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Rochester Institute of Technology RIT Scholar Works Articles 2005 Emerging technologies and the future of the accounting profession omas Tribunella M. Pamela Neely Heidi Tribunella Follow this and additional works at: hp://scholarworks.rit.edu/article is Article is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorized administrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Northeast Region American Accounting Association Meeting -- Emerging Technologies and the Future of the Accounting Profession, with omas Tribunella, Heidi Tribunella, 2005

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Page 1: Emerging technologies and the future of the accounting ... · Accounting Infonnation Systems (IS) and is Auditing courses arc standard offerings in most accounting programs. This

Rochester Institute of TechnologyRIT Scholar Works

Articles

2005

Emerging technologies and the future of theaccounting professionThomas Tribunella

M. Pamela Neely

Heidi Tribunella

Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.rit.edu/article

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by RIT Scholar Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorizedadministrator of RIT Scholar Works. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Recommended CitationNortheast Region American Accounting Association Meeting -- Emerging Technologies and the Future of the Accounting Profession,with Thomas Tribunella, Heidi Tribunella, 2005

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Eml.'rgillg Tcc nuc togte s and tbI.' Fu tu re of the Aeeou n t ing Profession

Thomas Trib unclla. Rocheste r Institute of TechnologyPam Neely, Rochester Institute of Technolo gy

Heidi Tribunella. University 0 f Roc hester

Abstract

In this pilper we invcstigate the differences between practi tioner and academic interests in

eme rg ing technologies. We com pare and contrast the results of a facuity survey to the

AICPA 's Top Techl1<llogy list. It appears that academic s and practitioners have

significant ly different interests concerning emerg 'ng technologies. Furthennore,

technology interests for both groups change over time. We then discuss the problems

that arise from rbe differing points o f view and suggeSl some poss ible solutions,

L fnrroducncn

Accounting Infonn ation Systems (IS) and is Auditing courses arc standard

offerings in most accounti ng programs. This is a reflection of the growing lmportilnee of

infoml:llion syslems ilnd emerging technologi es in the accountin g profe ssion. Emerging

techno logies (ET) sucb as electronic com merce . XBR L (exl<;nsible business reporting

language). database management. paperless office technology. and enterprise systems are

pervasive in the current business environment. In the [uture, emerging technologies w ill

grow in importance. When thc career management firm Robert Half asked : "Olher lhan

finilnciill eXlwrtisc. which one o f n-c following do you think will be most critlcalto an

acco unting profe, s;onal' s career , ucee>s?" 44 pcrcent ofCFOs surveyed ranked

technology expertise first (Robert Half lmcrnarional, 2(04).

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(Insert Exhib it tHere)

In spite of th is recognition. there are sigm ficant differences between what college

professors teach and what practitioners rank as important. This article wilt exarnme these

differences and how they ma y affec t the future of the accounting pro fession. We will

then suggest some solut ions (0 help brillge the gap between acad emic and pracli llon~"­

po ints of view .

I I. Lnera rure Review and Contr ibu t ions of this Study

Lite ra ture Review

Several journa l art icles were reviewed to understand previous research conducted

in the area of pract itioner and faculty interesls in technology. A broad range of art icle s

have addressed this issue The primary type.s ofme lhodo logics used arc : faculty surveys.

surveys of practit ioners . review of text book contents and the examination of course

syllabi. Also. specific lopics such as XBRL and database technologies have been stud ied.

Calderon, Olsen and ( onrand ( 1996) stud ied the coverage of database topics in

Accounting Information Systems (A rs) courses. They found thatthe coverage of

database tools and techniques used in prdctice was low , Karim. Deshmukh and Romine

(2003) studied the coverage of XBRL in AIS courses , They found tha t 40% of AIS

pro fessors do not cover XBR L and 60% o f accoun ling students arc completc ly unfamiliar

with XI3R L.

Exh ibit 2 lists severa l papers that have examined IS and ET faculty and

pmcl ition cr interests. From a review of Exhibit 2 we can sec that facu lty rarely agree

with practi tioners when rank ing importanttechnologies. Fllrthe rmo rc, there is a rapid

----- - --- - - - - - - - - -----"

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turnover of the technology interests of both academics and practitioners. However.

internal control and database issue seem 10 be a constant theme.

