TEACHING ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN A PRACTICUM FORMAT Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 TEACHING ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN A PRACTICUM FORMAT Richard T. Henage, Claremont McKenna College ABSTRACT Claremont McKenna College (CMC) initiated a formal program (the CMC Practicum Program) for the teaching of experiential learning courses in 1992. During the 1996-97 academic year, the author instituted a one-semester practicum course to assist accounting students in mastering the concepts of accounting information system (AIS) design. This article details both the challenges and advantages incurred in the development of this experiential learning course. CMC PRACTICUM PROGRAM Claremont McKenna College is a small liberal arts college (1,000 students) with a focus on training students for leadership in business, the professions and government. CMC is one of the five undergraduate colleges (including Pomona, Pitzer, Scripps, and Harvey Mudd colleges) and a graduate university that comprise the consortium of Claremont colleges. In 1988, the Claremont colleges participated in the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s New Liberal Arts program. This program aided the develop- ment of problem solving courses that were based on successful engineering clinics used at Harvey Mudd College (Remer, 1992). At the conclusion of the Sloan funding, CMC developed a program to provide similar learning experiences. A two- year grant from the James Irvine Foundation funded the development of the CMC Practicum Program. Students now have the opportunity to participate in real-world applications that are in- tegrated in regular semester courses (Teeples and Wichman, 1997). COURSE DESCRIPTION The typical introductory course in AIS builds a foundation for the design and implementation of accounting information systems. The key con- cepts of an AIS course include database systems, AIS structure, internal control evaluation, and project control. Students usually gain exposure to these concepts with limited practice in homework problems or case studies. This course, entitled “Information Technology and Accounting System Design”, is the only course in AIS taught at CMC. Although the course is not limited to accounting majors, stu- dents need a strong background in either account- ing (financial or managerial) or computer science (with at least introductory accounting). Prior to the beginning of the semester, arrange- ments are made with a local business for the AIS class to help with the design and implementation of a new computerized accounting system. This service is provided without charge to the busi- ness. The business must provide all hardware and software required by the project. The business must also pick up all incidental costs, such as the production of procedures manuals, and must agree to work closely with the students and grant them sufficient time to learn the current system and to determine goals and objectives of man- agement The textbook used for the course is entitled Core Concepts of Accounting Information Systems (Moscove, et al., 1997) and was selected because it presents the basic concepts of AIS in a succinct and understandable form. Over the early weeks of the course, such topics as professionalism, in- terview techniques, and flowcharting are covered in preparation for the students meeting the client. An initial client visit is made to introduce the students to the business. After the on-site client visit, the students meet again to determine which accounting cycles will be crucial to the project. Each of the cycles become the basis for a project team. The number of students assigned to any team depends upon the complexity of the cycle. 354 Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 26, 1999 In total, depending upon the complexity of the company’s operations, a project requires between fifteen and twenty-five students. Once project teams are formed, the balance of the semester is devoted primarily to the design and implementation of the accounting system for the client. The class will meet periodically to cover specific topics such as internal control design and integration of the various cycles. Some of these lectures involve outside consultants who are in- terested in participating in the project with the students. Rather than meet weekly as an entire class, teams meet on a weekly basis to report their progress and to identify and resolve prob- lems. Teams produce weekly “action lists” and report on their results the following week. Ap- proximately three weeks from the end of the se- mester, the class meets together again to learn about the cycles covered by other teams. Each team has approximately thirty minutes to teach the class about the intricacies of AIS design for their particular cycle. The schedule calls for the design and implemen- tation to be completed by the end of the twelfth week of class. This requires the entire project to be completed in a ten-week time frame. Complet- ing the project by the end of the twelfth week al- lows a three to four week cushion (to the end of finals week) for the students to train employees, debug any software problems, handle client ques- tions, and insure that the system is functioning properly. The final assignment due in the course is a formal presentation of the entire project. In- vited are the management of the client firm, out- side consulting firms (particularly those involved with the students), and faculty from the college. CONCLUSIONS Conducting a practicum course may have distinct advantages to the student, but there are numerous challenges that an instructor must resolve. A sig- nificant investment in time and effort is required to find and enlist the help of a suitable client (small enough to allow the project to fit the time constraints but large enough to provide control and design challenges.) Students must be closely monitored to ensure that final deadlines are met. The instructor must not only be confident in both systems design and consulting, but must also de- velop a sufficient expertise with the client’s op- erations and with the accounting software to be a resource for the students. The instructor must meet weekly with the various teams to provide them with the core competencies required to move to the next step of the project. This can mean preparing and presenting five to six class sessions per week and being prepared to provide answers to very specific questions regarding various accounting cycles and the client. Although success of the program is difficult to quantify, student evaluations have demonstrated overwhelming support for the class. The course has also been a significant factor in placing stu- dents in competitive positions. Out of the first class of seventeen students from the spring of 1997, eight students were recruited into consult- ing positions (five with Big-Five accounting firms. Of the remaining seven, five accepted po- sitions with investment banking firms and two went directly into graduate school. REFERENCES Moscove, S.A., M.G. Simkin, and N.A. Bagran- off. 1997. Core Concepts of Accounting In- formation Systems, Fifth Edition. