Accounting Information Systems Curriculum

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International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) requirements across .... In prior years, business accounting software was specifically included in lists of technologies ..... technology with accounting usually depends on the capabilities of a small ...
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Accounting Information Systems Curriculum: Compliance with IFAC Requirements among Jordanian Universities Mahmoud Mohmad Ahmad Aleqab, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, KSA, [email protected] Dalia Adel, Dar Alhekma University, Jeddah, KSA, [email protected]

 

Abstract This is the first known study examining the current practices in designing and teaching of accounting information systems (AIS) course and then relates these practices to the system skills expectations of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) requirements across Jordanian universitiesThis paper has an important value to the existing discipline of AIS with an investigation and review of current AIS discipline. The study was benefited and motivated by a similar study by Chayeb, and Peter (2005) conducted in Australia and, the study found lack of awareness of IFAC guidelines among accounting courses offered by Australian universities and they recommended that the Australian professional accounting bodies review IFAC applications and conditions in any accreditation process in Australian colleges and universities. The results of our study found a moderate consistency in terms of topic coverage in AIS curriculum with some differences in emphasis. However, there was a little awareness amongst coordinators of the authoritative guidance provided by International Federation of Accountants Committee (IFAC).Jordanian professional accounting bodies and High Education Ministry represented by the accreditation committee should require the existence of IFAC requirements when accrediting accounting majors in Jordanian universities. Accordingly, magnitude of review might be necessary in accounting curricula throughout Jordanian universities. Keywords: Accounting Information Systems, Curriculum, and International federation of Accounting. Introduction Given the current focus on strengthening the accounting profession following the financial disasters particularly in the U.S., including Enron and WorldCom, and the more recent global financial crisis, the importance of developing and enhancing university accounting education (e.g., Carnegie & Napier, 2010; Evans, Burritt, & Guthrie, 2010; IFAC, 2007a; Jackling & De Lange, 2009; Jackling & Keneley, 2009;PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2003)to produce competent professional accountants capable of making positive contributions over their lifetimes to the profession and society in which they work has increased. In fact, accounting education failed to keep up with the changes in accounting practices caused by technology and accounting students are not well prepared for the workplace. (Hunter 1992).Universities are therefore responsible for ensuring that accounting graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills identified by the market as desirable for accounting professional practices (AAA, 1986; AECC, 1990; Johns, 2006; Hancock, Howieson, Kavanagh, Kent, Tempone, & Segal, 2009). In Australia,

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  ‘professional accreditation’ has been used by the accounting professional bodies1 to monitor accounting programs in higher education institutions as an assurance that their accounting programs meet some external ‘quality’2 standards. But it is argued that simply aligning university accounting programs with the accreditation guidelines may not necessarily increase the employability of accounting graduates (Pan and Perera, 2012) and this further complicates the matter. The Accounting Information System (AIS) course is the main avenue for accounting students to receive IT education and training (Chang and Hwang 2002) which refers to a specialized course in the accounting curriculum that teaches IT knowledge and concepts related to accounting systems (Van Meer and Adams 1996; Chang and Hwang 2002). Bagranoff et al., (2008) suggest that AIS stand at the intersection of two disciplines –accounting and information systems. Despite the efforts in developing this unique course, generally accepted set of topics to be covered in an AIS course doesn’t exist (Wu 1983, cited in Van Meer & Adams 1996) and the AIS course remains one of the most diverse and least standardized courses in the accounting curriculum (Davis & Leitch, 1988; Groomer & Murthy, 1996; Heagy & McMickle, 1988). Much research has been made on what IT contents should the AIS course cover in an attempt to provide some guidance in standardizing the course (Arnold & Sutton, 2007; Badua, 2008; Borthick, 1996; Chang & Hwang, 2002; Daigle, Hayes, & Hughes II, 2007; Davis & Leitch,1988).The lack of a standardized and generally accepted set of contents for the AIS coursemakes the AIS course more difficult to teach than other accounting courses (Groomer& Murthy, 1996) and that teaching AIS can be an inefficient and frustrating process(Heagy & Rakow, 1991). Founded in 1977, The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), a global organization for accounting profession, working with 167 members and associates in 127 countries and jurisdictions3, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce to encourage high quality practices by the accountants’ world (IFAC, 2012). To achieve this goal, it has formed various boards and committees, one of which is the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB), replacing its formerly long standing Education Committee. Whereas the former IFAC Education Committee issued guidelines that were not authoritative pronouncements, the IAESB’s standards are authoritative pronouncements (IFAC 2012).The IAESB is an independent standard-setting body that serves the public interest by strengthening the worldwide accountancy profession through the development and enhancement of education. Through its activities, the IAESB enhances education by developing and implementing International Education Standards, which increases the competence of the global accountancy profession—contributing to strengthened public trust. It is focused on developing the professional knowledge, skills, values, ethics, and attitudes of the accountancy profession. It develops and issues publications on pre-qualification education and training of professional accountants, and on continuing professional education and development for members of the accountancy profession. These publications include: International Education Standards (IESs), International Education Practice Statements (IEPSs), International Education Information Papers

                                                             1

In Australia, there are two main professional accounting bodies, namely, the Institute of Chartered  Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and CPA Australia (CPAA).  2

 Quality’ measures in the professional accreditation process include the technical content of accounting  courses, staff appointment levels and qualifications, and the ratio of permanent staff to casuals, and  library resources, etc.  3