(Insert Exhibit 2 Here)

Co ntribu tions of Chis Stud)'

This study contributes to the literature in several ways. The sUNey used in this

study targeted the Information Systems (lS) and Artificial Intelligence I Emerging

Technology (A I/ET ) sections of the AAA. Therefore. the survey specifically aims at the

demain of ET and the individuals who arc familiar with the current issues. Accordingly.

the survey responses were completed by those who have infonned opinions. In this study

the survey contained a list of technologies and the survey also allowed faculty to add to

the list. Therefore, the survey responses emerged from the respondent s rather than being

predefined by the researchers. This shol.lld reduce framing bias (Judd . Smith and Kidder

1991 ) and allow the respondents to include a wide variety of perccptions,

The AlCPA·s (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) Top

Technologies list is a prominent and well established ranking of pro fessiona l interests

which has never been compared to academic interests. It is important to ascertain the

degree to which academic s agree with the AICI'A·s Top Ten. This knowledge can help

the accounting profession det~'TTTli ne if a large gap exists between the two commun ities.

Il l. Research an d Sampling Meth ods

In this stl.ldy, Accounting lnformaticn Systems (A IS) professors were surveyed by

mail in 2()()3, The sample was taken from members of the AAA Informat;on Systems

(IS) sect ion and AAA Artificiallntclligenee and Emerging Technology (AIIET) section.

2

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We only surveyed faculty with an interest in AIS and asked the facully to classify their

top five interests In this study, the survey allowed faculty to add to the list of suggested

techno logies , Therefore, the responses emerged from the responden ts rather than being

prcdefilled by the survey. Each survey was pre-numbered. ineluded a cover leiter

explaining the purpose of the survey. and a business reply envelope which was return

postage paid for US mailings, In addition to technology interes ts, responden ts were also

asked to supply demographic information. Individual faculty members were used to

pretes t the survey. The survey was distributed to (i1'Cprofessors who examined and

tested the survey for time, clarity, relevance aml understandability. The survey was

adjusted to incorporate several suggested improvements,

IV. Sun 'e,· Results and Descr iptive s rausucs

Surveys were mailed to 936 acco unting academics and 146 respo ndents

completed the survey. According to Alreek and Settle ( 1995), response rates for mail

surveys are nor mally five to ten percent and response rates ahove 30 percent arc rare .

The usable response rate from this survey was 15.6% and the response statistics arc listed

below:

• Population of AIS Faculty Indicating D (computer) or S (systems) Based on

Hassclback (2004): 1,288

• Surveys Mailed: 936 (sample is 936 / 1,288 - 72.7% of population)

• Surveys Returned: 162

• Unusable Surveys: 16

• Usable Surveys: 146 (data set IS 146 / 1,288 = 11.]% of population)

• Total Response Rate: 17.3%

3

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• Usable Respons~ Rate: 15.6%

A 15.6 percent usable response rate may raise question of non-response bias.

However. the respondents represent the diversity of the populat ion in many respects . For

examp le, AACSB accredited schools and qualified faculty were well represented.

Exhibit J displays university profiles where the respondents work. Exhibit 3

shows tha!658 pen:ent of the respondents were from AACSB (Association to Advance

Collegiate Schools of Business) accredited schools and 79.5 percent of the respondents

were from AACSB accredited schools or schools that are candidates for accred itation.

Faculty at AACS13 accredited and AACS8 candidate schools may be mOre desirable

respondents because of their increased focus on research and publishing. The emphasis

on publishing that must be demon st r~ted for faculty to be designated as academical ly and

professionally qualified should make respondents from AACSB accred ited schools very

knowle(lg~ aboutthe emerging technologies their field.

( Insert Exhibit 3 Here)

Approximately 84.2 percent of the respondents were from the United States . Two

factors may have caused skewed results in geography. First, the original sample included

approximate ly 22 percent foreign professors. Secondly, due to budget constraims, return

postage was not included for foreign survey participants. There fore anyon e responding

from outside the United States was required to pay postage to return the survey. The fact

that the majori ty of the reSI}(lndents were rmm the United States may reduce the

usefulness of the reslilts for understanding the perceptions of emerging t~>(: hnol ogies by

international faculty.

,

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Exhibit 4 displays respondent profiles. As seen in Exhibit 4, 78.8 percent of the

respondents have ea ml-d a Ph. D. or DBA. wbicb may further contribute to the credibility

of this sample. Over 41 percent of the sample held a tenured po.';ltion and 63 percent of

the sampl e was either an Assistant or Associate Pro fessor. Slightly more than 17 percent

of the faculty held the rank of Full Professor. The respondel1ts to lhe survey were

experienced facu lty since some 65 perce nt had over five years of full lime teaching

experience.

(lnscrt Exhibit 4 Here)

The respondents 10the survey indicated a tota l of39 interests and the top 10 arc

displayed \1\ Exhibit 5. It is no surprise that database and information sccurity issue arc

on the list. however, auditing EDP systems lias appeared as the top issue for the firSl

time. Eccommerce is also appeari ng as a more importaTIttopic in this study when it is

compared with the earli er studies.

