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Journal of Accounti ng EducationVol. 4, No. 2Fall, 1986

WRITING PROGR M FOR CCOUNTING COURSESEugene J Corman

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY FULLERTON

Abstract: The authors premise is that communication skills, as well as technical knowledge, arecritical elements for success in accounting. Accounting instructors can provide opportunities forstudents to hone their writing skills while teaching them technical subject matter. Assignmentsthat require research in the professions literature are particularly valuable for this purpose.Feed-forward and feed-back strategies can simplify the grading task and alert students to theirwriting deficiencies. Computer-assisted writing and analysis enhance the learning experience byusing the technology students will encounter in the work place.

A significant part of an accountants workday is spent writing. Radar andWunschs study [ 19801, for example, reports approximately one-fourth of anaccountants time is spent writing; business executives, responding to Stineand Skarzenskis survey [ 19791, made similar estimates. Research evidenceconfirms what accounting instructors know from their own experience: learn-ing writing skills is an important part of an accountants professional educa-tion. The question is: whose job is it to teach writing? An obvious answer isthat the task has been delegated to the English or communications depart-ments and it is their responsibility to teach students to write. The logic ofhaving experts teach communication skills is difficult to dispute but, as withany skill, practice improves performance. Thus, a case can be made thatinstructors who teach technical courses have a responsibility to provide theirstudents with opportunities to hone the skills taught in writing courses. Thatidea underlies this writing program - accounting instructors should providetheir students with opportunities to practice written communication skillswhen teaching them the technical subject matter of their profession. Toaccomplish this objective, instructors must be prepared to evaluate studentspapers for writing quality as well as technical content.

A frequent complaint among employers of university graduates is theinability of graduates to write effectively. Often accounting instructors arecriticized for not including written reports in course assignments since prac-tice and instructor feedback are essential elements in the development of theneeded writing skills. Many accounting instructors do not assign writtenexercises in their courses because the quality of student writing is so poor thatthe papers cannot be graded readily. When accounting instructors do assignThe author gratefully acknowledges the funding provided by the California CPA Foundation tomake the writing project possible.


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87curriculum. The auditing course, the accounting systems course, and theadvanced tax course are examples of courses where the longer technicalpapers can be used to round out students exposure to a variety of writingformats. However, until the students have been given an opportunity topractice business writing in short papers, with feedback from their instructorsto alert them to their writing problems, it is unlikely that long formats willproduce satisfactory results. Topics for long papers are essentially the same asfor short papers but by their nature the long papers cannot be assigned asfrequently nor graded as quickly as the short formats. Thus, instructor feed-back is less frequent. A key ingredient for improving undergraduate writingskills is frequent feedback from the instructor. The ideal situation, of course, isa mix of long and short formats because the short formats stress precision andconciseness while the long formats stress analysis and the development ofideas. Unfortunately, other pressures on an instructors time often make theideal unattainable. What this paper is suggesting is that short papers gradedfor composition and technical content may be a better tradeoff than longpapers reviewed only for their technical content when the time available forgrading written work is limited.

Students Must Learn to Work Withthe Professional Standards

What kinds of written assignments are appropriate for an upper divisionaccounting student? Accounting courses are concerned with the presentationof quantitative information. Thus, instructors may feel that reports andschedules, not essays, are the critical concerns of the course. The problem iscompounded because the comprehensive textbooks available for accountingcourses make other reading unnecessary to understand the course subject.Yet, there is a wealth of technical literature underlying the textbook discus-sions that accounting students are seldom required to investigate. Theaccounting and auditing standards of the American Institute of CertifiedPublic Accountants (AICPA) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board(FASB), the I nternal Revenue Code and its related regulations, and thestandards of the Cost Accounting Standards Board (CASB) are examples ofthe complex body of knowledge that accountants must deal with in the workplace. Accounting graduates who leave the university without the ability touse that literature effectively in their work enter their profession with apotential handicap.

