This article discusses the implications of recently adopted U.S. Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) that apply to educational institutions that contract with or receive grants from the federal government. It focuses on the disclosure requirements that colleges and universities must follow to comply with CAS. (MDM)

Describes a study of the culture of collaboration in the accounting industry. Topics include previous research on collaboration in organic organizational contexts, information gathering collaboration, knowledge giving and getting, accountability sharing, trust sharing, transboundary communication, information technology, and implications for…

Provides guidelines for overseeing a school district's cash-flow management program: (1) receipts into cash; (2) types of float; (3) concentration account or controlled-disbursement account; (4) bank-account analysis; and (5) safety. One figure is included. (LMI)

This article examines possible changes to provide increased federal funding for university-based research facilities. The difficulties of converting between depreciation and use allowances are discussed, as is the possibility of using current market value versus acquisition cost as a basis for costing calculations and splitting the indirect cost…

Effects of university accounting education on candidate pass rates for the Uniform Final Examination (UFE) of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants were studied for 633 recent graduates. Candidates had clear indications from their undergraduate grade point average of their chances of success on the UFE. (SLD)

An investigation of effects of concurrent study of other subjects on student performance on the New Zealand Universities Bursaries examination found study of English carried no benefit, study of economics offered little practical benefit, and the effect of mathematics could not be measured. Study of statistics alone, without economics, had a…

New Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) standards for college and university fund raising establish three key rules for campaign reporting: (1) separation of gifts for featured and unspecified objectives; (2) separation of current from deferred gifts; and (3) disclosure of both face value and discounted present value of…

New federal regulations concerning direct cost accounting for college and university research projects are explained. It is concluded that the new standard allows institutions to reduce the signatures required on cost transfers and use reasonable cost allocation methods to simplify distribution of direct costs when research is supported by…

Questions and answers by the Association of American Universities address some issues in the complex matter of indirect costs for research projects, including the different kinds of costs, federal treatment of them, the federal indirect cost system, cost allocation, the memorandum of understanding, variation among institutions' costs, and cost…

Describes the integration of skill development into the accounting curriculum based upon the recommendations of various professional accounting associations. Skills necessary for success in accounting are oral and written communication, analytic, computer, and interpersonal. (JOW)

After Proposition 13 passed in California, a series of 19 major bills imposed fiscal limits on the K-12 school system. One action is assigning a fiscal advisor to assume control in a district in financial distress. Lists the symptoms of a financially ill school district and highlights 24 items of a recovery plan. (MLF)

Many districts are holding property that could be put to better use. With a creative strategy for planning, analyzing, and implementing a plan for these public properties, local boards and administrators can uncover hidden value in their real estate assets. California's Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District now receives $500,000 a year in…

Investigates the effects of implementing individual and small-group learning structures with a computer simulation in college accounting. Results indicate students working alone expressed significantly more continuing motivation for their learning structure than did partnered students; students using extensive small-group structure exhibited…

Profiles a writing-across-the-curriculum project in an accountancy program. Notes that the team's collaborative process produced three critical planning decisions: (1) establishing "fitness-for-use" for evaluating student communications; (2) selecting only those forms of communication used in accountancy; and (3) teaching only those…

Looks at the failure rate of students in Accounting 211 in the Virginia Community College System. States that rote teaching styles that do not incorporate interdisciplinary and other diverse methods, do not take into account developing learning skills, and do not encourage active learning are doomed to fail. Makes recommendations for new…