(Insert Exhibit 5 Here)

The AICPA surveyed Its members regard ing their perccpnons ofthc top lcn

technologies in 2003 and received 263 responses. The responses were comp iled into

their annual "2004 Top 10 Technolog ies' list displayed in Exhibit 6.

(Insert Exhibit 6 Here)

Whe n Exhibi ts 5 and 6 are compared, there is an obVIOUS gap between the

interests of pracl i t i on~ors and the mtcrcsts 0 f college professors. Only 1\\"0 items overlap,

Informa tion Security and Databasc & Application Integration. Infor mation Seeuri!y is an

important topic du e to the recently enacted Samanes Oxley legis lat ion , Section 404 of

the act requires audi tors to assess inter nal ccntrcls ( IC) and attest to its adequacy and

j

I

I

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effectiveness at mainta ining accurate and reliable financial data. Analyzing Ie

procedures req uires aud itors to think about systems and focus attention on the business

processes that produce or degrade data quality.

V. Discussion of Resu lts

p racuuoncr versus Aca de mic Points of View

It is clear from the list generated by practitioners Ihat emerging technologies arc

o f interes t. Many o f the issues are the same as those that Chief Information Officers

(005) arc grappli ng with. The list reflects an ever increasing awareness of the need for

secure data at the same time that we need our data to be more mobile. In addi tion. data

mining as well as data base and application Integration reflects the desire to get more

"bang for thc buck' as we reuse da ta in secondary applications . We want to be able lise

data more than once by creating data warehouses that ultimately support management

decision mak ing. Thc pract itioner is very forward thinking and continual ly motivated by

competitive forces. They focus not 0 11 the dcvcIopment of systems, bur on how systems

call be used for strategic purposes and com petitive advantages .

Academ ics seem to be focused on system performance and systcm dc\-e1 opment

since they are interested in design and networking lssues. Histor ically, accou nt ing bas

been primarily interested in transact ions and this bias is seen in the list generated by

academics with items such as co mputerized transaction processing (TP). We also sec an

academic interest toward intelligent systems with focus on dec ision Sllpport and expert

systems. Finally. ,",' C see that academics arc interested in large com prehen sive systems

that include ERP and electronic commerce applications.

6

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One solution to resolve the gap between academics and practitioners is to have

prominent conferences that encourage the bridging of practice and theory. h should be

noted t h ~t there arC a numher of conferences in Security, as well as Datahase and

Application Integration that arc llesigned for practitioners and academics to discuss these

issues. This may be the reason these two issues appear on both lists.

Another possible solution is to develop a research agenda that rewards

collaboration between academics and practitioners. This would also help academics

focus on research issues \h~t arc more relevant to the employers of their students.

R:lpidly C hanging Practnlone r Interests

A review of Exhibit 7 reveals that the AICPA's Top Ten technolo gies change

from year to year. reneeting the rapid advancement of technology in general. Some

topics stay on the list year after year. with security issues being the most constant. Other

topics may be quickly replaced by other emerging issues. Overall, there may be several

factors cont ributing to the high tumover rate or technology issues. f irst. Issues ~lw~ys

appearing on the list may be critical success factors. Secondly, the issues that appear

frcqucntlv arc those that arc the most difficultto solve and work continues on resolving

them over a 1011ger period of time.

(In<;ert Exhibit 7 Here)

The rapidly changing Top 10 Technologies may also be a reflection o r lhe US

economy's shill rrom manu facturing to a service based economy. Service industries such

as health care. accou ntiug, fi nance and insurance depend on large amounts ofdata as well

as sophisticated infor mation technologies .

7

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As a r~oult of this rapidly changing list, there is frequently a "disconnect" between

what practitioners want their newly hired students to know and what academics are

willing and able to teach. TIle educational system is not designed to move quickly.

whereas industry must rapidly reopond to market forces in order to stay competitive. A

new AIS curriculum would take at least a year from idea to actual implementation since

the changes may be routed through a hierarchy of advisory hoards. curriculum

committees . state regulatory agencies. and various administrators. In that timc. the

rapidly changing interests of practitioners will demand that diffcrcm technologies be

taught.

Students must attend college to "learn how to learn" as part of the solution 10 this

prob lem. As long as emerging technologies (ET) arc included in the curriculum, students

will have the oppo rtunity to develop skills in learning new tools and te<: hni'lues Whcn

they graduate, thcy can apply these skills to learn rue technology that is demanded by the

marketplace at the moment. This ISthe pedagogy used in the rclated fi eld of

Management Infonna tion Systems (MIS). Freshman MiS students may learn to program

usiug Java but fi nd that by senior year another compuler language is dominating industry.

However, students should have the skills to learn a new limguage and will approach the

Job market knowing lhat they will be constantly updating their skills as life long learners.