*As of November 16, 2011

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  (IEIPs), and support material, such as toolkits or interpretation guidance the International Education Practice Statements (IEPS). IAESB provided extensive guidance regarding important IT topics in 1995 in its International Education Guideline 11 (IEG 11), revised in 1998 and 2002, and is now known as Education Practice Statement 2 (IEPS 2). These revisions attest to IFAC’s acknowledgement and monitoring of the rapid change in IT and its business applications both for accountants and their clients. IEPS 2, Information Technology for Professional Accountants, was developed to assist in preparing professional accountants to work in the information technology environment. In this context, IT is defined as “hardware, and software products, information system operations and management processes, and the human resources and skills required to apply those products and processes to the task of information production and information systems development, operation, management and control” (IEPS 2, pg 7). International Education Standard (IES) 2, Content of Professional Accounting Education Programs, prescribes the knowledge content of an IFAC member body’s professional accounting education programs that candidates need to acquire to qualify as professional accountants. IEPS 2 provides guidance for IFAC member bodies, including Jordan and other educators in implementing IES 2 in relation to the IT knowledge component of pre-qualification professional accounting education programs. In 2009 the IAESB completed its revision of the Framework document which sets out the underlying concepts and principles for the IESs. This new Framework document, Framework for International Education Standards for Professional Accountants (2009), identifies general education, professional accounting education, practical experience and assessment as components of the learning and development of a professional accountant ,which occurs throughout an individual’s career, and ensures the development and maintenance of competence required for performing the various roles of professional accountants. In implementing IESs, IFAC member bodies need to ensure that candidates possess the necessary general IT and IT control knowledge and competences required for qualification. Guidance on this is provided in Section 1 of IEPS 2, and is supported by Appendices 1, 2 and 3. These contain subject matter that IFAC member bodies can include in the IT knowledge component of prequalification professional accounting education programs, as appropriate.7. In addition, all candidates are expected, for qualification as a professional accountant, to have a knowledge and understanding of at least one of the three roles set out in IES 2 (manager, evaluator and designer of information systems), or a combination of these roles. Section 1 of this IEPS provides good practice guidance on these roles, supported by Appendices 4, 5 and 6. These containcompetency elements that IFAC member bodies can include in the IT knowledge component of pre-qualification professional accounting education programs (Exposure Draft, 2012, p.129). Section 1 of IEPS 2 also provides good practice guidance for IFAC member bodies on teaching and assessing IT at the pre-qualification stage. Section 2 of IEPS 2 provides guidance for IFAC member bodies on implementing IES 7, in relation to the post-qualification development of IT knowledge and competences. Section 3 of IEPS 2 provides guidance for IFAC member bodies on implementing IES 8, in relation to the education and assessment of audit professionals. IFAC member bodies may find some or the entire competency elements set out in Appendix 7 helpful in developing the IT component of an education program for audit professionals. Professional accountants can, with more specialized training, work in more complex IT-related areas, such as information systems design, information systems management, and control and information

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  systems evaluation. IEPS 2does not prescribe the specific IT knowledge and competences that such specialists may require. It sets out the knowledge and skills professional accountants may require (a) to formulate the questions to be answered by specialists such as the IT auditor, and (b) to understand the outcome of the activities of such specialists. The AICPA also publishes a list of core competencies for persons entering the accounting profession (AICPA 2008).The AICPA core competence document lists spreadsheets and spread sheet applications as very important to new accountants. IT has in fact become an integral part of the business and is fundamental to support, sustain and grow the business. Professional accountants, in addition to extensively using various types of IT, also play important managerial, advisory and evaluative roles in connection with the adoption, deployment and use of various technologies by organizations of all types and sizes (IFAC, 2006).Furthermore, technology is rapidly changing and it is important that AIS course is able to cover relevant subjects as to employer needs as stated in many places (Lee et al., 2002, Woratscheck and Lenox, 2002, Scott, Alger, Pequeño, and Sessions. 2002, Pan and Perera 2012). To cope with these changes, the AICPA is updating the list of Top 10 Technologies every year since 1990 (Spinelli 2006). This list has contained applications that have become staples in accounting such as databases in 2001 (spreadsheets predate the list), but more recently the list has taken on a technology du jour flavor. In prior years, business accounting software was specifically included in lists of technologies essential for accountants (IFAC 1995), but this is no longer the case (AICPA 2008, IFAC 2007 In 1961 the accounting profession in Jordan was regulated by the Accounting Professional Council, allowing accountants who practiced the profession for two years to be licensed. In 1985 the Audit Bureau took on it shoulders the duty of regulating the accounting profession in Jordan and the previous law enacted 1961 was amended and accountants have to take exams allowing them to be licensed to this profession (Solas, 1994). Accounting practices in Jordan were largely influenced by the educational background of practicing accountants, who received their accounting education in the States, the UK, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordanian universities. In 1987, the Jordanian Association of Certified Public Accountants (JACPA) was brought into existence (under Law 42/1987) and became a member of IFAC in October 1992. However, the role of JACPA in accounting regulation was largely advisory without having any authority to issue accounting or auditing standards (Al-Akra et al., 2009). As a rule of thumb, the quality of accounting education plays an important role in the development of the accounting profession (Ismail, 2006a:2009b). The quality of teaching accounting and auditing in Jordan suffers from a lack of modern curricula and too few qualified teachers (ROSC, 2004). Undergraduatelevel accounting and auditing courses focus on elementary topics without including IAS/IFRS while the quality of accounting education is relatively better at the post-graduate level because the curriculum includes IAS/IFRS and encourages empirical research (ROSC, 2004). Further, JACPA does not require its members to undertake regular training under any continuing professional-education scheme as required by IFAC pronouncements (ROSC, 2004). accordingly, the quality of university and college curricula in the fields of accounting and auditing needs to be improved by establishing guidelines consistent with recent IFAC-issued International Education Standards(Al-Akra et al., 2009).In addition, there are several problem areas for developers and coordinators of AIS Curriculum in Jordan that need to evolve as technology needs change. These problem areas are:

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    

How to counterbalance the common body of AIS knowledge for accounting graduates of Jordanian Universities business schools with technology skills desired by IFAC requirements; and How to determine what knowledge should be included in basic AIS courses; and How to select the suitable AIS textbook in terms of breadth and depth of IT topics deemed by IFAC as important for an accountant (Krippeladnd Moody 2007).

