The introduction of computers in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Manchester University is described. General background outlining the increasing need for microcomputers in the accounting curriculum (including financial modelling tools and decision support systems such as linear programming, statistical packages, and simulation) is…

The controversy over appropriate educational uses of computers is framed along a continuum based on the amount of support provided to the user. Software programs in which the user's role is to respond in a pre-determined structure (program controlled software) anchors one end of the continuum, while software which empowers the user to create new…