Focus should be on the learning process when teaching students emerging

technologies. Currelltly many tccnnorogtcs arc taught using a style that focuses on "how­

to" rather thanvwhy". Students should become familiar with reference books and

problem solving skills . Academics cannot teach all the different software packages,

accounting systcms, and computer languages used inthe business world. The analyticill

8

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thinking ski1l5 learn ed by using one software package can be transferred to a variety of IT

applications.

Studen ts must move beyond knowledge of the technology and into

comprehension. application and analysis of the lechnology_ This progression oflearning

is known as Bloom' s laxonomy of educational objectives (Bloom. Engelhart. Furst, Hili

and Krathwchl 1956). It requires increasing levels of sophistication as the student moves

up the taxonomy and masters higher levelthinking skills. These thinking skill s will

enable students 10 learn new lcchnology during the college years and beyond , Academics

must do a better job of teaching studems how to learn ins tead o f leaching them a

technology that wl1l be rap idly outdated .

Process "u sus Sta lk T liinking

"Manumation" is the autom ation of manualtransactions Comp uterized

transaction precessing (Tp) is an example or automating thc same proc esses Ihal we "ere

using Wilh manual systems. Electronic reponing llSCS a new mediumthat can do more

than just generate traditional reports, Mana gemenl must recognize that an opportunity is

available 10 rccnginccr processes when lmroduc iug technology into an organiza tion.

Pract itioners and academics mUSI comprehend database processes 10 ensure an

appropriate understanding of accounting and enterp rise systems. If prac titio ners do not

understand database proce-;ses. it can lead to COSily mistakes by management.

Practitioners may or may not be writing quer ies. bUl must posscss excellent analytica l

ski lls in order to underst and sophisticated proces, e>in an efficicnt manner.

One of the techno logicaltrends that will affec t financ ial repon ing processes is

markup languages , The creation oflanguagcs such as XBRL (extensible Business

9

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Reporting Language) will allow for lhc rapid communicalion of data between

organizations . systems and networks. XBRL can allow users 10 increase the speed ofthc

financial reporting pr<.>eess and it may lead 10 a conti nuous reporting process in the future.

lntbc short run. XBRL will soon be used by the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission)

10 acccpt financial reports that contain data in XBRL cor upfiam form. Since XI3RL

based tags can be used to identify grains of data for financial applic ations. new ways of

understanding thc fi nancial reporting process and tcsting data qualily will have to bc

developed.

With the increasing regulation of the accounting profession. data needs 10 be

managed 111 such a way to prQvide accurale infonnalion to a variety o f statutory and

government agenc ies. such as tbe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Internal

Revenue Serv ice (IRS) and the National Assoc iation o f Insuran ce Commissioners

(NAIC). Such data needs to be collec ted efficiently, stored in a common fe rmat. reported

accuralcly and uscd to conlribute 10 the information value chain . The acco untant shou ld

possess the analytiCskIlis necessary 10 glean the appropriale data, produce value added

information. and make more informed reporting decisions.

The Effect on Ptactitloncrs alld lhe Accounting Profession

Thc effect ofthe gap between practitioners and academics causes practit ioners to

spend resources and time trammg newly minted undergraduate and graduate students.

For exam ple, Pncewaterhousccoopcrs spends thousands of dollars training each new

junior in aud iting techniq ues. If fresh college graduates are asked 10 audil

lcchl1ologically !;Ophisl icaled clients and they are not prepared for the challenge, audit

risk will increase.

10

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In addition. ifnew graduates in industry are trying 10perform complex data

management and querying withollt the approp riate skills . increases in the risk of material

misstatements in financial infc nuation will result. Accordingly, th,s incriJascs the risk of

mak lng inappropriate business decisions due to mislead ing information or poor dcc ision

making skills. Such mistakes reflect badly on the academic institutions the students they

graduate.

Accord ing to Steve Albrecht and Robert Sack in thcir March 2001. CPA Journa l

article. "Class time devoted 10 infonnation gathering and recording is pOlnt1css, hecause

information is inexpenSl\'e and readily available. Students do 110t have a thorough

understanding oftechnologies impact on business . Nor arc they cognizant of hew

technology can be leveraged to make business dec isions." According ly. there ~hnu ld be

a less narrow focus on procedures and more focus On decision making. Account ing

students must unders tand how techno log ies will create value and compet itive adVa11tage

by ble11(ling their unders tandmg of the strategic decision making concepts with the

functionality of thc techno logies.

In aJ dit;o n. spreadsheCls which arc used by many clients as decision making tools

are becoming more comp lex. This is posing greater audit risk Slllee the spreadsheet cells

could have programming mistakes in formulas. Freshly graduated acco untin g students

will need to be able to understand complex spreadsheets and determine that the

informat ion processes arc programmed correct ly. Therefore, students must learn how to

model spreadsheets for usc as decision aids instead ofusing them as automated

worksheets .

