Instructional Case: Teaching Accounting Using an Historical Account Book

Abstract

Historical account books can be impressive for their format, clarity, and detail. Such books are valuable historical documents, telling a story in accounting transactions about the activities of individuals many years ago and shedding light on the way they lived--what they bought, what they sold to whom, and what they received in exchange. An historical account book can be used to teach accounting. From our experience, such a book serves to motivate students to learn about the basic aspects of the accounting process. Using a book of this nature captures and holds the students’ interest and enthusiasm. They are curious about how such a book was prepared, what specific purposes it served to the preparer, and how it is both similar to and different from modern account books. Using this book can also foster interdisciplinary instruction – i.e., accounting and history. Both subject areas relate to an account book. Attempting to explain and understand transactions requires knowledge of the history of the period in which the book was prepared. Many college courses fail to integrate topics from one subject area to another. Using an historical account book to teach accounting can remedy this situation. However, for the student to adequately respond to the questions included in this paper, he/she would have to do some historical library research about this period in American business history. Therefore, considerable effort on the part of both the student and faculty member is required to use this approach.