BU Research Blog

Designing Innovative Pedagogy for Complex Accounting Topics (Project-DIPCAT) is coming to a successful end in December 2021.  BU has led eleven other European Universities in this three-year, Erasmus+ funded project.  Its objects were to design, develop and deliver four integrated accountancy case studies with contemporary content and innovative methods for wider dissemination in higher education. While the project partners were challenged by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the resulting intellectual outputs have exceeded expectations and are now suitable for F2F, hybrid and online deliveries.

Intensive Study Programmes

The cases were first tested in an Intensive Study Programme (ISP) at BU in September 2019.  The second and third ISPs were originally planned to be delivered in Innsbruck and Budapest in 2020 and 2021.  When it became apparent international travel would not be possible, the project partners redesigned the cases and delivery modes for two international hybrid events. The teams were challenged to deliver something truly innovative and engaging that participating students would enjoy remotely.

As ISPs are extra-curricular, they need to achieve something extra and engaging. That X-factor has always been fun, cultural enrichment and opportunities to develop friendships with students from other countries. The partners were delighted these very attributes were recognised and appreciated in feedback from more than 70 participating students in last month’s ISP, virtually hosted by Innsbruck partners. The third and final ISP will be virtually hosted by the Budapest partners next week, 25th-29th October 2021.

The Cases

The four cases are on the most contentious and fast-changing areas that challenge the accounting profession:

• International Taxation – during the era of reform (post-BEPS 1.0 and pre-BEPS 2.0);
• IFRS 9 – modeling for the changing requirements in accounting for financial instruments;
• Digitalization in Auditing (with data mining skill development);
• Corporate governance mechanisms fostering socially responsible behavior of companies in tax compliance.

The case studies and the supplemental materials are designed to address all the competencies that are needed for emerging accountancy professionals (e.g. subject-specific knowledge, problem solving ability, interdisciplinary thinking, soft skills and the ability to recognise ethical issues in accountancy). While adaptable to short courses (e.g. ISPs or CPD), taken in their entirety, each case provides the scaffolding, content and assessment for 20-credit modules.

The cases and their rich supplemental learning materials, tasks and pedagogical innovations will be freely available through the European Union Repository in December 2021. The finished International Tax and CSR cases were successfully showcased at the Tax Research Network’s Education Day last month and have already been adopted at other HEIs. A recording of the event will soon be available on the TRN website.  The IFRS and Auditing cases will be showcased at an International Accounting Conference in Budapest on 26^th November.

The Team at BU and Beyond

The BUBS academics leading Project-DIPCAT are Dr Phyllis Alexander (PI), Dr Suranjita Mukherjee, Dr Hany Elbardan and Dr Tuan Vu.  Mr Robert Day and Judge Anne Fairpo were special appointments to the project given their expertise in corporate governance and international taxation, respectively.

While Project-DIPCAT comes to a successful end, the partners continue to collaborate in research, professional practice and education, as they have done for over 25 years (partner details and their history is on the AFECA webpage). BU was one for four founding partners of  AFECA in 1993, thanks to the inspiration and dedication of Mr Day.

The consortium have another Erasmus+ project currently underway – Smart Teaching in Accounting – Meeting Place Online, with its first ISP next month (November 2021).  DICPAT and STAMP-Online follow the success story of Project-ILPA, which was shortlisted for best project in 2018 and was classified as a ‘good practice example’ by the European Union. AFECA truly is a winning strategic partnership in accountancy that continues to thrive and innovate!

Follow DIPCAT’s finale on Facebook and Instagram : #dipcatisp and #dipcat2021