11

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Whe n a cl ient' s substantive evid ence is contained in a data base , the auditor must

gain access to the data warehouse to substantively test thc ir client's work. Accordingly.

thc practitioner needs to be able to communicate need. to IT staff who can write more

advanced queries . Hence, such comm unication and teamwork skills should be included

in accou nting programs.

According to Dennis Beres ford (FASB Chairman 1987 to 1997), ··stlldcnts are

uncomfortable dealing with issues that req uire profcssional j udgmcm or arc otherwise

ambiguous" (CI'A J Jan uary 2004). Introducing more case studies into the cu rriculum

will allow the st lldent to increase their cri tical thinking skills . It is important that the

cases feature some ambiguous issues that develop professiona lJudgmen ts. Studen ts

should learn to work in teams on com plex scenarios, agree on professiona l j udgments,

and communicate solutions through eOllsultmg reports and presentations . The curriculum

should include opportunities to define a problem. map out a strategy. and implement a

solution 011 time and with' n budget Moreover. studen ts should learn how to run an audit

or consuhing engagement at a senior or manager level.

VI. Conctus tons a nd Suggest ions for Fu ture Research

Conclu, ions

In ,;ummary, academics and practitioners arc likely to COll! 111ue to differ in their

perce ptio ns of what should be on a Top Ten Technolog ies list. Both partie s have valid

points of view . Knowledge o f new technologies is important. but there arc only a finite

number of courses that a student can take in rOllr or five years. Practitioners must

recognize that academics can not gear up as qlli ekly as industry and academics must

rccognil.C that they may need to spend more time ill unders tanding the emerging

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technology needs of industry. Finally. students must learn how to Ie"m "nd graduate

with a curiosity that motivates them to update their skills on the "latest and greatest"

technologies through continuing professional education.

Futu re Research Opportunfucs

The results presented in this paper could be expanded by increasing the

interruuioncl response mte. According ly. the differences in perceptions of American AIS

faculty and internationa l AIS f"cully could be investigated. Another method for

increasing the response rate is to survey the members of other relevant professional

organizations such as the ALS Educator Association, One could argue that the responses

to this study were bias by a sample selected exclusive ly from the AAA.

One llrawbaek oftbis study is that AIS professors may gi\-e favOTahle scores to

the technologies they are familiar with a" d as a result bias the rankings . Perception based

rankings may be solf-serving and result from predispositions. Instead of focusing on

important emerging technologies.

In the future the most important research will be directed "t attempting to find

effective «nd efficient ways to bridge the gap between academics and practitioners. This

may involve some form of partnerships between professional and academic organizations

related to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences. Given the great number of

emerging technologies that arc on the horizon, the profession may not have the resources

to address all Interests.

The professiOll would be well served by agreeing 01 1 a focus and becoming

competent professiona ls in a subset of tcehnology issues, In this way the accounting

profession can provide a unique value added service to the business community. Before

13

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Ihis occurs. academics and pr:tetitiollCrll will have to agree on a long term technology

strategy mat will focus on produc ing highly tramcd professionals. A fr:unewor1c for this

techno logy strategy could be the subject of SC\'cral research proj ec ts.

Refere nces

Accounting Education Change CommiSSIon (1m). Objecli,es of Education forAccounts: Positi<m Stateffil't\l Number One. Issues In ....ccounting Edurol/Ofl . fall. "01. 5.no. 2.

Alred; , P. Land Rebert B. Settle (1995). The Sun..,' Research /landbook. second/!dmon . lrwin, Chie3go. IL

Albrecht. W. Steve and Robert J . SlICk (2000). A«OlIming Ed" m l/on: Chart ing IheCOliFS/! through a PerilollS F" t" re. American lnstiiute ofCertified Public Accountantsand Ihe American Accounting Association. Accountin g Education Series. \'01. 16.w....\\" a icp;I Qrg;edu/accleduc,hlm.

Alb recht. W, Steve and Robert J. Sack (200 1j , The Perilous f uture o f AccouuungEduc ation. The CPA JOUr/wi. M arch.

American lnstnu te of Cenifi ed Public Acceuntarns (2004, 2003, 2002). A/CPA TopTcclllrologic$. ",v"".epa2bjz.com.

Bacon. Donald R.. Kim A. Stewart and William Silver (1999). Lessons from the Best andWOl'St Student Team Expe riences: Ho....• a Teac her Can Make the Difference. Journal ofMunugeJIIl'lrt EduCQtwn.luly. "01. 23. no. 5.