The technical literature, however, is difficult to read. If the obscurity of theI nternal Revenue Code is legendary, the readability of the accounting andauditing standards must also qualify them for a place in folklore. Stead,commenting on the readability of the Accounti ng Principles Board Opinions,observed: Although students do feel some frustration over trying to read theopinions, their frustration is compounded when they enter the real world


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88where personal understanding and interpretation for clients are essential[1977]. Writing exercises that require research in the professions literaturemay help students make the transition.

The p is is an excellent vehicle for combining the short writing formatwith the study of the professions standards. A summary of an accountingstandard in which the student preserves the essential ideas, organization, andpoint of view of the original but uses his own words forces the student to findthe fundamental ideas in the standard. Ability to write a good p is isevidence of capacity both to read intelhgently and to write concisely.

Financial statement footnote disclosures provide another opportunity foraccounting instructors to develop topics suitable for short format writtenassignments. Footnotes to financial statements are consistently ranked byreadabiIity research [Barnett and Loeffier, 19791 as extremely difficult tounderstand which suggests that this aspect of accounting communicationneeds more attention in accounting courses. Footnote writing is a particularlyuseful assignment for accounting majors because footnotes require that stu-dents develop skills in handling numerical information in a compositionformat. Since most accounting standards contain explicit statements aboutwhat must be disclosed, footnote writing assignments do not require detailedinstructions concerning the instructors expectations. A useful variation forfootnote writing assignments is to have the students re-write several obscurefootnotes from published financial statements.

Instructors Can Help Identify Writing ProbiemsWhat common problems are observed in the written work of accounting

students? This is not to imply that the composition errors of accountingstudents are unique; similar errors are reported by teachers in other disci-plines. For discussion, however, composition errors may be divided into twocategories: simple errors, easily corrected on the face of the manuscript; andstructural errors that require revised sentences or paragraphs for cIearcommunication.In the category of simple errors are the problems encountered with gram-mar, punctuation, spelling, diction, and mechanics. A common grammarproblem, for example, may be lack of agreement between subject and verb.The use of theapostrophe in the possessive case and the omission of quotationmarks for direct quotations are frequently observed punctuation errors. Spell-ing errors are legion, as most accounting instructors know. In addition,nonstandard words and business jargon frequently obstruct clarity. Someproblems with mechanics may be the misuse of italics, incorrect abbrevia-tions, and misuse of capitals.

Simple errors can be noted on the paper to inform the student of errors thatshould be eliminated in the writing and proofreading stages of paper prepara-tion. This is an area where writing talent is not an issue - due professional


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89care is the issue and can be achieved by any university student if there is adesire to improve. Making those errors costly to the course grade is aneffective means to motivate a desire to improve.

The structural errors are the most difficult to deal with in the gradingprocess because simple indications of the problem, such as circling or under-lining the error, are not adequate feedback to help the student. Danglingmodifiers, sentence fragments, run-together sentences, and rambling senten-ces are some of the common structural problems encountered. Many studentshave not made the connection between logic and language.

At the paragraph level, problems of organization (coherence, development,unity) and paragraph padding are often causes of poor communication qual-ity. One reason some students may have problems in this area is the standardinstruction to write some specified number of pages on the subject selected.When the quantity of writing is perceived as having more influence on thegrade than the quality of the writing, paragraph padding, superfluous mate-rial inserted to lengthen the paper, is frequently an outcome. Usually thisdevice is detrimental to the quality of the communication. Poor organizationand padding were the principal problems cited by business executives whenasked to comment on the writing skills of the university graduates they hire[Stine and Skarzenski, 19791.

The structural problems present the greatest challenge to accountinginstructors who wish to help students improve their writing. When gradingcomposition, instructors often are working in an area where they lack theexpertise possessed by their colleagues in the English and communicationsdepartments. Intuitively they recognize a problem but lack the technicalvocabulary to describe it to the students. To simply rewrite the offendingmaterial without being able to explain why the rewritten sentence or para-graph is an improvement usually makes little impression on the student. Youjust said the same thing I did but differently is the typical retort in thissituation. Further, rewriting sentences and making notes in the margin take somuch time that, when added to the time required to grade the technicalcontent of the paper, the instructor may do nothing about the compositionquality. Worse yet, the instructor may not assign papers at all.

