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The principle purpose of this article serves a number of purposes. Among them, it provides instructors with a tested financial statement report project. It also helps students to develop higher-level learning skills. In addition, the project provides an opportunity for students to apply their basic accounting knowledge to the analysis and use of the basic financial statements. The article also summarizes and explains the importance of key ingredients in creating a successful student-oriented project such as (1) planning and executing the project, (2) building an active learning environment and time line, and (3) emphasizing the importance of group work in completing the project. The article also discusses some simple dos and don'ts in the constructing and administering of the annual financial report project for introductory accounting students.

Millions of people buy and sell homes each year. And because these transactions are often complex, many home buyers and sellers turn to workers who can help with the search or the sale--or both. From preparing to put a home on the market to filing the sales documents, many workers are involved in helping a home change hands. Other key industries that employ workers involved in home-sale transactions include banking and insurance. This article focuses on eight occupations--including home inspectors, loan officers, and title examiners--whose workers provide services for buying or selling a home. The first section has details about these workers' job duties and includes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The second section describes pros and cons of the work. The third section explains how workers prepare for these occupations. And the final section gives sources for more information.

This paper uses Excel to enhance the pedagogy of capital structure theory for corporate finance instructors and students. We provide a lesson plan that utilizes Excel spreadsheets and graphs to develop understanding of the theory. The theory is introduced in three scenarios that utilize Modigliani & Miller's Propositions and "trade-off" theory.

This instructional tool presents pension accounting using a worksheet approach where debits equal credits for both the employer and for the plan. Transactions associated with the initiation of the plan through the end of the second year of the plan are presented, including their impact on accumulated other comprehensive income and deferred taxes. This article is intended as a supplemental teaching tool that demonstrates the impact of a plan's funded status on the employer's financial statements in a way that, based upon anecdotal evidence, accounting students and practitioners have found extremely beneficial beyond traditional accounting textbooks.

The final topic in a series looking at financial management from a theoretical perspective, working capital management provides the focus of the current article. We investigate how three key axioms--the risk-return tradeoff, agency conflicts, and stockholder wealth maximization--relate to this activity that occupies much of the financial manager's time.

Professors who teach the introductory accounting course should ask themselves: "What are the core concepts that I wish to have my non-majors remember if I meet them at their ten-year alumni class reunion?" There is a fundamental logic to financial accounting. This teaching note presents foundational accounting concepts in a manner that enables readers to understand this logic. In doing so, it answers the question posed above. The first half of the teaching note explains the purpose and elements of two primary financial reports: a balance sheet and an income statement. The second half presents the recording of several business transactions and traces their effect into a company's balance sheet and income statement. Designed for use early in an introductory accounting course, the teaching note enables students to develop a strong conceptual understanding of financial accounting.

The accounting curriculum (in fact business colleges in general) often is accused of operating in silos. As a result, it is claimed that students fail to see the connections among the assignments in their separate course work and the necessity to have an integrated understanding to function effectively in the real-world. As a response to the criticism, we use deferred income taxes as a means to help students bridge the gap between their Intermediate Accounting classes and their Corporate Income Tax course. As a bonus, students also: 1.) better understand the difficult topic of deferred income taxes, 2.) better understand Schedule M-1 on the corporate tax return, and 3.) gain experience in documentation via the preparation of accounting work papers.

Each year accounting graduates are recruited by the accounting firms that hope the new crop of employees will be technically prepared to serve the clients of the firm. They are looking for these recruits to have a mastery of the principles and concepts of the accounting courses they have taken. Proof of mastery is the student's ability to apply their accounting knowledge to solve their clients' accounting-related issues. Many of these firms, if not all, devote substantial resources "on boarding" new employees and training them in the way the firm serves their clients. Those students who have mastered the accounting concepts in their undergraduate courses have a career building advantage over those who do not have mastery. A frequent topic of discussion at firm leadership meetings centers around how well prepared students are from the different universities. Inevitably the discussion turns to what are the most effective methods to teach accounting to the newest crop of potential accounting professionals. These same discussions take place at faculty meetings as well as at conferences for accounting educators across the country.

In this series, three key axioms--stockholder wealth maximization, the risk-return tradeoff, and agency conflicts--are applied to the major topics in financial management. The current article looks at mergers and acquisitions, reviewing the presumed motivations, the ethical challenges, and the literature dedicated to this financial activity.

