information systems, and
strategy. Although these topics are typically covered in business degree core
requirements, they were not specifically covered in earlier versions of the CPA exam.
The exam format has also changed from a paper and pencil exam to a completely on-line
exam with simulations and research problems that require students to be comfortable with
a variety of computer software manipulations and to provide a limited writing sample.
2.5. Accounting curriculum gap analysis
During summer 2004, an accounting faculty member developed a comprehensive
analysis of the University of Colorado at Boulder’s accounting curriculum and how it
addressed content and skills included in the new uniform CPA exam that was
administered for the first time in April 2004
(http://www.cpa-exam.org/cpa/how_prepare.html). The curriculum gap analysis
highlighted content areas, particularly in the Business Environment and Concepts section,
and skills (e.g., research and writing) that needed to be expanded in a revised curriculum.
A second curriculum analysis was prepared by accounting faculty during spring
2005. All faculty described activities and assessment strategies in their respective
courses that match program learning objectives centered on the development of core
competencies defined in the AICPA framework. These two curriculum analyses are part
6
of the Leeds School’s learning assurance strategy that will be presented in the next
AACSB accreditation visit.
As described later, the first offering of a revised graduate capstone accounting
course during spring 2004 filled some of these identified gaps. No one course can meet
all stakeholder initiatives and requests. The overlap in stakeholder objectives makes the
task less daunting. Many of the objectives are extensions of earlier recommendations
from groups like the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC, 1996) that may
already be included in an accounting department’s earlier accounting curriculum
revisions. Curriculum gap analysis using the AICPA model is a good first step in
curriculum and course redesign.
3. Course design
3.1. Course description
The graduate capstone accounting course (ACCT 6350) taught at the University
of Colorado at Boulder is titled “Current Issues in Professional Accounting” in the course
catalog. This title provides wide latitude for the instructor to determine what will be
covered in the course. The working title for the current course is “The Ethics of
Accounting Decision Making.” The course deals with how firms and their advisors
improve performance through short-term ethical or unethical (legal and illegal are NOT
the same thing) earnings management or longer-term (and harder) strategic redirection.
The course starts broadly and ends broadly with very focused material in the
middle of the course. The course begins with a review and expansion of students’
knowledge of ethical theory. Philosophical principles are then applied to a variety of
specific challenges facing professional accountants in auditing, tax, management
7
accounting, and consulting careers. The earnings management continuum is then
illustrated through extensive analysis of financial statements and corporate governance.
Since aggressive accounting may accompany a failing corporate strategy, strategic
redirection is suggested as a longer-term effort to improve earnings. The course ends
with student teams presenting strategic and financial due diligence on companies in a
variety of industries.
3.2. Course objectives
The graduate capstone accounting course objectives are broader than the
objectives in an accounting course where technical knowledge tends to dominate skill
development. The course objectives have evolved over three semesters from a few global
goals (e.g., prepare for the BEC section of the CPA exam, exercise moral courage, and
develop AICPA core competencies) to very specific objectives that are tied to assessment
strategy as encouraged by the AACSB’s new Learning Assurance Standards
(www.aacsb.edu). For spring semester 2006, the course objectives that were linked
directly with student assessment include:
Compare, contrast and evaluate the variety of objectives in social responsibility (a.k.a. citizenship, sustainability) reports from two different industries.
Identify and resolve challenges in providing non-traditional assurance services based on existing auditing/attestation standards and codes of conduct.
Analyze potentially abusive tax shelters according to various stakeholder positions and existing standards and tax laws.
Identify common failures across financial scandals in multiple industries.
8
Apply official codes and standards for professional behavior as auditors, management accountants, tax preparers, and consultants to hypothetical dilemmas in different accounting careers.
Communicate how a variety of ethical theories are applied to current events presented in The Wall Street Journal.
Articulate how the composition of the Board of Directors may impact earnings management decisions before and after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Demonstrate strategies for detecting possible earnings management on the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows for several firms within the same industry.