Bam. Craig E.. Alan I. Blankley and Murphy Smith (2002). An Exammation o f ToplealCO\'erage for the First Accounting lnformauon S)"$tems Course.Jallnrol o[lll[()nllatianSI"SIf!tn$. Fall. "01. 16. 00. 2

Beresjoed. Dennis R. (2004). Some Thoughts on Stooents and Faculty. nw CPA Journal,January.

Bland. Sandra (2002). A Comp3fl$1Ofl o r the Oplllions of Accounnng AcademIcs andAccounllng Pract itioners about Tccbnololl}' Know ledge Needed by Entry-LevelAccountants. Accounting In[()nlla/IOIl S)-Sl t nu EducaIDr$ Canfal'n~ Archl\'es. www.ais­educ.comiarc hiH.'.htm.

Bloom. B. S.. M. D. Engelh3rt. E. J . Furst. W. H. Hill , and D. R. Kl1l\h wohl. (1956).Ta.wflomy of Educationot Obj«If\·I'$. III/1/lJbook 1: Cognitive /JonlUIII . New York, NY:Longman Publishers.

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Brooks. Charles M. and Ja nice LAmmons (2003) . Free Riding in Group Projects and theEffe cts of Timing. Frequency. and Speclficity of Criteria in Peer Assessments , Joum at ofEduCllIiollfor Eu.lilless. May /Jnne. vol. 78. no. 5.

Bryant. Stephan ie M. (2001) , A Blueprint for an A[5 Consulting Course, Jourml! 0/hiformaliall Svncms, Spring. vel. 15. no. I .

Calderon, Thomas G" David H. Olsen and Edward J. Conrand (1996). DatabaseCoverage \11 the Accounting [nfonnation Systems Course. Journal of ACCQllIIlillS wulComp uters . issue 12.

Callaghan . Joseph. Arl ine Savage and Eileen Peacock (2002). Rethink ing AIS: Anlnnovativc Financia llnfcrmation Systems Curriculu m ACCOlllllillS "ifomwtloll SystemsEducators Conferellce Arcilivcs, www.ais-cduc.ccm/archive.htm.

Ceru llo, Michael J. (198 1). Ccntem of the Accounting Systems Course. Journal of Dm(lEducaz ion. Ja nuary. pp. 19-2 I .

Dav is. Jam es R. a~d Robert A Leitch (1988). Accounting l~fom1ation Systcms Co ursesand Curricula: New Perspect ives . .laumlll of'''/o''''lIIio" Systems. fall. pp. 153-166,

Dcost, Roger , Gary B. Me Combs and Moh scn Shari f (2002). The Stale of AccountingInformation Syst<1J11 S Education and Account ing Professional Expect atio ns: Is There aGap? AccolOllllng III/orlt/llIio" SySlems Ed"Cil lors Conference Archi"es, ww\\' .ais­cduc.com/archivc .htm.

Ellen. Nicky and John West (2003). Classroom Manag crncut of PrOjecl Managcmcr n: AReview of Approaches to Managing a Student' s lnfc r mation Sys tem Pr<>jcClDevelopment. Journai ofAmericllIl Academy 0/ B",'iness, September. vol. 3.

Foster, B<1 njamin, P, Ju lia N. Karcher and A la~ $ . Levitan. (2003) , Gender and ACCO UlllS'Use ofTeclmology. The CPA JOII"'I1I, February.

Groo mer. S. Michael and Uday S, Murt hy ( 1996). An Empirical Ana lysis ofthcAccounting ln fonuation Systems Co urse Journal or Information System s. \01. 10. no. 2,fall, pp. 103- [27,

Heady. Cynthia D a~d Erne"t A. Rakow ( 199 1). Co urse Content of Acco untingInform ation Systems: Do Professors Agree? AccOlwllng Educators Jmlr/ l(Il. winter, pp .140· 158,

Judd, C. M.. E. R. Smith . and L. H. Kidder ( 1991 ). Research Mi'lhods In SocialRelIWOIIS, 051-<111 edilloll. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. umdon. UK.

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Kmim , Khond kar. Asfnnosh Dcshmukh and Jeffrey Romine (2003) , XBRL ill theClassroom: A Rcvicw o f the Currcnt Situation. Accom'ling l"fomwllOlI SynonsEducators Conference Archi,·e., . www.ais-educ.com/archivc.htm.

Katzenbach. Jon R. and Douglas K. Smith (1993). The Wisdom orTeams. SmallBusi l!ess Reporls, July, vo l. l ~ , no. 7.

Mod, T. J., B. E. Crus hIng, G. B. Da.. is. M. A. Vasarhelyi. C. E. Whitc and J. W.Wilkinson (1987) , Report of the AAA Co rnrniuee on Contemporary Approaches 10Tcaching Accounting Informat ion Systems. Journal of IliforllPmiOIl System,<, spring. pp,127-156.