To overcome these problem areas, one should clearly note that the aim of integrating IT into the accounting curriculum is not to produce technical accountants. The goal is to produce hybrid accountants, who are capable of using and evaluating AIS issues (e.g., relational database) in some depth and thereby bridging the information-system gap for themselves. Association of Jordanian Accountants (AJA) as a regulatory body, Jordanian Association of Certified Public Accountants (JACPA) as a professional body, and accounting educators must adopt an appropriate vision for the future and take a leadership roles in their areas, assess the current state of affairs, help to develop a plan to address the problems and obstacles of AIS integration, and also a monitoring program to encourage progress. One of the main challenges within the higher education sector in Jordan is the mismatch between current instructional methods including quality and types of courses offered and the needs of the national job market. With few exceptions, the tertiary education sector, albeit accessible and affordable to the large majority of Jordanians strains to ensure quality standards for higher education. Acute shortage of funds, lack of evaluation and quality assurance mechanisms, and limited emphasis on research affects the quality of graduates from public universities causing a brain drain to foreign universities (ROSC, 2004). Therefore, this study was designed to address some of these issues as they relate to the continuing improvement of an undergraduate program in accounting in all Jordanian universities. The primary objective is to identify and profile AIS curriculum to meet anticipated and required schemas by IFAC in the near future by coordinators and professors in the Jordanian universities and accounting bodies. In addition, we aim to meet the expectations of employers of knowledge and skills expected for the successful graduates at both entry and advanced levels. This information is to be used to help guide accounting faculty in the design and development of pertinent curriculum. These objectives address the first two “problem areas” identified above in detail.

Prior Literature  There are numerous research efforts in the area of matching IT knowledge to Accounting as IT is becoming critical for accountants due to the growing awareness of IT knowledge among business personnel, and an increasing number of computerized accounting systems implemented in organizations (McMickle, 1989; Macintosh, 1985; King, Lee, Piper, and Whittaker 1991;Williams, 1991;King, et. al., 1991; Xiao et al.,1996 ; Goldsworthy 1996, Hunton& Flowers 1997; King, 2000; Booth, Matolcsy, & Wieder, 2000; Mitchell, Reid, & Smith, 2000; Granlund & Malmi, 2002; Hyvonen, 2003; IFAC, 2003; Caglio, 2003; Scapens & Jazayeri, 2003; Arnold& Sutton, 2001;Doran & Walsh, 2004; Janie2005; Gelinas et al. 2005; Spraakman, 2005; Alfredson, Leo, Picker, Pacter, and Radford ,2005 ; Hastings and Solomon 2005; Ifinedo & Nahar, 2006; Rom & Rohde, 2006;Fotiadis &Hatzithomas, 2007;Krippel and Moody 2007; Thomas Tam 2008; Banatte, & Mapp 2009; Harrast, Strong and Bromley 2010, Steven Harrast et al., 2010; IFAC 2010b; Pan & Perera 2012; Aleqab and Adel 2013).

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  Reviewing the relationship between IS and accounting from the early years of computerization, many studies found that the first automated systems were almost always the accounting systems such as payroll, accounts receivable, and general ledger (Ismail, 2006). During the 1950s and 1960s, only accountants have the knowledge and privilege to use the technology, and AIS courses were offered in most universities in the United States (McMickle, 1989). After that, accountants become busy with the technical accounting issues such as the format of financial statements, the fairness of disclosure, and consolidation issues. Accordingly, they started to hire technical assistants, known at that time as “machine accountants” to operate the technology. During the 1970s, the gap between IT and accounting deepened both professionally and academically, which resulted in a poorly coordinated and segmented use of IT application architecture (McMickle, 1989). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, began the IT technological advancements, which enabled the implementation of a new accounting model called “resources-events-agents” (REA) (Hall, 2000; Jasperson et al, 2005). Bain et al. (2002) argued that one of the key difficulties in teaching AIS is the lack of a standardized curriculum for the course. Macur (1998) reviewed 56 AIS syllabi and found that over half of the respondents covered up to 78% of AAA suggested topics and over 85% used at least one software project suggested by IFAC and AICPA. Theuri and Gunn’s (1998) research concluded that AIS course content was often influenced first by employers, and secondly by CPA exam requirements.4 They found that employers (accounting firms, government, and corporations) of accounting graduates considered database management concepts to be of less importance than did AIS faculty, and were not interested in what were then considered emerging technologies such as distributed systems and decision support systems. Hermanson, Callhan-Hill, and Ivancevich (1999) surveyed 69 accounting faculty and found that although they believed it important to integrate IT into the curriculum, in reality such integration was weak. They found only minor-to-moderate coverage of IFAC suggested general IT topics. They reported the most covered individual topics in the AIS course were: general systems concepts, risks and exposures in computer-based information, transaction processing in typical applications, and data organization and access methods. Richtermeyer and Kovar’s (2001) survey of 50 AIS educators found that they continue to cover many of the emerging technology topics identified by the AICPA, using a blending of approaches, including the transaction cycle approach (based on the accounting cycle) and the business process approach (the capture of all organizational information, not just accounting information). Bain et al. (2002) examined AIS texts, online course syllabi, and input from professionals and faculty to find a consensus that the main topics of importance were “introduction to systems”, “transaction processing”, and “internal controls”. Hogan (2003), based on a survey of 15 Australian universities, concluded that the topical coverage in AIS courses varied widely. Chayeb and Best (2005) surveyed 18 Australian universities and found that over 44% of the AIS instructors were unaware that IFAC had published guidelines on topical coverage, although they did find “reasonable consistency” in AIS course content in the surveyed universities. They also found that a lack of suitable textbooks constituted a major concern, mirroring the decades earlier Groomer and Murthy (1996) findings. Palmer et al. (2004) summarized the diversity of skills including IT skills, mandated by professional organizations, including the American Accounting Association (AAA), the Institute of Management

                                                             4

Macur (1998) noted that the CPA exam is a poor guide for the AIS curriculum because historically IT topics average only 4-6 points out of 100 on the auditing section of the exam.