Select, calculate and analyze financial ratios including bankruptcy scores for an IPO to support a hypothesis about the firm’s going concern status.
Develop compelling arguments for why a standard unqualified opinion, qualified opinion and/or a disclaimer or opinion could be supported with evidence included in SEC documents.
Select risk factors identified in SEC documents for a firm that are most likely to be associated with fraud risk based on SAS 99. Develop potential controls to mitigate each of these risks.
Compare, contrast and evaluate a firm’s and its key competitors’ corporate-level strategy(ies) within the same industry.
Analyze a firm’s corporate governance structure and how it increases/decreases the firm’s risk management.
Recommend changes to a firm’s strategy based on a detailed case analysis.
Develop advanced analytical, research, oral and written presentation, and interpersonal skills using a variety of publicly-available resources across a variety of industries in individual and team assignments.
Some of these course objectives introduce new material while others apply
knowledge from previous coursework in new settings. Table I shows how key
assessment strategies used in the course map against elements of the revised CPA exam,
AICPA core competencies, and the Business and Society donor initiative.
INSERT TABLE I HERE
9
3.3. Texts
The modules are linked to different texts and are taught in the following order:
accounting ethics, earnings management, and business strategy. Accounting ethics
provides the philosophical and regulatory (i.e., codes of conduct) foundation across a
variety of accounting careers. Several high-profile accounting scandals are studied
through both philosophical and earnings management lenses and provide segue into the
second module. The second module on earnings management refers to the ethical
foundation developed in the first module when evaluating accounting choices across the
earnings management continuum. Aggressive and illegal earnings management is
portrayed as a short-term fix to a problem that probably requires a change in strategy.
Business strategy fundamentals are discussed at the beginning of the third module. The
last three weeks of the semester are filled with team presentations of strategic audits of
companies across a wide variety of industries.
Two texts were used during the first course offering in Spring 2004: Business and
Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives, and Accountants (Brooks, 2004) and
Business Models: A Strategic Management Approach (Afuah, 2004). Students also read
articles from The Wall Street Journal to prepare oral and written summaries during the
first twelve weeks of the semester.
Feedback from the students after the first course offering was that the texts were
too general and focused more on auditing and strategy than other accounting careers,
such as tax accounting. Different textbooks were, therefore, selected for the spring 2005
semester. An accounting ethics text (Duska & Duska, 2003) was used for the first five
weeks of the semester and an earnings management text (Giroux, 2004) was used for the
10
second five weeks of the semester. A business strategy text (Harrison, 2004) was used
for the last five weeks of the semester. One of the instructor’s personal costs of
switching texts is that the second offering of the course was essentially a new
preparation.
In addition to the texts, a selection of academic articles was assigned beginning
with the spring 2005 semester (Appendix A). Feedback from the students after the
second course offering was that there was too much reading and not enough time to
discuss the readings. During the spring 2006 semester, the strategy text (Harrison, 2004)
was eliminated and three more academic articles were added. Since the strategy text was
eliminated, key management strategy content was covered in two days using materials
summarized by the instructor. The Wall Street Journal is used more extensively
throughout the course to illustrate all three topics (i.e., ethics, earnings management, and
strategy) as they unfold in the media.
One significant change between the spring 2004 and spring 2005 offerings of the
graduate capstone accounting course was adding additional perspectives to accounting
scandals that tend to be presented in most textbook presentations with only one view.
Students were eager to debate alternative accounting treatments, legal/illegal vs.
ethical/unethical, and how to manage conflicts of interest since the class agreed that they
could not be totally avoided in professional careers.
3.4. Cases
Cases are used throughout the semester. The first case in the accounting ethics
section is a two-page case questioning the independence of wine expert Robert Parker
(Richardson, 2004). This case stimulates significant student discussion early in the
11
semester. Comparisons are drawn between Parker’s evaluation of particular wines and
auditors’ evaluations of firms’ financial statements.
As you would expect, Enron, Andersen, and WorldCom are part of the ethics text
(Duska & Duska, 2003) with the classic question of “where were the auditors?”
