New Dimensions in Accounting Education: Computers an Algorithms.

Among many things accountants deal with in their daily work, there is one item that has had the largest growth rate in volume over the last ten years. It is not the volume of pronouncements by the Financial Accounting Standards Board nor that of regulations by the Internal Revenue Service of the U.S., but calculators. Prices have plunged as the volume exploded. Almost exactly ten years ago, as of 1983, the first hand-held scientific calculator was marketed by Hewlett-Packard at the price of $395 a unit. Such calculators are now available for under $20 and are owned by millions of students. Experts seem to agree that the next wave of computer technology coming into the business and consumer product markets is personal computers. If the past trend is any indication of the learning curve applicable to computer products, those units currently selling for $300 to $3000 will come down in price to the $30 to $300 range in several years. Dozens of accounting software packages have been developed for personal computers, dealing with general ledgers, accounts receivable and payable, payrolls, and inventories, along with general-purpose report generators.