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  Accountants (IMA), Financial Executives Institute (FEI), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), concluding that while there are some commonalities, it is likely that educators will feel “overwhelmed and confused” when assessing and designing AIS curriculum. Wessels (2005) also looked at the requirements of various professional bodies to determine a consensus of technology skills requirements. He provided an extensive review of the competency requirements of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (ICAA), the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICA EW) , the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the South African Institute of Charted Accountants (SAICA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). He concluded that despite having different areas of focus, each recognized the importance of accountants being technologically skilled. It can also be noted that even with extensive guidelines from international and national professional bodies, sometimes the direction of AIS curriculum content may come from entities closer to home. Fordham (2005) presents a case study of determining AIS curriculum topics from the collective input of the university’s advisory board members, current and potential recruiters, as well as alumni and graduates of the AIS program. Alfredson, Leo, Picker, Pacter, and Radford (2005) stated that the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is committed to developing, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting standards that require transparent and comparable information in general purpose financial statements but that is impossible without AIS to generate these kind of required information. Similar study conducted by Aleqab and Adel (2013) and they found that there are other three dimensions of IT sophistication than technological sophistication lead to sophisticated accounting information needed by financial statements users. Briggs, Vreede, Nunamaker, and Sprague (2003) explained the effect of accounting information generated by AIS as follows: “In order to succeed, managers need information so they can decide. They must decide so they can control. They must control so the organization can survive. A successful IS, therefore, must deliver timely, accurate, and complete information to decision-makers with a minimum of mental and economic cost.” (p. 8) Also, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recommended that computer and IT concepts be part of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of accounting professionals (AICPA 2002, 2008), and the Institute of Management Accountants (TMA) identified computer systems and operations as one of four work activities that are predicted to consume more of an accountants time (Russell, Siegel, and Kulesza, 1999, 38). Elliot (1992) shed the light on the importance of IT in accounting profession and stated that “IT changes everything” Elliot (1992) argued that the importance of accounting discipline, theory and practice depends on the discipline integration and association with IT applications and advanced systems. Considering the significance and vital role of the accounting profession,, IFAC issued the first guideline on IT in the Accounting Curriculum (IEG11) in 1995.The guidelines were then reviewed and considered for revision over and over again (last revision, October 2012) and renamed “IT for Professional Accountants”. But, prior research is lackingin such area of AIS curriculum design. Gromer & Murthy (1996) conducted study related to various academic institutions providing such topics. The research however, gathered data from different schools and colleges that offer such courses. The information collected were related to demographics, materials used, topics and evaluation and analysis related to the subject matter. Two surveys were designed and developed to gather data regarding AIS is the institutions offering the course

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  and also for coordinators AIS coordinators in terms of their academic and professional performance in addition to their experience and behaviours toward teaching such course. However, the findings provided by these authors Groomer & Murthy (1996) showed a lack of homogeneity and harmony in this course curriculum via the feedback received from the surveyed institutions. They have reasoned and rationalized this to inefficient and strict guidance and supervision related to the subjects at hand and to the coordinators background in accounting. The study findings helped the IAESB in achieving its objectives including promoting the adoption and implementing the international education standards for professional accountants which aim to promote quality and consistency in accountancy education around the globe. This was the main motivation to study the compliance extent of AIS curricula in Jordan with IFAC. The importance of this research stems from the fact that there is a lack of research in integrating the two disciplines IT and accounting, exploring in developing nations countries (Chayed and Best, 2005; Riccio and Gramacho Sakata, 2002). Furthermore, Hermanson, Callhan-Hill, and Ivancevich (1999) surveyed 69 accounting faculty and found that the integration of IT into the curriculum integration was weak. They found only minor-to-moderate coverage of IFAC suggested general IT topics. They reported the most covered individual topics in the AIS course were: general systems concepts, risks and exposures in computer-based information, transaction processing in typical applications, and data organization and access methods For the topics to be covered, Richtermeyer and Kovar’s (2001) surveyed 50 AIS educators and found that they continue to cover many of the emerging technology topics identified by the AICPA, using a blending of approaches, including the transaction cycle approach (based on the accounting cycle) and the business process approach (the capture of all organizational information, not just accounting information). Another study conducted by Hunton (2002) debated against the ambiguity faced by AIS researchers regarding the direction of AIS, thus, requiring more significant contribution to the AIS theory and knowledge. This calls for more collective effort on behalf of academics and professionals to enhance the knowledge and learning to enable future accountants in a more rapidly changing environment (Hunton, (2002). Such changes can never be overlooked because the accounting profession will be affected negatively (Ismail, 2003). This also represents a motivation for conduction this research. One of the key difficulties in teaching AIS is the lack of a standardized curriculum for the course (Bain et al, 2002). But, fortunately, the IFAC provided guidance regarding topics of importance for preparing professional accountants to work in the IT. This was clear when Greg et al., (2007) reviewed the contents of eleven well-regarded AIS texts through the framework of the IT knowledge components suggested by the IFAC. They found that AIS texts are addressing many of the IFAC broad areas of knowledge, although with varying emphasis on selected topics. Another important study conducted by Chayeb, and Peter (2005),investigating the curriculum in Australian Universities where their curricula cover topics related to IFAC guidelines with different emphasis, still the study showed no evidence that the difference or variation in the AIS curricula will affect the ability of accounting students in Australia in their future profession. Nowadays, accounting academics and accounting bodies emphasized the importance of AIS skills for accounting graduates and this importance is continually growing up, so it is imperative that the curriculum in accounting programs especially in AIS courses include necessary AIS skills to so they will be able to meet employer needs. Also it is important to note that these programs whatever accounting or