Supplemental readings from academic journals (e.g., Dugan, Berman & Barrionuevo,
2002; Morrison, 2004) looked at Enron and Andersen from the conflicting perspectives
of employees from both of these organizations. The purpose of presenting both sides of
the argument is to encourage classroom debate and enhance students’ professional
skepticism.
During spring 2005 and 2006, The Wall Street Journal chronicled the court cases
of many of the Enron and WorldCom participants that were introduced in the texts.
However, new and unexpected cases emerged throughout the semester. Because the
students chose what Wall Street Journal articles they thought were most relevant to
present to the class, general themes developed around independence in fact and
appearance, and conflicts of interest, in many professions. The students continually
asked why other professionals were not being criticized as much as accountants. For
example, who provides oversight to: large banks providing firm valuations? Lawyers
issuing comfort letters? Pharmaceutical consultants proclaiming the benefits of new
drugs? Many cases emerged in The Wall Street Journal that expanded the scope of our
discussion of accounting ethics to professional ethics.
The earnings management text (Giroux, 2004) uses Hilton Hotels as an integrative
case throughout the text. Comparisons of Hilton Hotels to Marriott Hotels and the
Mandalay Bay Group are integrated in end-of-chapter financial analysis spreadsheet
12
assignments. It is important to use a common data set for these spreadsheet assignments
(e.g., Mergent Online) so that class time is focused on insights resulting from the
analysis, and not data reconciliation. Periodic developments in the hotel industry and the
three comparison firms were also part of The Wall Street Journal readings.
Finally, the students formed their own teams to study a company of their choice
from strategic, earnings management, and ethical perspectives. Their case project is
described in detail below. A text is no longer used for the strategy section of this course.
3.5. Assessment
Course learning objectives were identified and discussed earlier in the paper. The
majority of a student’s grade is determined by how well the student applies what was
learned in class to new business situations on two individual take-home research exams
and a case presentation. The grade breakdown is two individual take-home research
exams over the ethics and earnings management texts (50% of grade), a group industry
analysis and case company paper (23%), a group oral presentation of the company project
(7%), individual spreadsheet homework (12%), and various evaluations of case and
individual class participation (8%).
3.6. Take-home exams and honor code
The University has a student-run honor code that facilitates take-home exams
(www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/Home.html). The exams were research-based
and graded by the instructor. Each exam covered one of the texts and used cases recently
published in Issues in Accounting Education (Verreault, Yang, & Angel, 2004; Coulter &
Vogel, 2004). Students were limited to ten typed pages, single-spaced for each take-
home exam. A grading rubric was provided after the first exam during the first course
13
offering. Although it takes time to create rubrics, doing so facilitates grading and clearly
communicates performance expectations, as suggested in many assessment resource
manuals. An original exam question and the associated grading rubric are presented in
Appendix B to communicate exam style and to clarify expectations.
3.7. Case project
During the spring 2005 semester, a list of 100 large publicly traded firms with ties
to a founding family was given to the students as a population of companies from which
to select a case project company. Companies with ties to a founding family were
hypothesized to have corporate governance challenges under The Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
During the spring 2006 semester, Business Ethics 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2005 was
used as the company population available for selection. Companies selected during the
prior year are not available choices during the current year.
Students self-selected their teams of 3-4 students and then placed bids on three
different companies. Expectations for case presentations, along with a grading rubric for
the oral presentation and group paper were distributed in class. Oral presentations were
20-25 minutes in length (assuming 3-4 group members), split as evenly as possible across
the team members with five-ten minutes for questions posed by the students and
instructor. Extensive use of presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint) to develop attractive
visual aids was encouraged.
The case company grade was based on both overall content and on individual and
team presentation skills. All team members completed peer evaluation forms to identify
any freeloaders or exceptional team leadership. Students earned points for the
completion of peer evaluation forms and for their effort as reported by their peers.