Preventive measures, rather than detective measures, may be more useful toan accounting instructor facing this problem. For the simple errors, detectionof the errors after they have occurred is the only reasonable approach tofeedback. Admonishments to take care often do not achieve the desiredresults. With structural errors, however, specific problems can be anticipatedand provided for in the instructions to the students. Restricting length, forexample, usually eliminates the paragraph padding problem. Providing topicsentences greatly improves the paper organization. Improvement is not per-fection. Papers will still contain poor sentences and the logic will be less thanAristotelian but the paper will be easier to read and grade. The point is that anawareness of the kinds of composition problems encountered in the classmakes feed-forward possible. The feed-forward approach, coupled with feed-


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90back for the simple errors, permits an instructor to grade communicationquality and technical content more quickly.

Structural problems that remain may potentially be addressed by referenceto a standard English handbook such as the Ha ace Col l ege Handbook .Lengthy notes or rewriting the students sentences is not necessary outside thecomposition course because the student can be informed of the problem with asimple section number reference. The idea behind this approach is to helpstudents help themselves.

The instructor Decides the Feedback RequiredThe Harbrace Col l ege Handbook makes it possible to point out to students

quickly where their writing is deficient. For most short papers, a reference toan error category usually is sufficient to indicate a problem with grammar,mechanics, punctuation, spelling, diction or effective sentences. The Hand-book has 30 subsections for instructors who want to provide more explicitinformation to the students. For example, the six major categories and theirsubsections are:

g = grammar1. sentence sense (ss)2. sentence fragments (frag)3. comma splice and fused sentence (cs/fs)4. adjectives and adverbs (ad)5. case (ca)6. agreement (agr)7. verb forms (v)

m = mechanics8. manuscript form (ms)9. capitals (cap)10. italics (ital)

1 . abbreviations and numbers tab/ n)p = punctuation

12. the comma (,/)13. superfluous commas (, encircled)14. the semicolon (;/)1.5. the apostrophe (ap)16. quotation marks ( /)17. the period and other marks (./)

s = spelling18. spelling and hyphenation (sp)


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91d = diction

19. good usage (g)20. exactness (e)21. wordiness (w)22. omission of necessary words (-)

e effective sentences23. unity and logical thinking (u/log)24. subordination (sub)25. coherence (cob)26. parallelism / / )27. shifts (ns)28. reference of pronouns (ref)29. emphasis (emp)30. variety (var)

Within the thirty subsections, there are additional categories for makingfiner distinctions. However, since a writing program objective was to developa strategy for evaluating writing that avoids detailed analysis of errors, onlymajor category references are noted on the students papers. A grammaticalerror, for example, is indicated by circling, bracketing or underlining the errorand placing a gabove it. The burden for correcting the error is placed on thestudent. If the student cannot identify the error, the instructor should beconsulted. Usually, there is a pattern to the writing errors that is quicklymodified when students become aware of it. Common problems can bediscussed in class when the papers are returned to reduce the time required forindividual consultation.

Wordiness and failure to underline words that should be italicized arecommon problems. Wordiness, a diction problem, is indicated by a d whereit occurs; the italics omission is a mechanics problem as the m referenceindicates. If the instructor prefers more specific indicators, w and italfrom the next level of analysis could be used. Usually, the simple indicationsare adequate to alert the student to communication problems needing atten-tion. In the next paper, the italics problem will hopefully be reduced and thewordiness decreased.

Although the notations on the papers will be useful, some students needmore than first aid to improve future papers. A specialist on student writingproblems reviewed several papers submitted by accounting students andcommented on three additional problems: lack of transitions between propo-sitions, lack of logical arrangement of sentences within paragraphs, andexcessive repetition of material instead of developing the material fully. Somewriting problems are beyond what the program is designed to correct. Thestudents may recognize the need for remedial work when the writing is graded.In the meantime, the grader can suggest that the student study section 3 1 of theHarbrace Col l ege Handbook where the principles of paragraph construction


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92are discussed. A standard reference work for composition saves writinglengthy notes in the margin.

