Product Description

This book is designed specifically to help readers conduct applied professional research — i.e., identify an accounting problem or issue encountered in today's business environment and develop a solution using existing professional literature. Goes into topics such as using the Internet for applied research, applied research in tax accounting, and financial accounting and reporting cases. For business professionals, more specifically those involved in financial accounting.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #930890 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 259 pages

From the Back Cover
This book is designed specifically to help readers conduct applied professional research — i.e., identify an accounting problem or issue encountered in today's business environment and develop a solution using existing professional literature. Goes into topics such as using the Internet for applied research, applied research in tax accounting, and financial accounting and reporting cases. For business professionals, more specifically those involved in financial accounting.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From my view, the profession of accountancy continues to change rapidly. This change involves moving to an educational process that includes developing professional skills of problem solving, communicating, and conducting applied professional research. I have been very fortunate to have been involved in the Project Discovery curriculum project, funded by the Accounting Education Change Commission, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

This text represents what we (my contributing authors and myself) have learned from trying to teach students the applied research process. Anita Feller has become an expert at teaching students how to access and use the professional literature databases. Her enthusiasm, competence, and dedication to educating students permeates through Chapter 4. Karen Molloy contributes the chapter on tax research. Again, a strong dedication to educating accountancy professionals emanates from her materials. To be progressive in preparing students for the future, I realized that training on using Internet resources was essential for my endeavor. To that end, I needed only to look to Tom Omer, who displayed great enthusiasm for this project from the moment I discussed it with him. To these three, I must say "thank you."

Besides my contributing authors, many individuals have contributed to this project. These include my academic colleagues, particularly those at the University of Illinois, various accountancy professionals who encouraged me to "think outside the box," my editorial team at Prentice Hall, and the many students who have allowed me to try to teach the applied professional research process to them. Special thanks are due to Norton Bedford; Larry Tomassini, Ira Solomon, Chris Olsen, Tom Linsmeier, Tom Stober, Sara Tenney, and P.J. Boardman. In addition, Tom Stober, John Simon, John Hassell, Kathy Petroni, Lisa Koonce, Lucille Montondon, and Jeffrey Harkins assisted by reviewing materials for the first edition. Richard Turpen and Paul Juras provided reviews and suggestions that assisted us in improving this second edition.

I must also thank my family for the time taken away from activities they and I would have enjoyed. Without their support and patience, this project would have never been completed.

New Features in the Second Edition

In this second edition we have modified the materials regarding the FARS (Financial Accounting Research System) system to reflect the changes in the Folio interface. Accordingly, all of the computer screen captures are based upon the new interface currently being distributed with FARS. In addition, the chapters on using the Internet for applied professional research are updated to what is current at this time. The remainder of the text has been modified to reflect new materials or changes that have arisen from our own use of this text.

A new companion web site also accompanies this edition. You can obtain additional materials and periodic updates at www.prenhall.com/ziebart.

To the Student

Learning to be proficient at applied professional research requires you to learn a process. That process involves a number of steps that you will need to practice. As you learn this process, you may be challenged by some aspects of the process and become impatient. Try to avoid focusing on the answer and instead, focus on the process. You will have many opportunities in your professional career to focus on the answer. At this time you need to focus on learning the process.

To the Instructor

In learning to educate students to conduct applied professional research, I discovered that without a strong systematic approach aimed at teaching the applied research process, students became lost in the professional literature and never understood the richness of the applied research process. As my students may attest, my first attempts to incorporate applied professional research were learning experiences for the students as well as for me. I had not really thought about issues such as transaction complexity or reading level capabilities; I presumed that the applied research process would appear innate and that the students needed little real training-provision of some cases and access to the electronic databases would suffice. My thinking was changed profoundly. Consistent with Project Discovery, the approach of this text is hands-on. Students are involved in many exercises (projects) that allow them to discover the challenges and rewards of applied professional research and to learn by doing.

My contributing authors and I have attempted to develop a learning resource that combines the attributes of a textbook, a workbook, and a casebook. Our intent is to provide a set of materials that allows students to learn the process of applied research, to practice that process, and to prepare for the profession of accountancy.

The first two chapters introduce students to the topic of applied professional research and to the use of the Internet in applied research. Chapter 3 discusses applied research within the financial accounting and reporting domain. Chapter 4 contains an elaborate tutorial with many hands-on exercises that helps students become more skilled in using electronic literature databases. In Chapter S, once students have learned the mechanics of navigating the electronic databases, the tent introduces the applied research process and practice. In an attempt to develop students' skills of visualizing complex transactions, Chapter 6 teaches students how to use graphs, charts, and other visual media to represent complex accounting issues and problems. Chapter 7 introduces students to tax research and allows them to use their skills in a new domain with different and more complex authoritative literature. Chapter 8 provides more advanced Internet tools. Since my intent is to stress the research process and to provide ample opportunities for practice, Chapter 9 provides more than 100 simple research cases keyed for use with the common chapters in an intermediate financial accounting textbook.

For more advanced cases, I strongly encourage you to consider the Deloitte & Touche Trueblood Accounting & Auditing Case Study Series. Many of the Trueblood cases are more complex and challenging and can be used to supplement the cases contained in Chapter 9. I have used the Chapter 9 cases for practice exercises and then, once the students have mastered the process, assigned some of the Trueblood cases. The Trueblood cases are available at the following Internet site: http://www.us.deloitte.com/us/believe/DTF/cases.htm

I intend this text to be versatile across the accounting curriculum. I have used this text as a supplement in a traditional intermediate accounting sequence. In addition, I have used the text as a major component of a course covering accounting institutions and regulation in the Project Discovery curriculum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At the graduate level, I used this text in a master's course that focuses primarily on applied professional research. I also believe that the book lends itself as a supplement to accounting theory courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

As you use the text, please send comments to me so that the text can be improved. As I have discovered, learning is a process and I have a ways yet to go. Thanks.

DAZ
Urbana, Illinois
Spring 2001