TRENDS

What Do You Mean by “User” Approach?
Belverd E. Needles, Jr., Ph.D., CPA
Marian Powers, Ph.D


ARTICLES

Using Excel® To Teach Bond Accounting: A Short Note
Avinash Arya
Morgan State University

Although the use of computers has become widespread, its capabilities have not been fully exploited for pedagogical purposes in accounting. The purpose of this note is to illustrate how spreadsheets can be used to teach bond accounting to undergraduate students. The advantage of using spreadsheet is that it does not require lengthy instructions on the use of present value and future value tables and related concepts. This material is typically found in the appendix of textbooks and teaching it often makes for a lengthy prelude to teaching the actual bond accounting. The spreadsheet approach presented here enables instructor to focus on the economic and accounting aspects of bond financing. Since introductory accounting is a required course for undergraduates in most business schools, the new method should be of potential interest to a vast majority of accounting instructors involved in teaching this course.

Simplified Introduction of Cost-Volume-Profit Analyses Increases Understandability
Neal R. VanZante, Ph.D., CPA, CMA, CFM
Professor of Accounting
Texas A & M University-Kingsville

This paper demonstrates a simplified but complete introduction of Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analyses that promotes increased understandability of the subject. The author provides a simple model that demonstrates benefits of the contribution margin income statement. The model introduces breakeven analysis, cost-volume-profit analyses, margin of safety, and operating leverage. Relationships between these concepts are clearly shown and students learn how to solve a variety of problems before reading the traditional CVP chapter. The simplified introduction of CVP demonstrated in this paper allows students to more readily understand the traditional coverage.

Making Quizzes Fun while Accomplishing More
Rodger G. Holland
Associate Professor, Georgia College and State University

Students' Evaluation of the Use of Blackboard® In an Introductory Accounting Course
Joann Segovia*
Assistant Professor
Minnesota State University, Moorhead

Tracy Noga, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Sawyer School of Management, Suffolk University

^{*Corresponding Author}