Exploring Ways to Teach Creativity and Problem Solving to Business Students:  Dr. Norita Ahmed

When our students enter the workforce, especially in the high tech sector, they will be encouraged to innovate and "think outside the box." The purpose of this presentation is to share ideas and explore ways on how to teach creativity and problem solving to business students in order to prepare them for this outcome. I will discuss the learning objectives and share stories on how I approach this topic by integrating technology into class activities, exercises, assignments, cases, and projects. I will also discuss the learning context and a constructivist approach to learning. Participants will hopefully emerge from this presentation with a better understanding of how to teach this important topic by incorporating technology in the classroom.

Integrating XBRL into the Accounting Curriculum: The Case in the Accounting Information Systems Class (ACC 360): Dr. Ashraf Khallaf  

In today's technology driven world, the desire for expediency has encouraged business professionals to seek having information on time and in a form in which it can be quickly processed and disseminated. A new technology to meet the need of streamlining information in the business fields is to incorporate the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) standards into financial reporting requirements. In 2013, the UAE's Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) announced the mandatory adoption of XBRL by UAE publicly listed companies. XBRL-coded financial statements allow decision makers to extract and present all identically coded information from the financial statements and footnotes in a quick and efficient manner.

Integration of XBRL into the accounting curriculum is imperative to the quality of accounting education. Graduate accounting majors who gain the necessary skills to structure accounting information in XBRL are at an advantage in seeking jobs. In Fall 2015, I included hands-on activities in my ACC 360 class to help students become competent in applying their new skills and knowledge of XBRL to real world applications.

For more information, please contact FDC@aus.edu.