Part of the third problem identified by the writing specialist, however, mayresult from the studentsfailure to do adequate research. Thus, one cause ofpoorly written papers may be inadequate technical knowledge. If that is thecase, research papers requiring detailed study of the professional standardsmay be doubly beneficial because the research provides a basis for discussingfully the problem being addressed.

The Program Works in the ClassroomThe ideas discussed here have been used in several senior-level auditing

classes over the past two years to help students become aware of their writingdeficiencies. The method has four elements: careful structuring of assign-ments, required research in the professional standards, feedback to correctdeficiencies, and an incentive to motivate the students to improve theirwriting.

Careful structuring of the writing assignments has proven to be a keyelement for good results. Short papers, five hundred words or less, areassigned, providing the instructor the opportunity to read and correct thepapers quickly. A memorandum format is required because it prepares thestudent for the kind of writing most often encountered in practice. The topicsare delineated to produce the desired response. This is accomplished byproviding the topic sentences and insisting that they be used verbatim in thepaper. Paragraph unity and coherence are improved with this technique. Theproblems associated with poor organization are decreased. Topic sentencesrequire the instructor to give careful consideration to what is asked of thestudent. Topic sentences provide the student with a broad outline of theintended contents of the paper. Topic sentences facilitate the preparation ofthe grading guide which is essential for feedback to the students.

Short cases dealing with problems encountered by professional accoun-tants in public practice usually produce the best results. The cases used in theexperiment were written by the instructor to fit his teaching style - a proce-dure recommended to anyone considering a writing program of this kind.CPA examination cases, modified to fit the circumstances, may also be usedfor this purpose. The cases always require research in the published account-ing and auditing standards. The student is required to reach a conclusion andrecommend a course of action. Students must cite in their papers the stand-ards that support their conclusions and recommendations. Thus, the writingassignment teaches the students to use the professions official pronounce-ments and helps them develop the analytic skills necessary for successfulprofessional careers.

Feedback to the students occurs at various stages. The Harbrace CoI legeHandbook has been adopted as the standard English handbook for the


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93written work in the course. The handbook provides guidance during thewriting phase of the assignment and is a source of information for correctingerrors when the papers are returned. Simple errors are indicated directly onthe papers; complex problems are handled by referring to the appropriatesections of the handbook. To evaluate the technical content of the papers, agrading guide is prepared for each assignment. Starting with the topic senten-ces given as part of the assignment, a sentence outline is constructed contain-ing the important points that should be discussed under each topic. Thegrading guide provides uniform grading for the papers and reduces the timerequired to evaluate the technical material. The grading guide is given to thestudents with their papers so they have an outline that may be used as a modelfor the next writing assignment. The course schedule sets aside a full classperiod each time papers are returned to discuss writing problems and thetechnical aspects of the cases. Three assignments of this kind each semesterappear to be necessary before improvement in communication qualitybecomes noticeable.

Providing an incentive for students to improve their writing skills is anintegral part of the writing project. The final course grade serves as theincentive. In the auditing courses discussed here, 40 percent of the final coursegrade is based on the class papers. Twenty-five percent of the paper gradereflects its communication quality and 75 percent the technical content.Therefore, 10 percent of the final course grade depends on writing skills. Thepapers are graded with rigor. A composition error of any kind reduces thewriting component of the grade one-third of a letter grade. Three errors, forexample, result in a B+; four errors, a B, and so on. Most students get the pointquickly. Concise and precise writing maximizes the grade for technical con-tent and reduces exposure to communication errors.

omputers an Help Improve WritingThere is other help available if the student is willing to learn the word

processing capabilities of personal computers. Revisions and corrections aremade easily at any point in the writing process. Spelling programs can makespelling and typing errors rare occurrences in finished manuscripts. The shortformat accounting standards research paper written on a word processoraccomplishes the following: it develops writing and analytic skills, uses theprofessional standards, and uses the technology students will encounter in thework place. Once a manuscript has been placed on a disk, there are otherprograms that instructors or students may use to analyze writing style. Someof the commercially available software programs feature a word-use profileand a phrases dictionary which help analyze students papers. The word useprofile helps pinpoint overuse of some words, and the phrases dictionary isuseful for finding diction problems. Finally, a statistical summary of thedocument is available which provides data about other style matters, such as


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94sentence length, use of to bes and prepositions.