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  AIS cannot become ‘training’ programs but rather they must be skills gained through teaching, enabling students to learn how to use new technologies to serve their organizations and meet employers needs. Romney and Steinbart (2010) highlighted the importance of IS skills for accounting graduates from different levels: firstly, Auditors need to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of information produced by the AIS; secondly tax accountants must understand the client’s AIS adequately to be confident that it is providing complete and accurate information for tax planning and compliance work; thirdly, In private industry and not-for-profit, systems work is considered the most important activity performed by accountants; fourthly, In management consulting, the design, selection, and implementation of accounting systems is a rapidly growing area. So, it can be inferred from the previous discussion that AIS is critical for every accounting branch, especially auditing. For example, technology is required to be adopted in everything they done in the auditing process (Janvrin, Bierstaker Lowe, 2008). Hence, accounting practitioners should integrate advanced technology to be relevant. Accordingly, AIS professors face a continuing challenge to insure that their courses and curriculum stay up to date with the technological changes in their fields as well as being relevant to the business community represented by employers' needs. One obvious problem is that, AIS is not yet considered a core knowledge area for accounting students, in most universities all over the world (Boritz, 1999; Hunton, 2002, AICPA 2008, IFAC 2007, Steven et al., 2010). Thus, universities must tackle this problem by integrating additional AIS courses into the accounting curricula to be part of the core program. However, additional AIS courses cannot simply be added to the current accounting disciplines with no influence on current issues, posing several and important concerns like: the number of AIS subjects required to sufficiently equip students with AIS relevant courses? And if there is objection and conflict between most of accounting professionals or academics in every field or area of interest to cope and adapt to the recent business developments. There is also a clear shortage of well prepared academics in accounting and information technology to make enhancements in the accounting filed and curriculum. Therefore, the burden to complement information technology with accounting usually depends on the capabilities of a small group of junior AIS lecturers and accounting bodies. Many also fear that blending accounting education with IT knowledge would eventually produce “half-bake, half-cake” accounting graduates (Ismail, 2006). The challenge for accounting/commerce departments/schools and AIS coordinators is to prepare accounting graduates for the technological environment in which they will work. In summary, accountants in any business don’t only need a comprehension of business knowledge and information systems processing abilities to be able to establish and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage (Brecth and Martin, 1996). ,accounting professionals need the right IT knowledge and abilities in order to comprehend not only financial information but non financial information and then transfer the results into expected tools. Accordingly, the IEPS 2IFAC 2010 provides guidelines to help the member bodies to prepare professional accountants who are able to work in the IT environment’. These guidelines are summarized into three basic knowledge for accountants; general IT and IT control knowledge and competency requirements. Furthermore, knowledge and competencies are presented which are relevant to accountants in the roles as user, manager, designer and evaluator (auditor) of IT systems. IFAC (2010b) as mentioned earlier recommends that, undergraduate accountants should achieve broad knowledge in IT and IT relevant areas and interests. These instructions could be investigated in separate AIS topics or complemented within the auditing/accounting subjects.

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  Data and Research Design  The above context recommends that much more is required to prepare future professionals in accounting with enough information technology and talent. The paper will measure the compliance of AIS curriculum with IFAC requirements in Jordanian Universities and offers new and exciting challenges and research opportunities to accounting professionals and academic accountants. In addition to provides guidance on the design of AIS curriculum in Jordanian universities. As mentioned before, the main objective of this study is to measure the compliance of AIS curriculum with IFAC requirements in Jordanian universities, however, in order to address this reveal objective, we tried to investigate to which level the Jordanian universities are or not in compliance with IFAC requirements. So, we conduct a survey for all Jordanian universities who offer the AIS course, the questionnaire was designed based on IFAC requirements of IT knowledge issued in 2010 and we distributed the questionnaire to accounting instructors who teach the AIS course to investigate their coverage of IFAC requirements in teaching AIS course. Demographic, experience, and research interest were tested to see how qualified they are, and authoritative guidance referenced. The research population was made up of all public and private Jordanian universities totaled 24 Universities spread out over all geographical areas in Jordan, the respondents drawn from all cities of Jordanian universities websites. Questionnaires were mailed to all accounting instructors who taught the AIS course directly to their emails, requesting the survey to be forwarded back to researchers. A response rate of 60% (54 respondents) was accomplished after follow-up. We predicted less non response bias, given the same criteria and operations that colleges utilize to select academics and the effect of the professional accreditation organizations.

Results Analysis  The main objective of this study is to determine whether AIS subjects in Jordan as a developing country satisfy IFAC conditions. Nevertheless, in order to examine the compliance with IFAC, we investigate the consistency and harmony among schools and colleges in Jordan about the teaching of AIS materials and if the material is enough to satisfy the IFAC conditions. We reached a conclusion that the consistency and harmony across universities in Jordan can be determined by investigating the existing content and coverage of AIS syllabus by questioning the accounting instructors in Jordanian universities, and inquiring about the assessment tools applied and the authoritative guidance referenced. Table 1 shows that 14 (11.1%) respondents are from 20 – 29 years old and (27.8%) are from 30-39 years, (51.9%) are from 40-49 years and (9.35) are 50 years and more which indicate that most of respondents are above 40 years age (61.25%) and this is a good indication due to the experience period they have. Also, it is shown in Table (1) that (29.6%) are females and (70.4%) are males.