By convention U.S. bond markets announce the actual price of a bond as the sum the quoted price plus accrued interest. The economic meaning of accrued interest and its role in this price announcing convention is generally misunderstood by accounting textbook authors who mistakenly provide accrued interest with both an economic and administrative explanation. A cogent rationale for the broker price announcing convention is offered which places accrued interest in its proper context. Explanations of accrued interest found in a sample of intermediate accounting textbooks are also critiqued. The concept of negative accrued interest is also briefly discussed.

This paper informs business instructors and educators about XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language) so that they can introduce it to their students and expand their students' understanding of how it relates to the accounting profession. Even though the financial community has entered a new age with this standardized reporting language, many business educators and even accountants old and new to the profession are not informed about XBRL nor have an idea of its potential benefits. With this paper, educators and students can learn the definition of XBRL, its history, and its current uses. The information educates the reader about the evolution of XBRL over the past two decades as well as its benefits so readers can become aware of the value of this now-worldwide application. The paper includes the SEC and FDIC adoption of this computer language as an international standard that aims to improve the speed, accuracy, and transparency of business reporting.

Having returned to teaching the basics of pricing fixed-income securities after several years, the author recalls the difficulty students have in understanding the total return provided by fixed-income securities that are purchased at either a discount or premium from face value. This teaching note attempts to clarify the concept by suggesting that separation of the return provided by coupon payments from the return provided by periodic changes in the fair market value may aid in student understanding. The integration of financial calculators in the classroom improves and simplifies this process for seasoned instructors

Background: A financial accounting class in a Philippine university has a service-learning group project that involves setting up a simple accounting system for microenterprises. Aims: This paper examines the extent to which service-learning goals such as course learning, teamwork, civic responsibility, and impact on the client organization are achieved through this project, as well as how the level of student participation affects the achievement of these service-learning goals. It identifies measures to improve the quality of the service-learning experience for future implementation. Sample: 187 second year business students in a Philippine university. Method: The students filled out a questionnaire which asked about their level of participation in the project, and their sense of achieving certain cognitive and affective outcomes from the project. Results: Results show that these goals have been achieved to a large extent through the project, and that the level of student participation does positively affect the level of achievement of these goals. Furthermore, the achievement levels among the service-learning goals are significantly correlated, such that they seem to be mutually-reinforcing. Conclusion: This paper supports the growing body of research work about the multiple benefits that service-learning brings to students, communities, and future citizenship in business fields of study. The accounting service-learning experience can be improved through better identification and screening of participating microenterprises, and through better management of student expectations regarding the magnitude of data-gathering needed for the project. (Contains 4 tables.)

This series inspects the major topics in finance, reviewing the roles of stockholder wealth maximization, the risk-return tradeoff, and agency conflicts. The current article, devoted to dividend policy, also reviews the topic as presented in textbooks and the literature.

This case study explores the use of online games to teach personal finance concepts at the college level. A number of free online games targeting such topics as budgeting and saving, risk and return, consumer credit, financial services, and investments were introduced to the experimental group as homework assignments. Statistical results indicate that integrating online games into coursework significantly enhanced student learning outcomes. We suggest extending our successful experience to groups of people who need financial knowledge the most.

Major changes are coming to U.S. financial accounting and accounting education as U. S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS) converge within the next few years. In 2008, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a proposed "road map" for the potential convergence of U. S. companies to IFRS beginning with large filers for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2014. On February 24, 2010, the SEC issued a new timeline which would require IFRS for U.S. reporting in 2015 or 2016 at the earliest (Derstine and Bremser, 2010). Obviously, this change to IFRS requires an adjustment in U. S. accounting education. The primary purpose of this paper is to examine the current state of accounting curricula and IFRS. An examination was made of both required and elective international accounting courses offered to students in the top 20 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. These programs were identified by the Public Accounting Report in its October 31, 2009 issue. It was conjectured that the top programs would take the lead in IFRS education. The universities' online websites and catalogues were examined for program requirements and course titles. The results show a paucity of accounting coursework related to international accounting and IFRS.

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to assess students' usage and perceptions of a finance lab. Finance labs differ from simple computer labs as they typically contain data boards, streaming market quotes, terminals and software that allow for real-time financial analyses. Despite the fact that such labs represent significant and ongoing investments in the learning environment, the results of the survey show that students value finance labs, but fail to maximize their use. Recommendations are made to address this situation.