MillIron. Valerie C. (2oo l) . Developing AI$fERP Professionals: Matchi ng MarketDemand and Academic Program Structure . Aceol/millg !liformalion Sys tems Edu cator"COllfi'rel1(:~ Arch i"es , ',",,'W.ais -educ.ccm/ archive.btrn .

Pallen, Ronald and Doyle Z. Williams (1990). Invited Editorial: Th crcs Trouble - RigbtHere in Our Acco unting Programs: The Challenge to Accounling Educators . Issu,·.' illAccOlmling Educatio". Fal l. \'0 1. 5. no. 2 .

Rago tham an. Srinivasan and Thomas Davis (1002), Perceptions of Acco untingPanshioncrs ~nd Educators on Ecbusincss Curriculum and Web Security Issues: AllEmpi ri c ~1 Analysis . AcrolllUillg b ifOrmaiion ,'» '.we",., Edu' '(J/ors COliferel1ce AI'chives,www.ais-cduc.corn/arcbivc.htm.

Robert Half Intcmational, Inc. (2004). Nex t Generation Aecolllltal1l: Ne'" Compaencres.Com·crgi"g DiSClplincs I",d Expandillg Roles. www.ncxtgcnacCO Ul1lanLe0111.

Smi th, L. Mu rphy and Craig E. Bain ( 1993), The Scope of the Accounting Info mlalionSystems Course; Based on Textbook Coverage and a Faculty Survey. AccoumingEducatOr>;' Journal. ve l. V. no. 2. 1- 11.

Ulis s. Barbta and M. Vtrginia P~rker (200 1). Emcrgi ng AIS Issues and TIleir GrowingImport ance 111 tbe Accounting Cu rricul um, ArcOImtilig hiformatioll Sy.<le"" · £ dllClllorsCOlifere",'c Archi !"e,.. www.ais-cduc.com/archive.htm.

Vangenneersch. Richard (2000) , Fifty Reasons for the Decline in the Quant ity andQuality o f Account ing Majors, The CPA Journal. January,www.nysscpa.org!cllajoumal/2Q{)()/O)Q()/soonJan.htm .

Vangcmlccrsch. Richard (2ool ) SOI1lC Proposed Solu t ions fe r the Decline in theQuantity and Quality of Accounting Majors. The CPA JOl/nllll, January.

Wallace. Wanda A. (1990), One Educator's Vicw of How 10 Respond to thc ChallengesFaced by Higher Ed ucation in Business, Issues in AcrO/III/ing £dllc"!io,,. Fall, vet. 5. no ,2.

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westbrook, CUr! (2003). lmpacl oftbc Sarbanes-Oxley Act of2002 on Ac~ounlinginlormalion Systems. Accollmmg fll! ormalioll Systems Iiducators Coeferen re Archives,www.ais-cduc.comfarchi \"c.hlm.

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Exbihit 1Robert Half Iureruatlcnal Survey Results

teodership obi~lies 11 "

SIm'Ig (omtrkri:oliGnl~ih 24%

Other/den ', knw 5%

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Exhibit 2Literat c Re -le ' of A! S T b' I t IS,

" " " eac 10 ° D eraAIJlbors Davis & Heagy &: Sm ith & Groomer &: Bain. Bain. I

Leitch Rakow Bain Murthy Blankle y & BlankleySmith &: Sm,th

Yn , 1988 1991 '993 1996 2002 2002S Ur H '\ ' 809 448 '" 453 829 600Uu ble 132 172 " 165 162 11 1R tsOODH

" l('thod Survey of FXIlIty Fxulty Faculty Faculty Survey ofRecent Ace. Sune)' Survey Sur....ey Survey A~.

Graduates G""'-, Spreadsheets Inlernal Inte rnal Cycles InlerTlal lntcmalControl$ Co ntro l Colltrol Comrol, Software Manual Ace. Control Controls &: TP Symem.s Interne!

S Audium &: C.'Cles3 Statements Computeril ed Ana lysis &: Sys. Sys. TP

&: Reports Ace, Sys. Design Analys is & Documen- Sys tems &Design tation C...d es

4 Revenue Presentation Rev. & E\p. Technology Compuler EthicsCycle & Storage of Cycles o f A IS Fraud

Dalas Internal Sys. File & Data DI3 Mgt. Software

Control Developm entD~~~~

Model ing Sys.Life cvete & D8

6 Joum al Overview DB File End UserEntries Archuectl,lrc Co rnau!in\:

7 Accounts Evaluat ion E· Comrn .Pa,-able & Selecucn commerce Topics

8 Billing & lrnplemm-- Ethics File Org.Collec tions tation &: Access

9 CompulCl" Managcmntt End User tee .Assisted Fuocl ions ComPUtinll ...-orking

Audi t10 EDP DB ED! Ccmpcrer

Auditing Management Fraud, S\'S.