Is a writing program of this kind necessary? Is the program useful tostudents? The answer to both questions appears to be yes. The program isnecessary to supplement and support what students learn in the formal writingcourses. The program is useful because it prepares students for what they willdo when they leave the university. The results of the experiment in the auditingclasses suggest that the techniques described here do result in improvement inthe writing and analytic skills of the accounting students. Irwin Lieb, writingon the 3 Rs in Los Angeles Times [October 12, 19831, states the problemsuccintly: Without having read a great deal over a long period, studentscannot follow sustained and difficult discourse. Without long experience inwriting, students cannot analyze and organize ideas.

SOURCES CONSULTEDAmerican Institute of Certified Public Accountants. AZCPA Prof essional Standards. 2 ~01s.

Chicago: Commerce Clearing House, Inc., 1984.Andrews, J., Douglas and Robert J. Koester. Communication Difficulties as Perceived by the

Accounting Profession and Professors of Accounting. TheJournalofBusiness Communico-lion, 16, (Winter, 1979): 3342.

Arevalo, Claire B. Ef fective Wri ting: A Handbook for accounf unts. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall, Inc.), 1984.Barnett, Andrew and Keith Leoffler. Readability of Accounting and Auditing Messages. TheJournal of Business Communication, 16, (Spring, 1979): 49-59.

Bly, Robert W. and Gary Blake. Technical Wr iti ng: Strucrure. Standards, andStyle. New York:McGraw-Hill Book Company), 1982.

Bramer, George R. and Dorothy Sedley. Wri ting for Readers, (Columbus, Ohio: Charles E.Merrill Publishing Co.), 1981.

Dodge, Kirsten A. The Writing Morass: Redefining the Problem. The Jour nal of BusinessCommunication, 17, (Summer, 1980): 19-32.

Financial Accounting Standards Board. Accounting Srundurds. Current Text as of June 1,1984.General Standards. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company), 1984.

Grammatik UserS Manual. Tijeras, (New Mexico: Aspen Software Company), 1982.Hodges, John C. and Mary E. Whitten. Hurbruce College Handbook, 9th ed. (New York:

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.), 1982.John, Richard C. Improve Your Technical Writing. Management Accounting, (September

1976): 49-52.Lanham, Richard A. Revising Prose. New York: Charles Scribners Sons), 1979.Lieb, Irwin C. The 3 Rs: Still at the Top of Education, Los Angeles Times, 12 October 1983,

Part II): 13.Moss, Andrew and Carol Holder. Improving Srudent Writi ng: A Guidebookfor Fucuhy in AI 1

Disciplines. (Pomona, CA: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona), 1982.Rader, Martha H. and Alan P. Wunsch. A Survey of Communication Practices of BusinessSchool Graduates by Job Category and Undergraduate Major. The Jour nal of Business

Communicalion, 17, (Summer, 1980): 3341.Roundy, Nancy. A Program for Revision in Business and Technical Writing. 77re Journal of

Business Communi cation, 20, (Winter, 1983): 55-66


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9.5Stead, Bette A. Content Analysis and Readability Formulas as Applied to the Accounting

Principles Board Opinions. The Journal of Business ommunicarion, 14, (Spring, 1977):23-34.

Stine, Donna and Donald Skarzenski. Priorities for the Business Communication Classroom: ASurvey of Business and Academe. The Journal of Business Communi cati on, 16, (Spring,1979): 15-30.

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