The CFA Institute and the CFP Board of Standards provide professional certifications in the field of finance. In this paper, I provide my experience with the CFA and CFP programs in order to give other professors some insight into the process of attaining the designations. I hope to provide answers to some of the questions that other faculty members may have about attaining these professional designations and that my experiences will assist others in determining which, if either, of these designations to seek. This information may also be valuable to business school and economics professors who may be counseling students about these programs.

This article provides a theoretical-based rationale and plan of action for educational programs to encourage and create opportunities for the integration of course study with professional exam preparation, while highlighting the complementary benefits for students, academic programs, and the financial services profession. Serving primarily as a model for faculty associated with university-based financial planning education, this article also provides a foundation for future research in this area. In addition, the article presents descriptive information on select designations and licenses currently available that finance and financial planning students could pursue concurrently with coursework.

Continuing this series on the theory of financial management, the current article investigates capital structure, offering insight into the roles of stockholder wealth maximization, the risk-return tradeoff, and agency conflicts. Much literature addresses this topic, and some of the most recent literature challenges certain theoretical cornerstones touted in the textbooks, as revealed in this work.

Using a cost-benefit framework for financial planning services and proprietary data collected in the summer of 2008, the client characteristics that are associated with the likelihood of paying for professional financial advice, as well as the type of financial services purchased, are identified. Results indicate that respondents who pay for financial advice are more likely to be female, relatively older, wealthier, and college educated but do not have a high level of self-reported knowledge about financial issues. Of the respondents who purchase financial advice, those who are comprehensively-managed are more likely to be under 65, wealthy, and have high self-reported knowledge about financial issues. This study reveals important differences between the decision to pay for financial advice and the type of financial services purchased. (Contains 2 tables and 1 endnote.)

The current research examines the relationship between personal financial knowledge (both objective and subjective), financial satisfaction, and selected demographic variables in terms of best practice financial behavior. Data are taken from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) National Financial Capability Study, a nationally representative sample of 1,488 participants and are analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Findings suggest that both objective and subjective financial knowledge influence financial behavior, with subjective knowledge having a larger relative impact. Other variables that have a significant impact on financial behavior include financial satisfaction, income, education, age, race, and ethnicity. (Contains 2 figures and 3 tables.)

The valuable social and economic contribution of financial counselors receives little public attention, as discourse related to consumer credit and debt invariably focuses on the impacts of consumer defaults for consumers and the broader community. Policy makers and organizations sustaining the work of financial counselors must ensure they care for the wellbeing of the counselors who assist consumers facing financial over commitment. The study was undertaken in New South Wales (NSW), the most populous Australian state. Questionnaires were mailed to 260 financial counselors. A response rate of over 46% (N = 120) enabled detailed statistical analysis which included analysis of variance and multiple regression. The findings highlighted a number of issues relevant to continuing education and planning for financial counseling services including increasing workload, difficulties liaising with external organizations, rural counselors' isolation from support mechanisms and an aging workforce. (Contains 6 tables.)

Holding a bank account is crucial to the income-maximizing and asset-building of households. This study uses 2008 survey data of EITC-eligible households assisted at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites to document their tax filing behavior and use of Alternate Financial Services (AFS). Specifically, the differences in tax filing and AFS use between banked and unbanked EITC-eligible households are examined. Findings reveal that unbanked status is associated with a lower likelihood of receiving a federal tax refund for tax year 2007 (TY 2007), a lower likelihood of filing a federal tax return for the previous tax year (TY 2006), a lower likelihood of receiving tax refunds via direct deposit or cashing at banks, and a higher likelihood of using check cashing stores. Findings suggest that policy changes and educational efforts should continue to focus on bringing the unbanked into the financial mainstream. (Contains 2 tables.)

Using microdata from the American Dream Demonstration, the current study examines factors associated with savings and savings goal achievement (indicated by a matched withdrawal) among participants of individual development account (IDA) programs. Multinomial logit results show that hours of participation in financial education programs, higher matched caps, prior use of a savings account, and greater educational attainment are each associated with a greater likelihood of savings and savings goal achievement. IDA programs need to maximize available resources, particularly financial education, to assist participants in achieving savings goals. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article investigates operating and financial leverage from the perspective of the financial manager, accenting the relationships to stockholder wealth maximization (SWM), risk and return, and potential agency problems. It also covers some of the pertinent literature related specifically to the implications of operating and financial risk and the associated measurement dilemmas.

