DESIGNING INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY FOR COMPLEX ACCOUNTANCY TOPICS

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The overall objective of the project is to address a gap in Higher Education by creating an internationally-oriented learning platform in accountancy that facilitates current essential hard and soft skill development for early career professionals.

Graduates planning to work in specialist areas of accountancy require specific competencies. They must develop sound subject-specialist knowledge, professional skills, and professional values, ethics and attitudes during their studies (IAESB, 2015). Such competence cannot be acquired through a didactic concept which involves only traditional lectures, seminars and modes of assessment.

The digital economy is growing much faster than the rest of the economy, but this potential is currently held back by a shortage of skilled graduates. Open vacancies for ICT practitioners cannot be filled, despite the high level of unemployment in Europe. The project will help to close this gap (shortage of up to 900 000 ICT professionals by 2020).

Objectives

We aim to develop a teaching concept that facilitates the development of all competencies to meet the current and future demands in the Profession and significantly enhance the employability of engaged students. The technological changes in the profession require graduates to be more digitally competent, commercially and internationally aware, analytical and resilient. The teaching concept will to take the changing environment into account. Working as an accountancy professional requires interdisciplinary thinking and problem solving skills, as well as understanding accountancy in different cultures and legislations.

Project Results

There will be four distinct but integrated sets of case studies with underlying text and on-line learning materials including two data bases. The topics of cases address areas of global and immediate concern, the titles of which are:

IO1 - Combating Aggressive Tax Planning Strategies, Post-BEPS

IO2 - From a story teller to a modeling expert: changing requirements for the accounting of financial instruments

IO3 - Digitalization in Auditing

IO4 - Developing Integrative Learning Resources to examine links in Corporate Governance Mechanisms and tax avoidance practices fostering socially responsible behavior of companies

Project Partners

The Partners of this project have a long history of working together in the development of teaching materials, intensive study programmes, student and staff exchanges, research and other knowledge exchange. We received an EXCELLENT rating and very positive feedback ("...very systematic and excellent...") from the Austrian National Agency on the completion of our joint project: International Learning Platform in Accountancy (ILPA), Project number: 2014-1AT01-KA203-000965. We intend to deliver another excellent project that will be innovative, open access and widely used.

Partners’ contacts in accounting firms and finance departments of corporations (groups) will be consulted during the project for subject-specific assistance. The applicant and the other partners have close contacts within the Big Four, MNEs and the Professional and Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (e.g. ICAEW, ACCS, CIMA) in the respective countries. This will ensure the professional relevance and practical application of the learning material which will in turn enhance student experience. The combined subject expertise, and the dedication and enthusiasm in academia of the partners far exceeds the sum of their individual contributions. The richness of past projects that have been developed during the association spanning more than two decades are a testament to the benefit of the extended global network. What we are able to harness through our extended, multi-national network mimic the scenarios and complex issues MNEs face today.

Project Meetings
ISPs
Project Consortium
Project Team in Innsbruck

Projektmeetings

Kavala – September 2018

The DIPCAT project kick-off took place in Kavala in September 2018. Within the two working days the project team defined the most important steps for the next three years to conduct another successful Erasmus+ strategic partnership.

DIPCAT_Meeting_Kavala_2018

Vigo – June 2019

Zur Vorbereitung des ersten ISP (Intensive Study Programme) im September 2019 in Bournemouth, fand vom 6. – 8. Juni in Vigo das zweite Projekttreffen des internationalen DIPCAT-Projektteams statt. Das produktive Projektmeeting fand in der Universidade de Vigo statt und wurde von Prof. Dr. Belén Fernandez-Feijoo und Prof. Dr. Phyllis Alexander geleitet.

Bei der Veranstaltung wurde neben dem Abklären organisatorischer Details auch die weitere Vorgehensweise bei der Entwicklung der Projektergebnisse besprochen. Ferner wurde festgehalten, dass das zweite ISP im September 2020 in Innsbruck stattfinden wird.

Timisoara – May/June 2020 (online)

The virtual project meeting of the DIPCAT consortium took place on May 25th and 26th. Due to the current travel restrictions, the meeting could not take place in Timisoara (Romania), but was held via zoom.

The 25 participating professors from 13 countries met on both days for constructive and productive discussions. From Innsbruck, Rudolf Steckel, Sabine Graschitz and Simona Holzknecht were there. Overall, the further “timetable” for the project was discussed.

In addition, we actively worked on the book project “The Modern History of Accounting in Europe”.

Although the meeting was only held virtually, one or two snapshots of the project meeting could be taken.

Bournemouth – May/June 2021

Intensive Study Programmes und Multiplier Events

1^st ISP Bournemouth – September 2019

The first DIPCAT-ISP took place in Bournemouth (UK). About 70 students from 12 European countries and the US participated in the ISP. Among them, also 9 students from the Master course "Accounting, Auditing and Taxation". The event was organized by Prof. Dr. Phyllis Alexander and her team from Bournemouth University.

The ISP aimed to conduct a first trial of the learning platform developed throughout the DIPCAT project. The case study based approach tackled topics from IFRS 9, International Taxation, CSR-Reporting and Tax Avoidance, as well as Digitalisation of Auditing. Besides the case studies a social programme including a Pub Quiz, a zip wire ride and a visit in the Russell-Cotes museum was organized.

For the participating academics a Research Symposium was organized. Every day a different workshop was organized, dealing with Bid-Writing, a introduction into Computerized Textual Analysis of Non-Financial Disclosure with Rapidminer, a round table dealing with the "Modern History of European Accounting" and a Open Research Workshop took place to foster the cooperation and enhance the scientific exchange between the academics.

Information was also available on social media:

It was great to welcome over 100 accounting students from across Europe to BU to network and work on complex case studies as part of #DIPCAT - an extra-curricular intensive study programme. Find out more: https://t.co/gejnghmqYR pic.twitter.com/TxsjhI7EHP
— Bournemouth Uni (@bournemouthuni) 9. September 2019