“Number-Crunchers” Are Writers Too: Infusing Writing into Accounting Courses

by Anne M. Magro, Interim Accounting Area Chair

Most people think of accountants as “number-crunchers,” but in truth communication and interpersonal skills are two of the most important determinants of success in public accounting. In fact, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants lists communication skills as a Core Competency in its new Core Competencies Framework. While practicing accountants and accounting faculty generally agree that effective writing is fundamental to success in the field, many accounting classes still rely on numerical problem-solving as the primary means of gaining and demonstrating technical accounting knowledge.

The Accounting Area addressed this apparent inconsistency between the academic and professional emphasis on writing with the new Accounting Writing Initiative. Starting in Fall 2008, every required and elective accounting course in the accounting major at Mason gives writing assignments, e.g. analyses of alternate accounting treatments, research and analysis with professional written communication of results (e.g., client letters and technical memos), and case analyses. As the accounting faculty considered ways to address student writing, they expressed concern about the amount of time necessary to grade writing and provide valuable feedback. With the explosion of accounting standards over the past decade, faculty already have to make hard choices about which technical material to cover in class and through outside assignments, so adding instruction in writing would be difficult. Further, while our faculty agreed that writing skills are important, many did not feel competent to work with writers. We addressed these issues by hiring consultants from composition and the Writing Center to help grade the writing assignments and tutor students who needed to improve.

Our stakeholders’ responses to the Accounting Writing Initiative have been very positive. Students appreciate the opportunity to improve their writing skills by working with the consultants and revising their submissions. Faculty report an increase in the quality of the writing they are receiving from students. Our key recruiters, particularly the Big 4 accounting firms, are very excited about the program and hope to see it continue as a regular part of the accounting curriculum. When the program was presented at the Midyear Meeting of the American Taxation Association in February, faculty from across the country applauded our efforts and requested details about the protocol and permission to use our rubrics.

Although variations exist, the basic protocol follows: Accounting faculty grade assignments for higher-order writing issues and technical content. Writing consultants then grade the assignments for lower-order writing issues using a rubric we developed with consultation by the WAC director. The writing consultants classify students as highly competent, competent, or not competent on the lower order issues. Students who receive “not competent” ratings are required to meet with the writing consultant prior to revising their submissions. Students who fail to revise either receive no credit for the assignment or no credit for the writing portion of assignment grade. Those students deemed competent can also choose to meet with the writing consultant and revise their assignments to improve their writing grades.