Finance students today live in the midst of an enormous financial crisis. Institutions both large and small are failing or being rescued through government intervention. This environment presents a host of learning opportunities for instructors as well as students. This paper discusses financial autopsies as a form of experiential learning utilizing data on actual "real world" banks that have failed. The paper provides a framework whereby a student can systematically analyze data to determine the reason or reasons for bank failure. This stimulates student interest in the subject as well as honing their critical thinking skills.

The following article represents the first in a series dedicated to presenting students the opportunity to better understand the key theoretical constructs in the introductory financial management course. The current essay offers an introduction to the series and covers the topics of stockholder wealth maximization and its close cousin, agency theory.

How do internships influence the socialization and performance of accounting students employed in the tax department of a CPA firm? Previous research on accounting internships primarily focuses on auditing personnel. There is evidence in the literature that indicates audit and tax professionals have different work cultures. This paper examines the relationship between internships and subsequent professional performance of tax professionals as measured by promotion velocity and employee turnover. The human resource department, from seven regional CPA firms with similarly structured internship programs, provided performance, promotion and turnover data on employees who completed internships and employees who did not complete internships. The results of the study indicate that internships positively affect performance evaluations, promotions, and employee retention of tax professionals.

While service-learning may be easily incorporated into medical or legal fields, this type of active learning generally has not been historically integrated into any discipline within the business curriculum. This is unfortunate, as the utilization of business students in not-for-profit environments can provide a triple-win scenario: the students receive an enriched learning experience, as they likely will confront opportunities at the entry level that are not generally experienced until the middle-management level; the administrators at the not-for-profit have access to business students with skills that are necessary but typically expensive to acquire; and the constituents served by the organization are enriched by having improved delivery or efficiency of service. Within this paper, we will discuss the service-learning environment and will then detail a project we have worked on in a service-learning-oriented class, with the hope that others may use our experience to facilitate their own service-learning projects as students or within the context of a class.

This article looks at security valuation from the perspective of the financial manager, accenting the relationships to stockholder wealth maximization (SWM), risk and return, and potential agency problems. It also covers some of the pertinent literature related to how investors and creditors price the stocks and bonds of corporations.

Widows constitute a growing segment of the U.S. population; however, very little has been done to educate them on the basics of personal financial planning. The creation and implementation of financial planning education programs for widows can help them become more financially literate and free them from anxiety and fear. Interviews with eight financial planners and 12 of their widow clients, along with research into financial planning education programs form the basis for this paper. Research findings include suggestions for financial education content in the topic areas of financial planner qualities, goal setting, cash flow management, risk management, investment management, and estate planning. Implications for the role of financial planners and non-profit educational institutions in the financial education of widows are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

The corporate scandals of recent years have highlighted the failure of ethics, not only in corporate management, but also in the big accounting firms. For tax professionals, there is an inherent conflict of interest that makes studying ethics in the context of tax practice problematic. On the one hand, the tax professional is a client advocate with the responsibility of helping the client to legally minimize tax liability. On the other hand, tax professionals who are lawyers or CPAs and who practice before the IRS have both ethical and legal obligations mandated by their professions and the Department of the Treasury. For the tax educator, the problem is finding a way to reinforce the importance of ethical behavior while promoting an understanding of the inherent conflict that anyone in the tax profession faces. In this paper, we look at ethics in tax practice and consider the difficulties faced by faculty in providing an ethical grounding for undergraduate students in taxation. First we will discuss the professional standards already in place for CPAs--the AICPA Statements on Standards for Tax Services and the Treasury Department's Circular 230. Next we will discuss the need for new guidelines, as demonstrated by the recent wave of lawsuits over tax shelters. Then we will look at ethics as covered in several popular tax textbooks. Finally, we will offer recommendations on improving the coverage of ethics and refining the focus of materials commonly available for educators.

Time Value of Money (TVM) is the most important chapter in the basic corporate finance course. It is imperative to understand TVM formulas because they imply important TVM concepts. Students who really understand TVM concepts and formulas can learn better in chapters of TVM applications. This technical note intends to present more complete TVM formulas and link their relationships from the growing annuity perspective to assist instructors in teaching and students in learning. Although TVM formulas are already available in the textbooks, this technical note provides another perspective of presenting and summarizing TVM formulas. The simplification or extension of the growing annuity formula to reach other TVM formulas is discussed in this note.

