An Audit Learning Experience: A Pilot Project Through Cooperation with a Third Sector Organization

Abstract

This paper is a critical evaluation of a pilot cooperative education project conducted with a charitable organization in the UK. An action research approach was adopted. Final level students who are studying auditing have had the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they are developing through their studies to a real-life situation in the form of a cooperative education and service learning project. The experience is described and evaluated from the perspective of each stakeholder (i.e. the students, the charity and the lecturer). The main implication of the project is that the experience is of real benefit to all the stakeholders, but brings with it investment and maintenance costs which need to be factored into any potential roll out of the project to other students or other third party organizations.

Keywords:

• Audit education
• work-based learning
• service-learning

Acknowledgement

The authors warmly acknowledge the helpful comments of Professor Lisa Jack of the University of Portsmouth, of two anonymous referees, of Dr Elizabeth Monk and of Professor Dick Wilson.

Notes

These conclusions are based on the research team's combined teaching experience of 40 years as accounting lecturers in higher education, 15 of which have been involved with the delivery of the auditing unit on undergraduate pathways in accounting and three years spent delivering audit or management control components of modules on the professional accounting qualifications of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).