A Blueprint for an AIS Consulting Course

Abstract

Although a myriad of commissions, committees, and reports has called for a change in accounting education, accounting educators have been relatively slow to respond. The recent monograph, Accounting Education: Charting the Course through a Perilous Future (Albrecht and Sack 2000), submits that while some positive changes have been made, far more dramatic changes are needed in accounting education. Skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, team building, and communication—while highly valued by the accounting profession—are not emphasized in most accounting curricula. One way to help bridge this gap is to include a course in consulting that provides an opportunity for students to develop many of these essential skills. This article provides practical guidance to educators on how to design and administer a consulting course in the accounting information systems (AIS) program. This blueprint is based on actual experiences with an AIS consulting course taught at James Madison University. The consulting project component of the course requires the synthesis of general accounting knowledge and information technology skills to solve a real-world client problem. It is hoped that the blueprint for a consulting course outlined in this article encourages AIS educators to develop similar courses in their own curricula.

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