14
Students not presenting their own case in class that day provided received points for
providing detail feedback to each presenting team. The anonymous peer feedback forms
received after their “oral paper draft” presentations helps improve students’ written
papers before they were due on the final exam date. Bid sheets, peer evaluation sheets,
and team feedback forms are all available from the instructor. Case guidelines are
included as Appendix C.
3.8. Student course evaluations
The university uses Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQ) to evaluate teaching
quality. The FCQs are available at the university’s website and are used by students in
selecting instructors and courses.
In general, the students’ evaluations of the first offering of the graduate capstone
accounting course in spring 2004 were a full grade below the instructor’s average scores
for five sections of cost management and three sections of the undergraduate capstone
strategy course taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The workload in the
graduate capstone accounting course was adjusted downward from a 7.66 (on a nine-
point scale) to a 6.92 during the spring 2005 semester by eliminating one of the three
take-home exams and adding spreadsheet assignments. A capstone course workload in
the 7.0 range can be compared to the Accounting Division average of 5.59 for the spring
2004 semester. The Division average of 5.59 includes all undergraduate and graduate
courses offered, and so the average is negatively biased from what we would expect of a
graduate course only workload.
Another instructor who taught the capstone course for the first time in a different
format during spring 2003 also had scores that were 1-2 levels below that instructor’s
15
average scores for other courses. The instructor’s learning curve, between the first and
second offerings of the capstone course, is evident in improved FCQ scores. However, a
faculty member may be discouraged about teaching the course again after an exhausting
first semester attempt at curriculum innovation.
4. How the course design responds to stakeholders
In the first section of this paper, three stakeholders were introduced as important
to the design of the graduate capstone accounting course. Other than this new course,
there is no other course in the accounting curriculum that is dedicated to business and
society issues within an accounting context that would satisfy the donor’s request. The
accounting curriculum at the University of Colorado at Boulder also needs to address the
content and format of the CPA exam since most of the students in the graduate capstone
accounting course will take the CPA exam shortly after graduation.
The graduate accounting capstone course is reading-intensive, Excel-intensive,
research-intensive, and writing-intensive (and therefore, grading-intensive). These
activities provide opportunities for students to develop core competencies identified in
the AICPA core competency framework and demonstrate learning in various course
assessments as promulgated by the new AACSB learning assurance standards. The
AICPA core competency framework was jointly developed by academics and
practitioners and provides a good framework for designing course and accounting
program learning outcomes and assessment strategies required by the AACSB. There are
excellent assessment tools at the AICPA’s website (www.aicpa.org).
While stakeholder requests are not completely addressed in the current course
design, a commitment to continuous improvement should assure that most of the
16
objectives are achieved each semester. With regard to the most important (most urgent?)
stakeholders, college administrators are satisfied that this course meets the donor’s
requests. The new course design also fills a CPA exam BEC section content coverage
gap in strategy. Graduate accounting students would have had no exposure to strategy
without this course since the undergraduate capstone course has evolved from a standard
management strategy course to a menu of business and society offerings with limited
strategic concepts.
5. Conclusion
Practitioners, faculty, and students have responded favorably to the format and
content of the graduate capstone accounting course. It is the hope of the instructor that in
the long term, Leeds School accounting graduates will be differentiated from other
graduates because of the required business and society initiative coursework, the
strengthening of moral courage from dealing with controversial cases, and the
development of professional writing and research skills.
Recent alumni working in public accounting tell us that they spend significant
time researching topics in specialized industries, similar to what they did in their exams
and case project. Recent alumni also tell us that, contrary to their expectations, they
spend much more time writing than calculating. Typical writing tasks involve
documenting business processes, summarizing client interviews, and evaluating
alternative financial statement treatments. The graduate capstone accounting course
provides a good transition for students from their academic careers into their professional
careers and helps prepare them for the CPA exam.
17
Capstone courses provide the opportunity for students to reflect, integrate, and
transition into the professional world. This last chance at adding value to our students’
lives may impact their commitment to the university after they graduate (Gardner & Van
derVeer, 1998). As instructors and program directors, we should take seriously how the
short-term investment in course design for a capstone course can enhance our lifelong
relationships with the students we graduate into the accounting profession.
