GIVING ACCOUNTING STUDENTS WRITING EXPERIENCE AS JOB PREPARATION Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 151 GIVING ACCOUNTING STUDENTS WRITING EXPERIENCE AS JOB PREPARATION Gretchen N. Vik, San Diego State University ABSTRACT Most business majors are required to take a written communication course covering memos, letters, and long reports. The current level of student writing skills is low enough that the one semester course can usually do no more than give an overview of business writing style and forms, so advanced courses are frequently offered. One such advanced course is Report Writing for Accountants, which is now required by a number of AACSB accounting schools. Because writing competence is required on the job, schools training accountants have begun requiring extra training in writing skills. As the designer of a new accounting writing course, I will describe the ways in which the writing assignments prepare students for the actual writing experiences they will meet on the job. Because the class writing assignments are actual accounting firm cases and formats, they exemplify a new area of experiential learning. INTRODUCTION Like engineering students, accounting students often choose their major because they are ‘good in math, and it’s a common misconception that these careers require mainly quantitative skills. On the contrary, many professional engineers and accountants find themselves needing solid writing and speaking skills to succeed at their chosen jobs. One survey, for example, found that all types of accountants spend at least 25% of their time writing and 10% communicating orally. (They spend 30% of their time figuring and doing statements.) Since only a relatively small number of our 1500 accounting majors can receive on-the-job training through the Internship program2, the required accounting course has been designed to give writing experiences as close to those in actual firm practice as possible. Local firms and big eight branches were polled to get examples, cases, and speakers for the class. PUTTING EXPERIENCE INTO THE CLASSROOM Writing Formats Students majoring in accounting may go into public or private accounting, may work for very small to quite large firms, may work for corporations, private individuals, or the government, and do somewhat different writing depending on their jobs. Since a writing course can’t be slanted toward any one later job, we teach the most common formats and discuss the writing that can be expected in different jobs. Students become familiar with engagement letters, internal control letters, both internal and external memos, management advisory services documents, footnotes, and the nonstandard parts of audit opinions. These specialized forms are familiar to practicing accountants, who need to be able to write quickly and clearly to organize and explain a large body of financial information. One important reason for training accountants in writing is so they can deal with this heavy paperwork load as efficiently as possible. The actual writing formats and the editing skills required are not difficult, but students need to become more fluent writers so that writing seems a less onerous task. Accounting Firm Practice Junior level accountants write up workpapers, audit findings, and results of test work. This level of writing is checked and edited by at least three people in the larger firms, as it’s more cost effective to have the least expensive employees write original drafts and then have senior accountants and partners edit for accuracy, clarity, and adherence to firm style. The firms I have polled indicate that students will benefit from writing practice in accounting for two main reasons: --New employees are judged for promotion primarily on their communication skills, as their writing and oral reports create a first impression of their work. Even seemingly minor problems like spelling can affect the psychological evaluation of a person’s accounting skills. --Most accounting information has to be conveyed in a written report to the client (even if it will also be presented orally to some firm employees and officers) and must therefore b. clear and accurate. Communication problems are as often caused by writing style as by mistakes in grammar and mechanics or by problems in the quantitative material. Although some firms (particularly the larger ones) have a program of writing training for employees, most practicing accountants agree that students should get all the structured writing experiences they can. Since the formats of accounting writing are unique to the profession, it’s possible to give students a close equivalent to actual firm practice within the classroom. Speakers and Examples The semester course schedule is arranged so that the accounting writing course meets at an hour in the late morning when no other accounting classes are scheduled. This is also a good time for outside speakers to get away from their businesses, if given enough notice. I schedule speakers from various types of accounting firms to give students a range of experience and discussion. Speakers bring examples of the kinds of writing their firms do (with names blind if necessary) and are eager to impress an students the importance of and the quantity of writing they will do on the job. Quantitative skills are not enough. Speakers can bring specific information on firm practice, as the following range of examples shows: --A partner spends only 10% or his/her time auditing, and 90% on the phone, giving oral presentations, administering, etc. Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 8, 1981 152 --A firm spent considerable time discussing with client employees whether to use the words not recorded” of “not recognized” in a written audit finding report to management. --A large firm has stopped using sample paragraphs on common audit problem areas because clients thought the reports were canned and ignored the advice and recommendations as a result. --Technical memos on how FASB, SAS, etc. rulings apply to firm or client practice are the hardest to write because the writer has to persuade the reader toward a certain point of view. --Footnote writing is an art, and it takes 12 years or so to get good at it. Technical financial information has to be distilled into a short note which is clear and accurate as well as concise. --Public accounting is a business, and members of the firm have to gel], themselves to clients to get customers. In addition, speakers bring actual letters, memos, and technical reports so that students can see what their writing experience in a firm will be like. This use of actual examples is unusual in business writing classes, where textbooks often cannot be kept up-to- date because of the wide variety of types of writing covered. Editing Practice To familiarize students with the experience of accounting writing before they actually begin researching cases and problems, they are asked to edit examples of the various formats. The editing that students do throughout the semester is on their own work, work of their peers, and on (most importantly) real-life accounting writing examples I’ve collected from working accountants in various fields. It’s fairly easy for students to see that almost any piece of writing can be edited to be clearer, less wordy, to have better tone, and to be easier to read. Since we can’t place all students in actual jobs so they can practice the writing on the job, these examples give students a good idea of whit their colleagues will write like and what kinds of writing they will be expected to do. SAMPLE CASES The cases used for writing practice replicate firm problems received from their clients. Most involve short research questions on such subjects as tax details, IRS requirements, audit questions, contract requirements, and so on. Sample cases will be available at the ABSEL meeting in Orlando, as some of the firms involved prefer that they not be published. Table of Contents Volume 8, 1981 The Promotion: Human Sexuality in Organization The Simulation of Chaos Leadership Development in a Simulated Urban/Suburban (U/S) Environment Tomed: A Computer Game Emphasizing Social Responsibility/or/why the Pop-Top Can? Integrated Brain Activity and the Manager's Job: Utilizing the Troika Model What does R2 Have to do with a Product Management Course? An Analysis of the Effects of Jungian Problem-Solving Style Dimensions on Marketing Decisions Bargaining Behavior in Personal Selling and Buying Exchanges Extending the Simulation Product Life Cycle A Generalized Algorithm for Designing and Developing Business Simulations Operationalizing a Test of a Model of the Use of Simulation Games and Experiential Exercises Pygmalion and Perception: An Experiential Exercise Behavioral Consequences of Reward Regarding Employee Absenteeism in an Industrial Setting: An Operant Conditioning Approach The Simlab Program: The Use of Experimental Simulation and Process Analysis for the Development of Management and Organizations Designs for Research on Simulation-Games, Cases, and Other Experiential Exercises The Role of Students in The Case Method Weaknesses in Research Design Critical Variables in Research on the Educational Value of Management Games Research Questions for Cases Research on the Learning Effectiveness of Business Simulation Games - A Review of the State of the Science The Effects of Valuation Techniques on Holding Cost During Inflationary Periods: A Simulation Exercise The Operations Simulation - A Study in Game Development Applying Guided Design to the Production/Operations Management Course: A Progress Report and Evaluation Terminal Data Entry and Retrieval Systems Simulations and Microprocessors Microcomputers and Related Technology for Simulation Gaming Microcomputers - A New Technology for Innovations in Business Simulations Microprocessor Controlled Interactive Video Simulation Business Game Design: From Theory to Practice The Success of a Computerized Simulation in Microeconomic Pedagogy The Test Preview Game: Applying the Game Show Format Providing a Real World View of the Personal Function: A Simulation Finding an Effective Means of Teaching Managerial Behavioral Skills: Two Different Experiential Teaching Methods Compared A Management Development Program Based on the Experiential Learning Model Participant Type Differences in Response to Experiential Methods: An Informal Look Preparing Student Groups to Participate in Experiential Group Projects: An Organizational Development Approach An Instrument for the Assessment of Learning Dimensions: A Progress Report of the Learning Dimension Scale (LDS) An Empirical Analysis Relating the Learning Style Inventory to Memory and Logical Ability Teaching Styles in Simulation Experiential Learning Versus Traditional Teaching Styles Student Perceptions of Effective Teaching Behaviors Problems in Evaluation of Experiential Learning in Management Education Students' Perceptions of Learning by Simulation A Relative Evaluation of Experiential and Simulation Learning in Terms of Perceptions of Effected Changes in Students Overview of Computer Based Business Games in Business Policy Classes Behavioral Decision Theory and Business Policy Giving Accounting Students Writing Experience as Job Preparation Getting to First Base with MBO: An exercise for Writing and Evaluating Objectives Dimensions of Conflict in Experiential Learning Consumer Alienation and Perceived Relevance of the Business Simulation Using the Self-Reference Criterion to Simulate Culture in Internationalized Business Course Experiential Learning in a Cross Cultural Setting- The Practice of Simulation Approach to Business Education in Japanese Universities Student' Perceptions of the Use of a Computerized Simulation in Teaching Management Information Systems Using the Case Study Approach to Develop a Microcomputer Bases, Fully Integrated, Data Base Driven, Management Information System The Case Study as a Tool for Organizational Change: Applying the Steel Ax to the Designers of Management Information Systems Toward a Theory of Teaching Business Policy A Case Study in the Use of Experiential Learning (A Management Game Simulation) to Enhance Student Understanding of Strategy Evaluation and Policy Formulation Suggestions for Integration of the Business Administration Core Publishing Opportunities and Requirements for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning Materials How do we Apply Experiential Learning Intercollegiate Case Competitions for M.B.A. Students: Initiation and Implementation Teaching Business Policy and Strategy Using the Incident Process The Learning Co-Op Approach to the Core Policy Course Meeting the Managerial Skill Shortage - Is Academia Up to It? An Empirical Analysis of Experiential Learning Reinforcement International Experiential Learning: Experience is the Best Teacher Encouraging Student Participation During International Academic Programs European Summer Study Program: Can you, Should you, What Does it Take? Travel Seminars in Europe: How can I Direct One? International Experiential Learning: Student Evaluation ABSEL: Empirical Findings on the State of the Association Sensitivity of Performance Scores in Business Simulations Improving the Learning of a Business Simulation Game by Increasing the Process Content Student Participation in Deciding Performance Criteria for Grading in an OB Course: An Exercise and a Case Study Markup for Profit: A Simulated Self-Administered Experience in Retail Pricing The Investment Decision Game: An Experiential Learning Approach to Stock Market Decisions Through Gaming CHIPS: A Marketing Channels management Game External Validation: An Experimental Approach to Determining the Worth of Simulation Games Teaching Performance Appraisal Skills: An Experiential Approach In Support of Experiential learning: Results of a Follow-Up Survey The Introductory Management Course: Taking Theory Application One Step Further Decision Efficiency and Effectiveness in a Business Simulation The Implications of Cognitive Processing Variables and the Complex Decision Simulating the Simulation for Enhanced Player Rationality Simulation/Experiential Learning Audit