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Remer, D.S. 1992. Experiential Education for College Students: The Clinic. Stony Brook, NY: SUNY. Teeples, R.K., and H.A. Wichman. 1997. Teach- ing theory and applications together: An ex- ploratory teaching program in the liberal arts. Innovative Higher Education. (Spring): 179- 196. 355 Table of Contents Volume 26, 1999 ABSEL's Historical Research Interests Back From the Future: An ABSEL Merlin Exercise for the Year 2005 The Contributions of ABSEL During the 1980's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential Exercises in the 90's ABSEL's Contributions to Experiential learning/Experiential Exercises: The Decade of the 1970's Business Simulations - Algorithms and Model Enhancements: A 25 year Review A Study of the ETS General Field Test as an AACSB Assessment Tool and the Impact of Experiential Exercises and Simulation on Learning A Framework for Assessing the Competencies Reflected in Simulation Performance Developing A Learning Culture: Assessing Changes in Student Performance and Perception Financial Simulation Using Distributed Computing Technology Analyzing Managers' Judgements and Decisions with an Educational Business Simulation Understanding Your Business through Home-Made Simulator Development An Examination of a Reanalysis of the Impact of a Market Leader on Simulation Competitors' Strategies Applying Shocks to TE Simulations: A Demonstration Increasing Efficiency of Management Skill Assessment A Testbank for Measuring Total Enterprise Simulation Learning Developing Leadership Skills - Video Live! LEADSIMM: Collaborative Leadership Development for the Knowledge Society A Team Approach to Producing Multi-Media Laptop and Video Formatted Presentation Tinkertoys Revisited: Exploring Trust Based Relationships Overall Dominance in Total Enterprise Simulation Performance Success or Bankruptcy: The Relationship between Personal and Goal Orientation and Simulation Performance Assessing the Effects of Feedback: Muti-method and Muti-directions in Multi-pedagogical Courses The Missing Ingredients in Experiential Learning Purpose and Learning Benefits of Business Simulations: A Design and Development Perspective Building Capabilities for Change through Laboratory Simulations Modeling Innovation as a Process of Design in Educational Business Simulation The Need to Measurer variance in Experiential Learning and a New Statistic to do so Assessing Effectiveness of an Experiential Oriented Course Over Time Developing Participant Satisfaction Models of Experiential Exercises in Business Education Perceptions of Learning in TE Simulations Students' View on the Use of Business Gaming in Hong Kong Management Gaming's Lost Opportunity: Meditations about the Russian Experience and Prospects for the Future Unanticipated Enhancements in the Business Strategy and Policy Game when Running in Windows 95 Using a Business Game to Demonstrate Broad Business Concepts A New Model for Business Courses (Getting the Student Connected) Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Integrating Knowledge Using Large Scale Simulations in Capstone Business Strategy Classes Is It Here To Stay? A Roundtable Discussion of the Inter-Group Interaction Interactive Tools Used in Applying Financial Concepts Strengthening Essential Skills through a Finance Exercise: Calculation of Beta A Model of Currency Exchange Rates Understanding Currency Exchange Rates: A three-part Exercise Student Experiences in the World Intercollegiate Business Game Competition Student Experiences in the International-Collegiate Business Policy Game Competition Using Boards of Directors in Simulation Environments: Comments From Board Members Sharing Best Practices: Teaching Smarter, Not Harder Star Power: A Simulation for Understanding Power and Empowerment The Marketing Game: A Marketing Principles Simulation Alexander Islands: GSSM Tiny Business Simulator on the WWW Putting Strategy into Strategic Business Games Industry Analysis, Porter's Five Forces Model and Strategic Group Maps in the Business Strategy Game Simulation The Use of Concept Mapping to Improve Student Performance and Understanding of Strategic Management Concepts: A Comparison of Techniques Transformational thinking in the Organizational Behavior Course: The Use of Metaphor as an Assessment Tool Creation of a Virtual Learning Community for the Global Virtual Enterprise Project Inter Institutional use of Educational Resources: Joint Use of Management Simulation Games Business Insights: Theory and Practice with the Aid of a Business Simulation Progress: An Experiential Exercise in Development Marketing The ABC's of teaching the Theory of Constraints to Undergraduate Business Students Demonstrating Principles of Organizational Purchasing Behavior through an Experiential Exercise The Virtual Manager: A Different Simulation for Managing Complexity When the Rules are changing and Chaos Breeds Innovation: Recapturing the Value of Constructive Thinking and Play in Simulation Training The Pitfalls, and Potential, of Actual Events as Problem Drivers Using Business Games to teach Environmental Awareness and Green Management: The International Experience with the ENSIM Game A Review of my ABSEL-Related Work Simulation of Government: A Workshop Using GEO Creating Internet-Based Games Using Perl and JavaScript Who's on First? Exploring the Concepts of Problem-Based Learning, Experiential Learning, and Lifelong Learning Students Learn Customer Service and Selling while Conducting Research So You Want to Run an NFL Football Team–An Honors Interdisciplinary Project Supervised Internship: The Employer's Perspective Using Computer Assisted Simulation to Teach International Business Strategy: A Case of the Multinational Management Game (MMG) Multi-Cultural Experiential Learning: A Computer Simulation in China An Appreciative Stance on Diversity as We Move into the 21st Century: A Timeline Exercise to Identify Key Experiences in Good Work Relationships between Black and White Peers A Day in the Life of an Interactive, Real Time, and Internet Delivered Course: A Demonstration Comparing Internet Search Engines: An Experiential Learning Exercise Total Enterprise Simulations and the Internet: Assessing Student Perceptions and Preferences Teaching Accounting Information Systems in a Practicum Format Providing Experiential Learning in Accounting through a Field Study Payroll Project A Spreadsheet Based Business Simulation Game Computer-Behavioral Simulations Training for Project Managers Simulation Scenarios - Rationale and Illustration