Although it may be appropriate for students to rely on textbooks early on, it is essential that they learn to use and rely on other sources as well. Artificial intelligence is gaining a foothold in the accounting profession. Just as accounting education had to adapt to computers, it must also prepare students to use artificial intelligence. In time, accounting education may come to realize that expert systems will represent an extraordinary learning tool. Perhaps professional judgment can be learned through the use of expert systems, as students can develop answers to cases and match their solutions against those of an expert system.
Internships provide students with real work experience.
When interns return to the classroom, they have experienced practical problems and can relate those experiences to the classroom discussion and share their experiences with others. Even entry level experience makes interns more willing to accept answers that are based on facts and circumstances. Obstacles to Change Accounting programs generally attract students with strong quantitative skills and a desire for closure. Historically, accounting students prefer problems with clear cut answers that can be obtained from the application of rules that entail math-like certainty. For example, students are comfortable with an exercise that entails the application of a specific depreciation method for a specific fact situation, and textbooks are filled with assorted and rarely used methods.