18
TABLE 1: GRADUATE CAPSTONE ACCOUNTING COURSE DESIGN
AICPA CORE COMPETENCIES
CPA EXAM BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS
BUSINESS AND SOCIETY DONOR INITIATIVE KEY ASSESSMENT STRATEGY
Functional Financial Statement Analysis
Stakeholder analysis Identify relevant stakeholders in tax shelter case using Integrative Social Contracts Theory (norms and hypernorms).
(e.g., Risk Analysis; Measurement; Reporting; Research)
Providing Assurance on Non-Financial Reports (corporate social responsibility reports)
Identify challenges in providing non-traditional assurance services based on guidance from The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, AICPA Code of Ethics, and auditing standards.
Earnings Management Indicators
Integration of comprehensive ratio analysis of Hilton Hotels and its competitors with information shared on SEC reports; Case Project Analysis
Corporate Governance Criteria Evaluation of Board of Directors for e-commerce firm. Evaluation of Board of Directors for case project analysis.
Personal Information Systems Financial statement analysis using Excel. Extensive use of library resources to complete exams and case analysis.
(e.g., Professional Demeanor; Interaction; Use of Technology)
Development of moral courage and discussion of controversial topics
Oral and Written Case Project Presentations;Oral and Written WSJ Article Presentations; Degree of professional skepticism demonstrated in all assignments.
Business Strategy Social responsibility (sustainability) reporting; Industry Analysis
Compare and contrast two corporate social responsibility reports.
(Industry/Global/Customer/Regulatory Perspectives)
Case Project Analysis: Strategy; Situation Analysis; Financial Analysis; Corporate Governance; Recommendations
APPENDIX A: Course Reading Materials (includes two texts)
Ethics, Earnings Management and Business Strategy1. The Wall Street Journal: Student-selected articles presented during first 12
weeks of course (three articles per day)
Accounting Ethics2. Accounting Ethics by Duska and Duska (2003) 10 chapters with 5 appendices3. Grover, S. L. (2005). The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth:
The Causes and Management of Workplace Lying. Academy of Management Executive 19(2), 148-157.
4. Friedman, M. (1970). The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits. The New York Times Magazine.
5. Morrison, M. A. (2004). Rush to Judgment: The Lynching of Arthur Andersen & Co. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15, 335-375.
6. Morrison, M. A. (2005). Reply to Lynn Turner. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 26, 65-69.
7. O’Connell, B. T. (2004). Crimes and Misdemeanours: The Death of Arthur Andersen. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15, 333-334.
8. Turner, L. E. (2005). Reply to Mary Morrison. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16, 63-64.
9. O’Connell, B. T. & Nagy, J. (2005). Commentary on Lynn E. Turner’s Response to Mary Morrison’s Andersen as Road-Kill. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16, 71-72.
10. Dugan, I. J., Berman, D. K., & Barrionuevo, A. (2002, April 15). On Camera, People at Andersen, Enron Tell How Close They Were. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
11. Watkins, S. (2003). Former Enron Vice President Sherron Watkins on the Enron Collapse. Academy of Management Executive, 17(4), 119-125.
12. Pulliam, S. & Solomon, D. (2002, October 30). How Three Unlikely Sleuths Discovered Fraud at WorldCom. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
13. Pulliam, S. & Latour, A. (2005, January 12). Trial of WorldCom’s Ebbers Will Focus on Uneasy Partnership. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
14. Langley, M. (2004, December 10). Consultant Leads Secret Double Life as Internet Sleuth. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
15. Scannell, K. (2004, August 18). How Lawyers Helped Drive the Boom in Tax Shelters. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
16. Jennings, M. M. (2004.) Incorporating Ethics and Professionalism into Accounting Education and Research: A Discussion of the Voids and Advocacy for Training in Seminal Works in Business Ethics. Issues in Accounting Education 19(1), 7-26.
APPENDIX A: Course Reading Materials (cont’d.)
