Dr. Ronald F. Premuroso (co-author: Tara Kirkham-Undergraduate Accounting Student at the UM)

1. Offering a ‘Menu’ of Software and Case Study Options for the Group Project for Students Enrolled in the Introductory AIS Course: An Experimental Application Study Dr. Ronald F. Premuroso (co-author: Tara Kirkham-Undergraduate Accounting Student at the UM) Accounting and Finance Department School of Business Administration The University of Montana American Accounting Association Annual Meeting August 6, 2012

2. Credits and Thank You • Research Committee of the SOBA -- 2011 Summer Grant Funding • SoBA: Survey Monkey web site • Tara Kirkham, Undergraduate Accounting Major-my co-author, survey developer • SOBA Advising Department for data gathering of student info from Banner • SOBA IT Support (software in GBB 213) • Margarita Dorzhiyeva (Macct GA) for preparation of the Tables in the paper • 3 Reviewers from AIS Educators Association and Annual Conference Participants (May/June 2012) • University of Montana SoBA Workshop Participants (December 2011)

3. Motivations for the Paper • Results of Student Feedback and Surveys: 2008-09 and 2009-10 School Years taking the AIS class (offered 1 case study for all students to perform: Tasteless Tea* and COSO**) • Attendance at AIS Educator Annual Meetings (each June) • Informal surveys of other AIS educators • Review of software at textbook publisher websites (AIS) and others • Review of relevant case studies in prominent accounting education journals (both ACT/MIS case studies) • Talked with reps of both large (Big 4) and local CPA firms • Past research (Briscoe et al. 1996) shows AIS accounting instructors/courses generally receive lower ratings than instructors of traditional types (financial; cost) of ACT courses; (same for Auditing course)-re: judgment nature of the class. • A well-structured AIS course, including a choice of case studies, may help improve instructor AIS course ratings • *published in Issues in Accounting Education 2011. **published in International Journal of Accounting and Information Management 2012

4. Main Topical Coverage in the Introductory AIS Class Internal Controls: • ---COSO; COBIT; SOX; ERM; Separation of Duties; P/D/C Controls; IT Controls Transaction Processing Cycles: • ---Revenues, Expenses, HRM/Payroll, Production, leading to General Ledger and Financial Reporting System Documentation Techniques: Flowcharting; ID Internal Control Strengths and Weaknesses

5. AICPAs Core Competency Framework • Functional competencies (technical competencies, including research and technology); • Personal competencies (problem solving; decision making; working and interacting with others in teams); and • Broad business perspective competencies (strategic/critical thinking; industry/sector perspective; marketing/client focus).

6. Profiles of UM Undergraduate Accounting Majors • ∽25% work for large (Big 4/Regional) CPA firm; • ∽25% work for locally-based CPA firms; • ∽25% work in private industry; • ∽25% work in areas other than these. Therefore, there is no ideal ‘one-size fits all’ type of project available in the AIS class helpful in developing the specific skills required of UM accounting majors when taking the introductory AIS course, considering the different skills required for each of the above types of future jobs.

7. The ‘Menu’ Project Choice Experiment for the Introductory AIS Course: 2010-2011 School Year Software Choices: • ---QuickBooks with an Internal Controls component-non-Big 4 Majors (Pearson Education); or • ---MSD Dynamics with an Internal Controls Component-non-Big 4 Majors (Pearson Education). Case Study Choices*: • ---COSO Financial Statement Risk Assessment** (ERM Applications to publicly-listed firms/various industries)-Big 4; or • ---XBRL Case Study (Issues in Accounting Education)-experiential application to analysis of Pepsi/Coca Cola XBRL filings; or • ---IT General Controls Case Study (Issues in Accounting Education)-experiential application to a firm. IT Advisory. • *changed in 2011-2012 school year to include UM Internal Audit projects (Golf course; Griz card; athletic dept. books), and deleted XBRL (out-of-date already). • **published in International Journal of Accounting and Information Management, January 2012. Winner of Best Paper Award at 2010 AIS Educators Conference. Concept taken from KPMG Faculty website.

