Leisa L. Marshall, Southeast Missouri State University
Cynthia E. Bolt-Lee, The Citadel
Research reveals the challenges of engaging students in the introductory accounting course (Jones and Fields, 2001), possibly due to the lack of relevance perceived by
students (Chen et al., 2004) or the opinion that the course is boring (Stivers and Onifade, 2014). This paper provides an in-class, active learning instructional strategy
that promotes fraud education and engages introductory financial accounting students while maintaining the integrity of the transaction analysis process found in
most introductory financial accounting textbooks. Using one-page mini-cases with illustrations to examine actual corporate frauds, students analyzed transactions and
identified the subsequent financial statement misstatements. Five mini-cases, presented to students, include five specialized topics: inventory, cash, accounts
receivables, fixed assets, and liabilities. The Teaching Notes provide a full set of materials to enhance the teaching/learning experience including the requirements’
solutions, epilogues, optional discussion questions with suggested responses, and resources. Survey results reveal students perceive the method to be useful, relevant,
and helpful in understanding accounting and in enhancing their analytical thinking skills.