The Status of Automated Accounting Instruction in Secondary Schools in Illinois

Purpose The purpose of this study was to find characteristics of schools that teach automated accounting in Illinois. A survey instrument was developed which requested information about school size, computer facilities, demographics about the instructor, and other items that may be useful in finding information about the instruction of automated accounting. Procedures This study was conducted in high schools randomly selected in the state of Illinois. Accounting teachers from 250 selected schools were surveyed from the population of 760. Two mailings of the survey instrument were delivered. 151 responded to the first mailing while 28 more responded to the second mailing. The characteristics of schools teaching automated accounting were compared to those of schools not teaching automated accounting. Results and Conclusions In Illinois, 123 of the 178 schools that responded include the instruction of automated accounting in the curriculum. 117 of these 123 schools (95.1%) include computerized accounting with other accounting courses while 6 have a separate course for automated accounting. Sixty-six schools introduce computerized accounting during the first semester of accounting courses. This would indicate that these schools are instructing automated accounting and manual accounting methods concurrently. These schools are consistent with the majority opinion of researchers who recommend that computerized accounting should be introduced early in accounting courses. The instruction of automated accounting appears to be influenced by some of the factors listed on the questionnaire. Larger schools are more likely to include automated accounting in the curriculum. Instructors with a master\u27s degree or more are also more likely to teach automated accounting. The gender of the instructor appears to have no influence on the teaching of computerized accounting while previous accounting or bookkeeping work experience seems to influence the instruction of automated accounting. Instructors over 49 years of age are also more likely to teach automated accounting as 76.5% in this age category do compared to the overall total of 69.1%