Variable Agee

Gender

Table 1: Personal/Background Information Frequency 20-29 years 6 30-39 years 15 40-49 years 28 50 years and above 5 Female 16 Male 38

Percentage (%) 11.1 27.8 51.9 9.3 30 70

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  Table 2 shows that 14 (5.6%) respondents are full professors, (22.2%) are associate professors, (48.1%) are assistant professors, and (24.1%) are lecturers, with 70% are PhD holders, (3.7%) are MBA and (26.3%) hold other masters degree. This finding is almost the same with that of Groomer and Murthy (1996) where almost 73% of the subjects hold a doctorate and quite different from the findings of Chayeb et al., (2005) where approximately 3 (17%) of the respondents hold a PhD qualification and 13 (72%) of the respondents hold a Masters or MBA degree. It is important to consider the specialization of the degree. For example, it would be very helpful to know the percentage of PhD holders in Information Systems, expecting that specialization will be reflected positively on research interests and on the application of IFAC requirements with regard to IT incorporation in the curriculum, textbooks and teaching materials used and also types of assessments used. Unlike other studies such as Chayeb 2005, we raised this issue in our research. One reason for not raising the point of specialization in other research might be the limited number of PhD holders in IS in addition to compensating for specialization with another factor which is research interests and training as will be discussed in the coming paragraph.

Variable

Table 2: Demographic Information for the AIS Instructor Frequency

Percentage (%)

Academic Rank  

Qualifications

YearsSince Completion of Degree

Full professor

3

5.6 

Associate professor

12

22.2 

Assistant professor

26

48.1 

Lecturer 

13

24.1 

Adjunct Instructors

0



Ph.D. 

38

70.0 

M.B.A. 

2

3.7 

Other masters' degree

14

26.3 

Other 

0



0 to 2 years

12

22.2 

3 to 5 years

9

16.7 

6 to 9 years

9

16.7 

10 to 12 years

24

44.4 

Greater than 12 years

0



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  Table 3 summarizes the education, training and work experience of the respondents. There is no PhD holders in information systems with only 3.7% of the respondents hold PhD minor information systems but 33% of the respondents hold a master in information systems which might be an indication of an increasing trend in certifying information systems. Self training is found to be the most likely activity carried out by respondents to improve their skills in teaching AIS courses, with limited information systems work experience in industry (16.7%). Table 3: Education/training and work experience  Variable

Frequency

Percentage  (%)

Education and Training in  Ph.D.  in  Information  Information Systems  Systems 

0



Ph.D.  minor  in  Information Systems 

8

14.8 

Master's  in  Information Systems 

4

7.4 

Master's  minor  in  Information Systems 

0



Self‐trained

42

77.8 

Attended  Beginning  AACSB  MIS  training  course 

0



Attended  Advanced  AACSB  MIS  training  course 

0

0

Some  experience  in  Information  Systems  at  the  undergraduate  level 

0

0

Information  Systems  work  experience  in  industry 

9

16.7 

Work Experience Information Systems

in

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  Information  Systems  work  experience  in  a  CPA firm 

18

33.3 

Other ‐ none

27

50.0 

Data in table 4 shows that the teaching experiences of respondents among Jordanian universities are enough experienced, approximately 33.3% of respondents have taught the AIS course for at least 5 years similar to Groomer and Murthy (1996) study where 48.5% of respondents in the US had taught AIS for at least 5 years and (72%) in Australia. On average, in Australia, AIS coordinators have more teaching experience than their in US and Jordanian counterparts. Therefore, we expect less in-depth knowledge of the AIS curricula and present less highly-developed subjects. Table 4: Years of Teaching Experience in Accounting Information Systems  

Years Teaching All AIS Courses Frequency

Percentage

Years Teaching Fundamentals AIS Courses Frequency Percentage

(%)

(%)

0 to 2 years 

27

50

3 to 5 years 

18

33.3

6 to 9 years 

9

16.7

10 to 12 years 

0

0

Greater than 12 years 

0

0

Total 

54

100.0

Data in table 5 shows the primary and secondary research interests of AIS Instructors among Jordanian Universities. Much lower percentage of Jordanian respondents interested in AIS and/or Information Systems (IS) are found in comparison with the Canadian ones whether as a primary or secondary research interests. For the primary research interests, results show a much lower percentage of Jordanian respondents interested in AIS and/or Information Systems (IS) than Canadian ones as (13%) only of the Jordanian respondents have AIS and or/ IS as at least a primary research interest compared to (44.44%) of their Canadian counterparts in Chayeb et al., study (2005). Also, results show a much higher percentage of Jordanian respondents interested in AIS and/or Information Systems (IS) than American respondents in the Groomer & Murthy (1996) study and lower than Canadian ones as24.1% only of the Jordanian respondents have AIS and or/ IS as at least a secondary research interest compared to (55.6%) of their Canadian counterparts in Chayeb et al., study (2005). This is likely to be associated with instructors dedicating at least 5 years to teaching AIS. It is expected that the higher the percentage of respondents

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  having interests in IS/AIS, the greater their awareness of IFAC requirements and the higher the possibility of its application. This is in addition to the higher the quality of delivery of the AIS course.

