Accounting Scholars – does it matter what we teach them?

1. Accounting Scholars – does it matter what we teach them? William R. Kinney, Jr. University of Texas at Austin American Accounting Association Curriculum Challenge Contest San Antonio, Texas August 17, 2002

2. 1. Accounting curricula today • Many good courses, but not necessarily good curricula – especially at PhD level • Three curricula with different objectives – BBA/MAcc (professionals), MBA (users), PhD (scholars) • Accounting scholarship is about consequences of accounting choice(s)

3. Accounting is . . . • used pre and post decision to: • Run a business (management) • Value a business (investors and analysts) • Oversee a business (regulators, directors) • Settle contracts and tax payments (trading partners, government) • a blend of: measurement, information economics, technology, regulation, finance, individual and organizational behavior, industrial organization, law, history, and political economy

4. FASB/ AICPA SEC Auditor Independent Directors Management Stockholders Customers Workers Suppliers Lenders FS Analysts/ intermediaries Competitors General public Congress Accounting and Corporate Governance

5. Auditor $ $ $ $ Management Stockholders $ $ $ Competitors Analysts/ intermediaries $ $ General public Accounting and Corporate Governance Show me the money! FASB/ AICPA SEC Independent Directors FS Customers Workers Suppliers Lenders Congress

6. New Accounting Scholars need • breadth of understanding of concepts underlying • accounting choice(s) • research methods • depth in some areas, issues, and research methods • efficient preparation for a scholarly career

7. Today they get . . . • Capital market research methods (90%) • Behavioral research methods (53%) • Analytic research methods (33%) • Other individual courses (33% or fewer) (survey Doctoral Consortium students - 2002)

8. 2. An accounting concepts and issues-based curriculum Research Concepts and Methods “Public” Accounting Concepts “Private” Accounting Concepts Mini-specialty Mini-specialty Comprehensive examination

9. Research Concepts and Methods • Introduction to philosophy of science • Research design principles (validity and planning to minimize b risk) • Experiments, archival studies, and the advantages and limitations of each • Theories aboutaccounting (where to get them, how to adapt theories of others)

10. “Public” Accounting Concepts • Measurement and human behavior in regulated capital markets • Economics of mandated (and voluntary) public reporting systems • Theories of and about “public” accounting • Politics and history of GAAP • Accounting choice in society

11. “Private” Accounting Concepts • Measurement and human behavior in private transactions and contracting • Technology, organization design and economics of “private” accounting • Accounting measurements as decision facilitating and decision influencing • Unintended consequences of systematic measurement within organizations

12. Specialty and issues mini-courses(seven weeks each) • Sub disciplines – auditing, internal control, taxation, information systems • Methods – capital market archival, experiments, analysis, other • Topics and issues – earnings management, regulation, corporate governance, compensation, theories (Feltham/Ohlson, positive, contracting, behavioral finance)

13. 3. Conclusions • Accounting choice has substance – let’s address its underlying concepts • Accounting has current issues (and methods) – let’s explore them in classes • Rewards to good PhD curricula are high: • Better-prepared students (at all levels) • More relevance in our own research • A better society?