Earnings Management17. Detecting Earnings Management by Giroux (2004) 11 chapters with 1
appendix18. Nelson, M. W., Eliott, J. A., & Tarpley, R. L. (2003). How are Earnings
Managed? Examples from Auditors. Accounting Horizons (Supplement), 17-35.
19. Botosan, C. A., Koonce, L, Ryan, S. G., Stone, M. S., & Whalen, J. M. (2005). Accounting for Liabilities: Conceptual Issues, Standard Setting, and Evidence from Academic Research. Accounting Horizons 19(3), 159-186.
Business Strategy (text eliminated in spring 2006)Current articles from The Wall Street Journal selected by the instructor
21
APPENDIX B: Sample Take-Home Exam Question and Associated Grading Rubric
Question #1: (65 points) Corporate Social Responsibility Reports Shell has been publishing a corporate social responsibility report for eight years. On the other hand, General Electric published its first citizenship report during 2005. Please review The Shell Report 2004 at http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=shellreport2004-en and General Electric’s 2005 Citizenship Report at http://www.ge.com/en/citizenship/.Do not print out these reports. Become familiar with the reports but you do not need to read every word. The terms being used globally are sustainability reporting and sustainability assurance. When answering Parts A, B and C below, use the outline of a good argument located on WebCT.
Part A: (20 points) Prepare an evaluation of the argument presented in The Shell Report 2004 using the format on WebCT. First, what is the thesis statement for the report? Cite and support the TWO BEST SPECIFIC and DIFFERENT examples and the TWO WORST SPECIFIC and DIFFERENT examples (FOUR TOTAL) based on the Duska text and other class readings. Be sure to cite the text or readings when you are integrating themes with examples.
Part B: (20 points) Prepare an evaluation of the argument presented in General Electric’s Citizenship Report 2005 using the format on WebCT. First, what is the thesis statement for the report? Cite and support the TWO BEST SPECIFIC and DIFFERENT examples and the TWO WORST SPECIFIC and DIFFERENT examples (FOUR TOTAL) based on the Duska text and other class readings. Be sure to cite the text or readings when you are integrating themes with examples.
Part C: (10 points) Which report do you think is most successful in communicating its purpose to the public? Provide TWO SPECIFIC and DIFFERENT conclusions with support from the report and integration from our text/class readings.
Part D: (15 points) Accountants use GAAP and GAAS to prepare and audit financial reports. Look carefully at the standards that were used and the level of assurance that was provided for the Shell Report 2004 and the GE 2005 Citizenship Report. Compare and contrast the quality of the process used to create these reports. Identify THREE SPECIFIC and DIFFERENT concerns and/or praises that you have about the information quality included in these reports. Be sure to integrate information from the Duska text to support your concerns/praises. Do not discuss the same topics you mentioned in your answers in parts A, B and C above.
22
APPENDIX B (cont’d.): Sample Take-Home Exam Question and Associated Grading Rubric
Honor Code Form Signed? __________
Question #1A: ShellShell Best #1 Identified (2 points) __________Shell Best #1 Text Integration (3 points) __________Shell Best #2 Identified (2 points) __________Shell Best #2 Text Integration (3 points) __________Shell Worst #1 Identified (2 points) __________Shell Worst #1 Text Integration (3 points) __________Shell Worst #2 Identified (2 points) __________Shell Worst #2 Text Integration (3 points) __________
Subtotal (20 points) __________
Question #1B: General ElectricGeneral Electric Best #1 Identified (2 points) __________General Electric Best #1 Text Integration (3 points) __________General Electric Best #2 Identified (2 point) __________General Electric Best #2 Text Integration (3 points) __________General Electric Worst #1 Identified (2 points) __________General Electric Worst #1 Text Integration (3 points) __________General Electric Worst #2 Identified (2 points) __________General Electric Worst #2 Text Integration (3 points) __________
Subtotal (20 points) __________
