INCLUDING MEASUREMENT ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING COURSES

73 It is concluded that the accounting is numeric crunching course. The application of double-entry system which based on mathematics has been proven for almost more than five centuries. When the accounting curriculum development incorporates into the international standard and future purpose, new course ―Accounting εathematics‖, should be given. REFERENCES Adler, R. W. 1999. Five ideas designed to rile everyone who cares about accounting education. Accounting Education: An International Journal Vol 8, No.3: 241 –247. Albrecht, W. S. and R. J. Sack. 2000. Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future. Accounting Education Series Vol. No. 16. Florida: American Accounting Association. Alfredson, K., K. Leo, R. Picker, P. Pacter, J. Radford, and V. Wise. 2007. Applying International Financial Reporting Standards: Enhanced Edition. Milton, Queensland: John Wiley Sons Australia Ltd. Anthony, R. N., D. F. Hawkins, and K. A. Merchant. 2007. Accounting: Text and Cases. Twelfth edition. International edition. McGraw-Hill. Bonner, S. E. 1999. Choosing teaching methods based on learning objectives: An integrative framework, Issues in Accounting Education Vol. 14 No. 1: 11 – 40. Boyce, G., S. Williams, A. Kelly and H. Yee. 2001, Fostering deep and elaborative learning and generic soft skill development: The strategic use of case studies in accounting education, Accounting Education: An International Journal Vol. 10, No. 1: 37 –60. Clevenger, N.N., T.B. Clevenger, and J. McElroy. 2006. Shortage of accountants: Is education to blame?, The Journal of Government Financial Management, Summer; 55, 2: 14 –19. David, J. S., H. Maccracken, and P. M. Reckers. 2003. Integrating technology and business process analysis into introductory accounting courses. Issues in Accounting Education Vol. 18, No. 4: 417 –425. 74 Demski, J.S. 2007. Is accounting an academic discipline? Accounting Horizons Vol. 21, No. 2: 153 –157. Duff, A. and S. εcKinstry. β007. Students‘ approaches to learning. Issues in Accounting Education Vol. 22, No. 2: 183 –214. Ellerman, D.P. 1985. The Mathematics of Double Entry Bookkeeping. Mathematics Magazine, Vol. 58, No. 4: 226 –233. Elliott, R. K. 1992. The Third Wave Breaks on the Shores of Accounting. Accounting Horizons Vol. 6, No. 2: 61 –85. FASB. 1984. Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 5: Recognition and Measurement in Financial Statements of Business Enterprises. Financial Accounting Standards Board. Norwalk, Connecticut. FASB. 1985. Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 6: Elements of Financial Statements. Financial Accounting Standards Board: Norwalk, Connecticut. Fellingham, J.C. 2007. Is accounting an academic discipline? Accounting Horizons Vol. 21, No. 2: 159 –163. Fordham, D.R. and D.C. Hayes. 2009. Worth repeating: Paper color may have an effect on student performance. Issues in Accounting Education Vol. 24, No. 2: 187 –194. Goldwater, P. ε. and T. J. Fogarty. β007. Protecting the solution: A ‗high-tech.‘ method to guarantee individual effort in accounting classes. Accounting Education Vol. 16, No. 2: 129 –143. Hatfield, H.R. 1924. An historical defense of bookkeeping. Journal of Accountancy Vol. 37, No. 4: 241 –253. Hauser, ε. 1999. The brain‘s number-crunching power. Science Vol. 286, No. 5444: 1483–1484. Horngren, C. T., G. L. Sundem, and J. A. Elliott. 2002. Introduction to Financial Accounting. Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice Hall. 75 Mohamed, E. K. A. and S. H. Lashine. 2003. Accounting knowledge and skills and the challenges of a global business environment. Managerial Finance Vol. 29, No. 7: 3 –16. Nilsen, K. 2008. On the verge of an academic revolution. Journal of Accountancy, 206, No. 6: 82 –85. Peters, R.M. and D.R. Emery. 1978. The role of negative numbers in the development of double entry bookkeeping. Journal of Accounting Research Vol. 16, No. 2: 424 –426. Sullivan, M. C. and R. L. Benke. 1997. Comparing introductory financial accounting textbooks. Journal of Accounting Education Vol. 15, No.2: 181 –220. Weis, W.L. and D.E. Tinius. 1991. Luca Paicoli: Renaissance accountant. Journal of Accountancy: 95 –102. Weygandt, J. J., D. E. Kieso, and P. D. Kimmel. 2008. Accounting Principles. Eighth Edition. John Wiley Sons Asia Pte Ltd. Williams, J. R., S. F. Haka, and M. S. Bettner. 2005. Financial Managerial Accounting: The Basis for Business Decisions. Thirdteenth Edition. International edition. McGraw-HillIrwin. 76 BENCHMARKING THE FIRST YEAR ACCOUNTING UNIT: SOME EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRALIA Malcolm Smith, Curtin University, Perth , Australia Nick Sciulli, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia Phil Ross, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare some key organisational attributes of three accounting schools located at Australian universities. In addition, the content, structure and presentation of the first-year accounting unit is examined with a view for identifying best practices. Designmethodologyapproach Three Australian universities – one each from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth agreed to collaborate in this project. The heads of the respective schools extracted relevant data for the school comparison whilst a workshop meeting between the first year accounting unit co- ordinators undertook a content analysis from their subject guides. Findings The three schools had similar issues to manage including an aging staff profile, high use of casual academic staff and large student numbers across different campuses. Unsurprisingly, given the need for professional accounting body accreditation, the content of the courses was very similar. However, there were significant differences in both delivery and assessment, with potential implications for both quality and resource use. Research limitationsimplications The size and characteristics of the three universities investigated for this project may be quite different to the wider population of accounting schools. Practical implications The results of this benchmarking comparison has prompted managers to be aware of the critical issues identified and take appropriate action to remedy them, For example, incentive schemes for staff to increase research outputs have been improved. Originalityvalue The authors are unaware of any previous benchmarking study comparing accounting schools at Australian universities. The findings of this project can lead to better teaching and learning outcomes for first year accounting students. Keywords Benchmarking, Universities, Accounting courses

