Skills development, motivation and learning in financial statement analysis: an evaluation of alternative types of case studies

Abstract

Relevant accounting bodies have questioned the way accounting education should be redirected. They concluded that communication, group working and problem-solving skills appear to be at least as important as ‘technical’ knowledge. The use of case studies is highly recommended for the development of those skills and also for increasing motivation. Improvements in motivation and the practising of non-technical skills facilitate content learning. Traditionally the use of real and complex case studies has not been as widespread as other active educational methods, such as the solving and public presentation of problems or shorter cases. This paper aims to study and compare the influences on content learning, skills development, and students' attitudes when studying Financial Statement Analysis due to changing the previously successful pedagogical strategy of using short cases to one that uses complex cases.