Question #1C: Comparison of ReportsConclusion #1 Identified/Supported by Resources (5 points) __________Conclusion #2 Identified/Supported by Resources (5 points) __________
Subtotal (10 points) Question #1D: Assurance/Attestation Concerns/PraisesChallenge #1 Identified/Supported by Resources (5 points) __________Challenge #2 Identified/Supported by Resources (5 points) __________Challenge #3 Identified/Supported by Resources (5 points) __________
Subtotal (15 points)
Organization, flow, grammar, punctuation, word usage,capitalization, and spelling (up to 5 points subtracted) __________
Total (65 points)=========
23
APPENDIX C: Team Case Assignment (Oral Presentation and Written Report)
I. Introductiona. Brief history of the firmb. Company profilec. Strategic mission and intent
II. Situation Analysisa. Industry analysisb. Competitor analysisc. Internal analysis
III. Performance Measures and Financial Dataa. Ratiosb. Valuationc. Key sources of financingd. Evidence of earnings managemente. Restructuring history and/or opportunitiesf. Social responsibility report
IV. Corporate-level Strategya. Single-business/dominant-business strategyb. Diversification strategyc. Possible acquisitionsd. Key alliancese. International strategy
V. Corporate Governancea. Board of directors analysisb. Ownership concentrationc. Organizational structured. Audit firm historye. Code of ethicsf. Risk managementg. Executive compensationh. CEO background
VI. Conclusiona. What’s working and what’s not working with the company’s strategy?b. At what stage is the strategy implementation?c. Product life cycle for key products/services?d. Your recommendations:
i. Acquisitions? Divestitures?ii. Is the right leadership in place?
iii. How innovative is the company? Is the company’s past success sustainable?
iv. How would you rate the culture of the company?v. Would you invest in the company?
24
REFERENCES
Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC). (1996). Position and Issues
Statements of the Accounting Education Change Commission. Sarasota, FL:
American Accounting Association.
Afuah, A. (2004). Business Models: A Strategic Management Approach. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Irwin.
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Core Competency
Framework. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2006, from
http://ceae.aicpa.org/Resources/Education+and+Curriculum+Development/
Core+Competency+Framework+and+Educational+Competency+Assessment+
Web+Site/
Arya, A., Fellingham, J. C., & Schroeder, D. A. (2003). An Academic Curriculum
Proposal. Issues in Accounting Education 18(1), 29-35.
Asmus, P. (2005). 2005 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Business Ethics 19(1), 20-27.
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Accreditation
Standards. (January 1, 2006). Retrieved July 3, 2006, from
http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/business/STANDARDS.pdf.
Beyond Grey Pinstripes: Preparing MBAs for Social and Environmental Stewardship
Coursework (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2006, from
http://beyondgreypinstripes.org/search/search_coursework.cfm
Botosan, C. A., Koonce, L, Ryan, S. G., Stone, M. S., & Whalen, J. M. (2005).
Accounting for Liabilities: Conceptual Issues, Standard Setting, and Evidence
from Academic Research. Accounting Horizons 19(3), 159-186.
Brooks, L. J. (2004). Business and Professional Ethics for Directors, Executives and
Accountants. Mason, OH: South-Western College Publishing.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2006, from
http://www.cpa-exam.org/cpa/how_prepare.html.
Cioffi, F. L. (2005). Effective Argumentation in a Culture of Discord. The Chronicle of
Higher Education 51 (37), B6.
Copeland, Jr., J. E. (2005). Ethics as an Imperative. Accounting Horizons 19(1), 35-43.
Coulter, J. M., & Vogel, T. J. (2004). Pets.com, Inc.: Assessing Financial Performance
and Risks in the e-Commerce Industry. Issues in Accounting Education 19(4),
567-582.
Dugan, I. J., Berman, D. K., & Barrionuevo, A. (2002, April 15). On Camera, People at
Andersen, Enron Tell How Close They Were. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
Duska, R. F., & Duska, B. S. (2003). Accounting Ethics (1st ed.). Malden, MA:
Blackwell Publishing.
Friedman, M. (1970). The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits. The
New York Times Magazine.