 

Table 5: Research Interests: Primary Frequency Percentage

Secondary Frequency Percentage

(%)

(%)

AIS/IS 

7

13.0

13

24.1

Auditing 

9

16.7

3

5.6

Electronic Commerce 

2

3.7

1

1.9

Accounting Education 

6

11.1

19

35.2

Financial Accounting  

12

22.2

0

0

Government/Not‐for‐profit 

0

0

0

0

Managerial/cost 

9

16.6

0

0

Tax 

9

16.7

18

33.3

Environmental Accounting 

0

0

0

0

Ethics 

0

0

0

0

Social Accounting 

0

0

0

0

Others  –  fraud  and  forensic  accounting 

0

0

0

0

  Data in table 6 reports content coverage in the AIS subject according to IFAC requirements. Findings show that the Jordanian professionals cover theoretical topics such transaction cycles (68.5%) more than covering technical issues such as database management systems (42.6%), ERP software (37%), management information systems (22.2%), and the systems development life cycle (20.4%). The majority (68.5%) of them covered accounting software (53.7%) and none of the respondents apply Business process reengineering, executive information systems (EIS), IT architecture, decision support systems, expert systems, or electronic data interchange. So, we can say that Jordanian professionals cover the theoretical topics more than covering the technical topics as required by IFAC. However, the results were surprising when we found that (53.7%) use accounting software, (42.6%) of the respondents use Database Management Systems and (37%) use Executive Information Systems. This means that the AIS subject adapts to emerging issues in IT

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  according to IFAC requirements. Despite these perceptions, none of the respondents utilized business process reengineering, executive information systems (EIS), IT architecture, decision support systems (DSS), expert systems, or electronic data interchange in the curriculum. It could be more beneficial here to compare between the accounting professionals against IS/IT professionals and compare between them in terms of the extent of coverage of accounting against technical issues. Variable

Table 6: Conduct of the AIS Course According to IFAC requirements Frequency Percentage (%)

Approach to the AIS Course 

Content/Topics covered in the AIS Course

Transaction cycles

39

72.2 

Systems analysis and design

19

35.2 

Data modeling and databases

11

20.4 

Technology of AIS

20

37.0 

controls and auditing

0



Other 

0



Accounting Software

29

53.7 

Auditing of Information Systems

20

37.0 

Business Process Reengineering

0



Data  Base  Management  Systems  (DBMS) 

23

42.6 

Decision Support Systems (DSS)

0



Electronic Commerce

12

22.2 

Electronic Data Interchange

0



Enterprise  Systems 

Planning 

20

37.0 

Executive  Information  Systems  (EIS) 

0



Expert Systems (ES)

0



Internal Control

11

20.4 

IT Architecture

0



Management Information Systems  (MIS) 

12

22.2 

Resource 

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  Supply Chain Management

12

22.2 

Systems  Design  and  the  Systems  Development Life Cycle 

11

20.4 

Transaction Processing (Cycles)

37

68.5 

Data in table 7 shows the types of assessment applied by respondents. Jordanian professionals appear more likely to set, in order of preference, final exams, case studies, an accounting software assignment / database assignment, hand - in assignments. It was better here to compare between types of assessments by accounting instructors against IT instructors to see whether specialization affects the types of assessment or not and again whether it is better for AIS instructors to hold a certificate in IS or no. This is considered one of the limitations in the study especially that others like Chayeb et al. 2005 found that accounting professionals are more likely to set, , an accounting software assignment, spreadsheet assignment and/or database assignment against IS/IT professionals who assign practical database assignments in favor of accounting assignments. Table 7: Assessment applied in AIS Frequency

Percentage  (%)

Accounting software assignment 

21

38.9 

Case Studies 

46

85.2 

Class presentations 

20

37.0 

Data Base assignment 

21

38.9 

Enterprise Resource Planning software assignment

19

35.2 

Final Exam 

54

100 

Hand‐in exercises 

12

22.2 

Mid‐Semester Exam 

54

100 

Spreadsheet assignment 

0



Theoretical assignment 

0



Tutorial participation

0



The software applied in AIS topics is shown in table 8. the results shows that 92.5% used MS Access compared to 67% of Canadian respondents (Chayeb et al. 2005) and approximately 22% using SAPR/3 financial accounting module compared to (27%) of Canadian respondents (Chaeyb e al., 2005) and 20%

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  used Attache for the practical component of the subject. The least software applied in the delivery of the AIS course in Jordanian universities is found to be Solution6. None of the respondents used Ms Project, MYOB compared to 33% of Canadian respondents (Chaeyb e al., 2005) or Quicken compared to 5% of Canadian respondents (Chaeyb e al., 2005) to demonstrate practical issues. In contrast, most of the respondents in the US study used Lotus 1-2-3 as part of the practical component (Groomer & Murthy 1996). Also, none of the Jordanian professionals used JIWA Financials compared to 5.5% of their Canadian counterparts. From these results we can say that despite it is clear the differences in the types of software used in the AIS course between Jordanian, American and Canadian, it is clear that with regard to the level of sophistication of the software; the higher the level of sophistication of the software, the less the possibility for its application in general and lowest percentages are in the Jordanian setting in particular with regard to the level of application of software. Table 8: Software used in AIS Frequency

Variable

Percentage (%)

Attache 

11

20.4 

JIWA Financials 

0



MS Access 

50

92.5 

MS Excel 

11

20.4 

MS Project 

0



MYOB 

0



Quicken 

0



SAP R/3 

2

3.7 

Solution 6

3

5.6 

  Data in table 9 reports the factors affecting the delivery of the AIS subject with the highest issues being computer facilities, hardware, and software. It was surprising that 100% of the respondents agree on this constrain compared to only 38.89% for Canadian respondents which might reflect the lack of necessary resources in Jordanian Universities compared to Canadian ones, specially that 87% of the Jordanian respondents consider computers and/or laboratories as an important factor affecting the delivery of the AIS course. Then comes time constraints according to 85.2% of the respondents compared to 77.77% for Canadian respondents, which might be related to over teaching loads assigned for Jordanian respondents. Staff training also is founded to be an important constrain for Jordanian respondents as 72% of the respondents indicate concerns about training compared to 27% only for Canadian respondents. This

