I force my students to take a position in little more than a minute on any question, Rice explains. Most students have been able to fake their way from kindergarten to twelfth grade by memorizing and not thinking. After the freshman year, I insist they do analytical thinking on problems. Many are taken aback at first, but it forces them to use their minds. And based on his frequent contact with practitioners through continuing education programs, committee work with the Maryland Association of CPAs and firm visits, Rice believes that s just what CPAs in firms and in businesses are finding they need young recruits to do.
Rice thinks many schools still don t prepare students for that.
The classroom is not the only place Rice uses technology. Using his experience with AECM, last August Rice developed CPAS-L, an online forum for CPAs outside of education to address issues affecting any area of accounting. Already, more than 200 subscribers contribute regularly to the discussions of software, hardware and client-related matters. It s another way Rice stays in touch, not just with accounting ideas in academe but also with accounting practices in the real world. That way, he can pass what he learns back to his students, giving them the firm foundation they ll need to negotiate the changes and challenges they ll face as CPAs in the next century.