Gardner, J., Van der Veer, G, & Associates. (1998). The Senior Year Experience:
Facilitating Integration, Reflection, Closure and Transition. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Garten, J. E. (2005, September 5). B-Schools: Only a C+ in Ethics. Business Week, 110.
General Electric’s 2006 Citizenship Report. (2006). Retrieved July 3, 2006, from
http:// www.ge.com/en/citizenship .
26
Giroux, G. (2004). Detecting Earnings Management (1st ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
Grover, S. L. (2005). The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth: The Causes
and Management of Workplace Lying. Academy of Management Executive 19(2),
148-157.
Harrison, J. S., & St. John, C. H. (2004). Foundations in Strategic Management (3rd ed.).
Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western.
Jennings, M. M. (2004.) Incorporating Ethics and Professionalism into Accounting
Education and Research: A Discussion of the Voids and Advocacy for Training in
Seminal Works in Business Ethics. Issues in Accounting Education 19(1), 7-26.
Jervis, K. J., & Hartley, C. A. (2005). Learning to Design and Teach an Accounting
Capstone. Issues in Accounting Education 20(4), 311-39.
Langley, M. (2004, December 10). Consultant Leads Secret Double Life as Internet
Sleuth. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
Morrison, M. A. (2004). Rush to Judgment: The Lynching of Arthur Andersen & Co.
Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15, 335-375.
Morrison, M. A. (2005). Reply to Lynn Turner. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 26,
65-69.
Nelson, M. W., Eliott, J. A., & Tarpley, R. L. (2003). How are Earnings Managed?
Examples from Auditors. Accounting Horizons (Supplement), 17-35.
O’Connell, B. T. (2004). Crimes and Misdemeanours: The Death of Arthur Andersen.
Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15, 333-334.
27
O’Connell, B. T. & Nagy, J. (2005). Commentary on Lynn E. Turner’s Response to Mary
Morrison’s Andersen as Road-Kill. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16,
71-72.
Piper, T. R., Gentile, M. C. & Parks, S. D. (1993). Can Ethics be Taught? Perspectives,
Challenges, and Approaches at Harvard Business School. Boston, MA: Harvard
Business School Press.
PricewaterhouseCoopers. (2003). Educating for the Public Trust: The
PricewaterhouseCoopers Position on Accounting Education. New York, NY:
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Pulliam, S. & Solomon, D. (2002, October 30). How Three Unlikely Sleuths Discovered
Fraud at WorldCom. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
Pulliam, S. & Latour, A. (2005, January 12). Trial of WorldCom’s Ebbers Will Focus
on Uneasy Partnership. The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
Richardson, R. C. (2004). Thinking Outside of the Box (of wine, that is): An Exercise in
Independence. Issues in Accounting Education, 19(3), 363-367.
Scannell, K. (2004, August 18). How Lawyers Helped Drive the Boom in Tax Shelters.
The Wall Street Journal, p. A1.
Shell Sustainability Report 2005. (2005). Retrieved July 3, 2006 from,
http://www.shell.com/static/envandsocen/downloads/
about_this_site/shell_sustainability_report_2005.pdf
Thomas, C. W. (2004). An Inventory of Support Materials for Teaching Ethics in the
Post-Enron Era. Issues in Accounting Education 19(1), 27-52.
28
Titard, P. L., Braun, R. L, & Meyer, M. J. (2004). Accounting Education: Response to
Corporate Scandals. Journal of Accountancy, 199(11), 59-65.
Turner, L. E. (2005). Reply to Mary Morrison. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16,
63-64.
University of Colorado at Boulder Honor Code. (2001). Retrieved July 3, 2006, from
http:// www.colorado.edu/academics/honorcode/ Home.html.
Verrault, D. A., Yang, S., & Angel. J. (2004). Sprint Corporation: Ethical Decisions and
Tax Avoidance Strategies. Issues in Accounting Education, 19(1), 119-143.
Watkins, S. (2003). Former Enron Vice President Sherron Watkins on the Enron
Collapse. Academy of Management Executive, 17(4), 119-125.
29