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  indicates the over lack of necessary training for Jordanian respondents compared to Canadian ones. The lack of adequate AIS textbooks was also a similar finding in Groomer & Murthy (1996). For the availability of suitable textbooks, only 57.4% of Jordanian respondents indicate that the lack of suitable textbooks represent a constrain for them compared to 66.67% for Canadian respondents. Most of Jordanian professionals (92.5%) use Romney Textbook in teaching AIS and only 7.5% of them use Moscove (as appeared in Table 11). But, an important factor that should be taken into consideration here is the effect of the language in the delivery of the AIS course. As we will find in the coming discussion, AIS textbooks are available in English and some of Jordanian respondents teach basically in Arabic. We expect this constrain percentage to be much higher if we take into consideration the delivery of the AIS in Arabic. Qualified staff constrain is found to be higher in Jordanian Universities 72.2% than Canadian Universities 61.11%. This is expected as 3.7% only of Jordanian respondents hold a PhD minor in Information Systems compared to 25.7% of Canadian respondents, despite the fact that we expected the gap to be higher than this. Table 9: Factors affecting delivery of the AIS subject  Variable

Frequency

Percentage (%)

Factors affecting delivery of the AIS subject

Audiovisual aids

15 

27.8

Computer  facilities,  hardware and 

54 

100

47 

87.0

Faculty support

30 

55.6

Finance 

12 

22.2

Qualified staff

39 

72.2

Staff training

39 

72.2

Student enrolment

29 

53.7

Technical support

54 

100

Texts

31 

57.4

Time

46 

85.2

software  Computers  laboratories 

and/or 

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Data in table 10 reports respondents’ awareness of authoritative guidance. Our results show that only16.7% of the respondents are aware of the IFAC authoritative guidance, compared to 83.3% who haven’t decided whether they are aware of the authoritative guidance compared to only 28% of Canadians who remained undecided as to the issue. Also 44.44% of the Canadian respondents believe there is a lack of authoritative guidance for the design of AIS curricula guidance and 28% believed there was adequate guidance while only one respondent has considered IFAC guidelines in developing the AIS curriculum. These findings suggest that AIS subject coordinators are not well informed about the existence of IFAC guidelines. An important consideration that should be kept in mind when comparing between our study and Chayeb 2005 is the time of the study as Chayeb study was 2005 and our study is 2012, expecting that with the passage of time the awareness of the IFAC authoritative guidance will generally increase. Table 10: Are AIS Instructors aware of the Authoritative Guidance? Frequency Percentage  (%) Yes 

9

16.7 

No 

0



Undecided

45

83.3 

Total 

54

100.0 

 

 

Conclusion Trends of accounting education in Jordan, however, indicate that they are moving toward filling the gap between AIS skills and accounting among Jordanian universities but the scarcity of qualified accounting instructors contributes to the deteriorating quality of accounting education in Jordan. Many accounting instructors lack adequate knowledge of modern theories and practices. As a result, many important topics either are not taught or are poorly taught. Jordanian universities also lack capacity for teaching the practical application of accounting and auditing standards issued by professional bodies like IFAC and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) (ROSC, 2004). The primary focus of this research was to provide insight into the operation of the AIS course across Jordanian universities. This study was motivated by a similar study by Chayeb and Peter (2005) and an earlier study conducted by Groomer& Murthy (1996) who found a lack of consistency in AIS curricula across universities, attributed to the varied qualifications of lecturers and lack of authoritative guidance on content. Our study finds a non satisfactory compliance with IFAC in practical part and a reasonable consistency in theoretical issues in AIS curriculum in Jordan. An AIS curriculum in Jordan covers topics as required by these guidelines but the problem is coverage of these topics. Jordanian professional accounting bodies and High education ministry should be more considering IFAC requirements when accrediting accounting courses offered by Jordanian universities.

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  Our results were subject to several limitations, for example more comprehensive analysis could have been obtained if a higher response rate had occurred. Future research could address this problem by considering alternative approaches to collect and analyze the data. Further studiescould explore this subject by getting better response rate and investigate not just the core AIS course but other accounting courses topics such as accounting software, spreadsheet software, internal control and audit of information systems, may be incorporated within other subjects, such as financial accounting, management accounting and auditing. The current IFAC (2003, 2005, and 2010) guidelines should be considered in designing AIS curriculum. Institutions should also adopt strategies to deal with some of the constraints affecting the effective delivery of AIS subjects, including suitable textbooks, attracting qualified staff, computer facilities, realworld application software and technical support. These issues represent significant challenges that academic institutions must face in the twenty-first century and beyond (Chayeb and Peter 2005). If future accountants are to have sufficient academic background in the field of accounting and IT, the university and college curricula leading to the bachelor’s degree should be harmonized at national level. In that regard, the government agencies involved in the accreditation of university/college degree programs should establish guidelines consistent with recent IFAC-issued International Education Standards for Professional Accountants (IES). The accounting curriculum should be reviewed and updated to incorporate international accounting and auditing standards and include practical-oriented teaching at the undergraduate level. The ethical dimensions of business management, corporate finance, accounting, and auditing should be taught with case studies in the undergraduate programs of business schools/commerce faculties. Particular attention needs to be given to increasing students’ critical thinking skills. To enhance the capacity of higher educational institutions for teaching accounting and auditing courses with international components, there is a need to organize a training-the-trainers program.

Table 11: Textbooks and Supplemental Materials Used Variable

Frequency

Percentage  (%)

Texts

Hall  

0



Murthey 

0



Romney  

50

92.5 

Jones  

0



Heagy 

0



Dunn  

0



Perry  

0



Bodnar 

0



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Bagranoff 

0



Moscove 

4

7.5 

Gelinas 

0



 

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