Business press articles and higher level learning skills in accounting courses

Proponents for change in accounting education have raised concerns over the effectiveness of education received by recent US accounting graduates and have defined a desirable set of skills required of accounting majors. These include effective reading, writing, analytical, conceptual thinking and critical thinking skills, an ability to solve problems in unstructured settings, an understanding of organizations, international and multicultural knowledge and the ability to resolve ethical dilemmas. Discusses in a US context how articles from the business press can be used in the classroom to develop the above skills in higher level undergraduate and graduate accounting courses. Through the use of articles discussing the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) proposal on stock options, the relationship between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the FASB, earnings manipulation by management, and international accounting, we describe how business press articles can be used to achieve the above‐mentioned learning objectives. Describes techniques which can also be applied in other countries with the instructor’s choice of locally relevant business press articles.