1. Introduction

The benchmarking project which forms the basis of this paper was initiated by discussions between the Business Deans from the three participating universities – one each from Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales NSW. The driving force for the initiative was a response to recommendations from the Australian Universities Quality Agency AUQA that universities undertake benchmarking processes as part of the quality assurance processes in the organisations. The objective of this project was to make comparisons of the content, 77 structure and operations of a large first year unit common to each institution. The analysis was specifically directed towards two outcomes: a an indication of current best practice, which might provide the basis for improvement opportunities at each university, and b confirmation that appropriate standards were being applied by each university. The unit chosen for detailed analysis at each institution was the first year introductory accounting unit, then perceived as compulsory for all students undertaking an undergraduate business major. The Heads of School of Accounting of the three participating universities met in July 2008 and established broad areas for detailed analysis and comparison for the accounting units. The major inputs into the comparative process were conducted via email, with source documents circulated among the interested parties; the detailed analysis of the data was undertaken in face to face meetings in September and October 2008, attended by both the Heads of School and the coordinators of the first year accounting units. Detailed findings, and recommendations for future action, were reported to the respective Business Deans in November 2008. The paper details differences across the three universities – designated as Case 1 Western Australia; Case 2 Victoria and Case 3 NSW – across the areas of staff and student demographics, course content, course delivery and course assessment. The paper concludes with a summary and recommendations.

2. Literature review.

Benchmarking is a process for identifying and implementing best practice at a particular point in time. It is equally applicable to the private sector see Kouzmin et al 1999 as to the public sector see for example Vagnoni and Maran 2008. It is a tool that is used to not only identify best-practice but also more importantly to gain an understanding on what processes are being utilised to achieve best practice. It has been used most likely, incorrectly, interchangeably with terms such as business process engineering , total quality management and key performance indicators KPIs Alstete 2008. Benchmarking is not a new technique used in the university sector. In factor comparisons of university performance based on teaching, research student satisfaction etc is well documented and marketed as a tool for ensuring prospective students have access to some performance indicators. Pursglove and Simpson 2007 benchmarked the performance of English universities dividing the universities into the Russell Group research oriented universities and the post-1992 universities. Their findings included that the post-1992 universities were more effective and efficient than the Russell group members which was at odds with the position of these universities published in league tables. Understanding clearly what the issues are regarding the teaching of a first year accounting unit is an important topic for academics, students and prospective employers. A study by Jones and Sin 2005 found that almost a third of accounting students rated communication skills highly but that more of the non-accounting students placed communication skills first. These authors argue that unit course outlines need to incorporate genericcommunication skills into ongoing student assessment. Similiarly, Morgan 1997 found that practioners assigned a high