It would exacerbate the tragedy of the current economic situation if no lessons were learned from it which would contribute to future growth and prosperity. That applies equally to the business sector and to the education sector. This is not to imply that many current, effective superintendents do not ask the very questions posed in this essay; Routinely, they do! However, teachers have long cherished the "teachable moment" in their classrooms, where reality creates a unique opportunity for true learning. Hopefully, the unfortunate reality of today's economic milieu can provide a "teachable moment" for prospective superintendents in university preparation programs to engage in ongoing reflection upon, and examination of, the schools and districts they aspire to lead.

This paper compares pre-death charitable testamentary expectations with post-death distributions for deceased panel members in the 1995-2006 Health and Retirement Study. Most respondents who reported having a charitable estate plan in the survey wave immediately prior to their death ultimately generated no charitable estate gift after death. Cross-tabulations, linear probability models, and probit analysis all demonstrated that the likelihood of generating a charitable estate gift was significantly higher for respondents who had a funded inter vivos trust than for respondents who had only a will. This difference persisted even after controlling for wealth, income, and other demographic differences. Reasons for the differential effectiveness of these planning documents and implications for financial and gift planners are examined. (Contains 3 tables.)

In the financial services sector in Germany the proportion of trainees qualified to go on to university is particularly high. But what induces school leavers not to go (straight) to university? A written survey of over 500 trainees in the banking and insurance sectors examined the motivations for the choice of educational pathway. Only some of the motivations cited in academic debate were mentioned by the trainees surveyed. For those surveyed who were from the financial sector it was not possible to confirm that trainees qualified to go on to university performed relatively poorly at school. Nor was it possible to discover any particularly marked risk aversion. It was more the case that the persons surveyed saw benefits in doing an apprenticeship to keep all their options open and to achieve a good combination of theory and practice. However, those questioned who had no intention of going on to university chose continuing training primarily because, besides being practice oriented, it offers a fast path to affluence and good career prospects. (Contains 2 figures, 6 tables, 22 footnotes, and a bibliography.)

The authors of this article suggest three features of a common approach to impact measurement: harness operational data, use constructs with bounded flexibility, and develop a cadre of analysts who are skilled at interpreting reports. The analysts are the most crucial of these. Evaluators are well suited to step into these roles, but it will require them to take on new relationships with data and new roles in the field. Perhaps as a result of the importance of the analyst role, new efforts are now being made to better define it and to cultivate the skill set. Today, numerous actors in the financial services world including the Impact Management Project, World Economic Forum, the Global Impact Investing Network, and two of the major global credentialing bodies for financial services providers--the Institute for Chartered Financial Analysts and the Chartered Alternative Investment Analysts Association--are either developing and delivering curricula to train investors in impact investing or exploring the best way to do so. Among the key considerations in these trainings are what a given investment's impact is, and how to relate it to a given investor's priorities. With resources such as these coming online to accelerate education of investors about how to engage for impact, wider recognition of the crucial role that skilled impact analysts play will be key to transcending the Catch-22 of impact metrics that are both relevant and commensurable.

Tiered evidence initiatives are an important federal strategy to incentivize and accelerate the use of rigorous evidence in planning, implementing, and assessing social service investments. The Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, adopted a public-private partnership approach to tiered evidence. What was learned from implementing this ambitious program? How can large funding initiatives promote evaluation capacity in smaller organizations and evidence building in a sector broadly, increasing knowledge about how to address important social problems? And what can evaluators and evaluation technical assistance providers not working within a tiered evidence framework learn from the SIF? We provide an overview of the SIF model and describe how the fund operationalized "evidence building." Materials developed to support SIF grantees represent practical, best practice strategies for successfully completing rigorous, relevant evaluations. Key lessons from overseeing over 130 evaluations--and their utility for other local evaluators--are discussed.

This article attempts to build a cross-reference between a Doctoral program in Business and Administration (DBA) and the concept of 'Action Learning' made known within this programme, while also highlighting the relevance for 'Action Learning' in the authors professional daily life. The experiences made during the studies, when the concept of Action Learning was first introduced and applied, are gleaned and thus compared to the professional problems encountered by consultants in the financial industry. The chances and benefits for the professional life are highlighted, and suggestions are made to enrich the student experience while attending a DBA-program.