Audit education in the university accounting curriculum has not kept pace with the needs of new entrants to the auditing profession. This article describes an attempt at Brigham Young University to professionalize the auditing curriculum by expanding the typical one-semester auditing course to two required semester courses with an elective third course. The first course is basically conceptual, with emphasis upon the environment faced by auditors and an overview of the audit process. The second course is more procedural and emphasizes the development of audit skills. The third elective course pieces emphasis upon developing audit research skills. Learning objectives for the first two courses have been developed and are included in the appendix. Innovative audit education is needed to meet the challenges of auditing in the 1980s.

Reviews the book "Anticipated and Deferred Corporate Income Tax in Companies' Financial Statements," by M.A. van Hoepen.

This paper presents the results of a study conducted to identify and measure achievement of four educational objectives for introductory accounting and to analyze the importance of the objectives, in conjunction with other control variables, as predictors of intermediate accounting performance. Results tended to support the hypothesis regarding the usefulness of knowledge of achievement of specific introductory accounting objectives in predicting intermediate accounting performance. In addition, general ability and demographic control variables were shown to have significant explanatory impact. Generalizable conclusions were not reached concerning the relative importance of specific introductory accounting objectives.

Reviews the book "Financial Policy Decisions," by Harold Bierman.

The article reports that intermediate accounting is generally considered to be the most important course in the accounting curriculum. Students frequently make their decision concerning accounting as a major based upon their success or lack there of in intermediate accounting. The subject matter of this course is central to all aspects of accounting, and if the material presented is mastered well, a student not only will have a satisfying educational experience, but he will also have a strong foundation for his accounting career. At Brigham Young University (BYU) great differences in student performance in intermediate accounting have been found. Factors that apparently were contributing to the differences in performance were: the large number of students who had transferred from other colleges and universities; the extended time delay between the students' introductory accounting courses and their intermediate accounting course, aggravated at BYU because of the large number of students who interrupt their college program for military or church service; the differences in the students' mastery of the basic accounting concepts; the differences in the students' aptitude for accounting study; and the curriculum at BYU which permits a student to begin intermediate accounting with either one or two introductory courses in accounting.