8. ‘Menu’ Choice Setup, Schedule, and Requirements • Maximum of 5 students per group: self-selection. • Software (QB and MSD) installed on desktops in GBB 213 with help of SOBA helpdesk ----note: changed to 3 students for SW project choices in 2011-2012 school year Software: group assignments starting Week 5-Week 15; individual assignment due Week 15; no group presentation. Assignments varied per group Case Studies: work on case study throughout the semester; formal presentation week before finals using PowerPoint to KPMG-Audit (Billings); each group member required to present (30-45 minutes per group).

9. Instructor Organization/Administration of the Group Projects • Use of the University LMS to administer the ‘Menu’ choices (Group Pages; Assignment Drop boxes; paperless grading) • Establish an outline (schedule) of requirements and deadlines for students-both for the group and individual SW assignments-with different groups assigned different problems-all in the LMS • For individual SW assignments, develop different assignments to reduce chances of copying – and no two members of one group perform the same individual assignment-all in the LMS • Grading schedules and feedback to students and groups for submitted requirements using Excel and LMS (paperless) • GA assistance for grading (especially the SW assignments) • Required Group Member end of Project Member Feedback (rating) form (to avoid slouching)-instructor reflects in final grades • Instructor grades the Group Case Study requirements and presentations using a rubric; student post final deliverables, including PowerPoint presentation, on their Group page in the LMS

10. Student Survey Results (using Survey Monkey)-Beginning of the Semester • First survey: Week 4, student project choice basically decided (some late exceptions) • School Year 2010-11: n = 113 taking AIS class • 63 (54%) female; 86 (75%) have self-reported GPA of at least 3.0; majority were ACTG majors; 50% plan to work for some type of CPA firm upon graduation; 89 (78%) plan to sit for the CPA exam; 84 (74%) chose one of the SW Projects; remainder (29: 26%) chose one of the case studies.

11. Student Survey ResultsBOS-SW Choices • n =84 students choosing a SW project choice (57: QB; 27: MSD): --60 expected to use the SW during their future careers; and --10 believed it was important for resume purposes. • And in another survey question, 73 (87%) believed their SW choice would benefit them professionally in the future.

12. Student Survey Results: BOS-Case Study Choices • n = 28 students (17=COSO): --16 believe their case study choice better suited their career goals at this time; and --9 expected to work with colleagues on projects like this in the future. • And in another survey question, 23 believed their choice would benefit them professionally in the future.

13. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study Choices-QuickBooks

14. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study Choices-QuickBooks

15. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study Choices-QuickBooks

16. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study Choices-Microsoft Dynamics • Results are similar to the QuickBooks results: MSD n = 22 students. --75% positive about using MSD --77% agreed experience supplemented the AIS course materials coverage --13 students wished they had done QB --Similar number of hours spent on QB project; suggestions for improvements similar to QB

17. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study ChoicesCOSO FS Risk Assessment Project (n=17)

18. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study ChoicesCOSO FS Risk Assessment Project

19. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study ChoicesCOSO FS Risk Assessment Project

20. Student Survey Results: EOS-Case Study ChoicesXBRL and IT General Controls • Results were similar to the COSO survey results for the EOS surveys for students performing the XBRL/ITGC group case study projects

21. Impact on AIS Instructor Teaching Evaluations of the ‘Menu’ Approach(Rating Scale of 1 to 5)

22. Conclusions, Limitations, Suggestions • Students appear to choose project aligned to their future career interest • Students feels project chosen will benefit them professionally in the future • Using menu approach to group project may increase at least ‘perceived’ student effort in the AIS course • Testing different types of projects with our students may change the results one way or the other

23. Conclusions, Limitations, Suggestions • Testing the ‘menu’ approach using AIS instructors with low teaching ratings and a mix of difference types of projects would inform future AIS instructors of project approaches which may help their overall student ratings • Results are valid possibly only in Universities where you have such a diverse mix of accounting majors interested in a large range of careers in the profession, like we have at the SOBA

24. Next Steps-Menu Paper • Incorporate comments received from Reviewers from Issues and the 2012 AIS Educators Conference • Submit to AIS Educator Journal next month

25. ‘Menu’ Approach to the Introductory AIS Class Thank you for your comments and attending today!