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b bihi1 3lJuh-er<iIVProfiles Where ReSDOotJents Wo rk

AACSB Sta t us: Percent l'''umber of Full Time fa culty In lbe PercentBusiness Division :

Not AACSR Accred iled 20.5 No Res oW"Candidate for Accreditation 13.7 o to lO ,,

AACS ll Accredned 65.8 Jl 1020 6.8TOlal 100.0 211030 10.3

311040 13.0

T I' e of Coli 'e: Pereenl 4 1 10 50 ' 2Private Colle e 30.1 51 10 60 7.'l'u bh" Colk e 69.9 61 1070 0.6TOlal 100.0 Grealer Iban 70 39 0

TOlal 100,0

Colle 'e Locatio n: PercentNo Response " Hlgbesl Bustness Retaled Degrees Percent

Awarded:Canada " As""",.I. 20Soulh Amen,a .7 Bachelor 31.0M ia <2 M.,l.r of Sc,,:nce 19.5Emo . 2.7 MBA 27.1Ausnaha " Doctorate 16.7USA 84,2 Otber 3.7Total 10{l.0 TOla l 100.0

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r. ~ h i b il .j

Resll<md~nt Pr ofilesFaeull\' Rank: Percent R. r... . d J ournal Percenl Cumulative

PublicallulIs: l'e1"eentAd'unCI

"0 21.9 21.9

Lecturer or Instructor 6.2 I to J 22.7 44,6ASSIStant 35.6 4 to 6 10.3 54 9Associate 27.4 7 to 9 6.9 6l.8Professor 17.1 10 10 12 11.7 73.5O,sl'" ished " 13 10 15 ) 5 rniEmcmus .7 16 10 18 .7 77.7Studem 6.8 19 t02 1 ,." 82.5No R.. "~ ' 4 22 10 24 I., 83.9Total 100,0 25 10 27 ,., 87.3

28 to 30"

88.7Tenure Slalu. : Percent Greater Than 30 6.2 94.9Non·tenured 55,S No Res "~ 5.1 100.0Tenured 41.8 Tala1 100.0No Rcs "~ 2.7Total 100,0

Highc' l l) cgrce EH ned: Percem V. ars of Full Time Teaching: Percent CumulativePereem

Associate .7 0", 5 31.5 3 1.5Bachelor .7 610 10 18.5 50.0!\laSler 15,8 11 to 15 16.4 6<>.'JDorLLM 0 161010 11.6 78.0

ED .7 21 t025 7.5 85.5PhD or DUA 78.8 Greater lh,m 25 ll O 96.5No Res IOn", D No Res ~ 35 100.0Tolal 100.0 Total 100 ,0

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lication lnte'rationrt and Ex rt S stems

Exhibit 5Tea chin and ResearcnInrerests of AAA Members

Rank 'recnncro vI Auditiu ED? Stems2 cCommcrce3 Database & A4 Decision Su5 ER1'S terns6 Information Sccurit7 S stem Dcsi8 Electronic Rc ortin9 Com utcrtzed Transaction Prccessin10 Nctworkin

22

I

I

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F: xhihil 6AICPA To Technclo ics for 2004

Ra nk T ccho olo ,.1 Information Sccurit2 S am Tcchnolo3 Di 'i ta! timiz ation4 Database & A Iicauon Imc ralion5 Wireless Tec hllOlo v6 Disasler Recover7 Data ~l i ni n

8 Virtual Office9 Business Exchan 'e Tcchnoloe10 Messa in A lications

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Page 26: Emerging technologies and the future of the accounting ... · Accounting Infonnation Systems (IS) and is Auditing courses arc standard offerings in most accounting programs. This

Exh ibi t 7f ICP T T hc0111 anson 0 A A o ec no 0 '"

Rankin 2002 2003 2004

1 Busincss & FinanCial Informati on Security lnfcrmation Securi tyReuortin a Aunlications

2 Training & Technology Business Information Spam TechnologyCcmuctencv Mana ucment

3 Informat ion Security & Apphcation Digital OptimizationControls Integrat ion

4 Quality or Service Web Service s Database andApplicat ionlm~prali on

5 Disaster Recovery Disaste r Recovery Wirel ess TechnologyPlannine

6 CommUnication Wireless Technology Disaster RecoveryTec hnologies

7 Remote Connectivit Tools Intru sion Detection Data Minine

8 lnte r uet A lications Remote Conncctivit VirtualOffic e9 Quali ty IT Personnel Customer Business Exchange

Rclationship TechnologyMana"ement

10 Messaging Appl ications Pri vacy Mes sagingAoulications

24