Libby, P. A. (1991). “Barriers to Using Cases in Accounting Education.” Issues in
Accounting Education 6(2): 193-213.
Although this article is somewhat dated, it is the only survey on the use of case studies
within the accounting curriculum ever conducted. Therefore, even though the world has
changed I believe that many of the findings from this study still hold.
Methodology. A survey was mailed out to full-time accounting professors teaching in
mostly undergraduate accounting programs in the U.S. Note that the focus of the study
was on the use of cases in undergraduate programs only and therefore, universities with
doctoral programs in accounting were excluded on the basis that much of their
undergraduate teaching was conducted by doctoral students. I personally believe this to
be a significant bias in the study since it is possible that case use in undergraduate
accounting programs of these doctoral universities is heavier than other programs.
137 questionnaires were returned (35.7 response rate). This was comprised of 68 non-
users and 69 users. How the author classified users vs. non-users was on the basis of the
types of cases they used. Non-users user primarily short cases. These are the one or two
page cases that can be found at the end of most accounting textbooks. Their main
characteristic is they are usually focused on technical analysis and have one correct
answer. Users make use of more lengthier cases, such as the ones published by Harvard
Business School or those than can be found in case books. These cases are characterized
by having a more global understanding, are usually based on an actual situation/decision,
are ambiguous and do not generally have one correct solution.
Results.
1) Current Usage of Cases
On the use of published vs. self generated cases: the highest use of self-generated cases
could be found in the following disciplines: Auditing, Accounting Information Systems,
and Advanced Taxation.
On the % of class time spent on cases: only three courses (auditing, accounting
information systems and advanced management accounting) used cases for more than
30% of the time. There were no times greater than 36% (Advanced Management
Accounting).
Case use grew progressively as the level of instruction increased. The fewest number of
respondents used cases in foundation courses whereas the highest number used them in
senior level courses. Also, support for case use was very high among both users and non-
users in all but the earliest parts of the curriculum.
The areas where cases were used the least was in the financial accounting area. The
author concluded that case use was a function of two things: (1) the discipline, (2) the
course level. Case availability appeared not to be an issue.
2) Manner of usage: the data below are self-explanatory are taken from Table 4 of
the article. The percentages indicate the manner of usage of cases made by users
of cases. It's interesting to note that the preferred manner is the one that keeps the
case out of the classroom.
Formal written presentation of case solution 78%
Formal oral presentation of case solution 36%
Group presentation of solution 52%
Class discussion with minimum input from instructor 48%
Instructor-led class discussion 59%
3) Benefits and Impediments to the use of cases
Users of case studies identified the following rankings of attributes of case studies
(benefits and impediments to use) on a Likert scale of 1 to 7. These describe the level of
importance to instructors when choosing learning experiences. Note that only the results
of case users is reported. This is adapted from Table 5 of the article.
Rank Attribute Category Mean
1 Cognitive Benefits to Students 5.91
development of problem solving skills, judgment
skills, ability to solve problems addressing
multiple issues, ability to deal with ambiguity,
understanding of the real world
2. Instructor Interest in Materials 5.52
3. Skill Development of Students 5.45
Oral and written communication skills, group
interaction skills
4. Affective Benefits to Students 5.36
Student motivation, student interest in material,
development of confidence
5. Impediments to Course Coverage 4.90
Assumption of prior technical background and
prior business knowledge, time needed to cover a
topic, difficulty in presenting new and technical
material, depth of topic coverage
6. Impediments to Instructor Time 4.78
Preparation time, training time in method, time
needed to evaluate students
Rank Attribute Category Mean
7. Impediments to Students 4.36
Preparation time, student frustration, student's
feeling of intimidation in discussion
8. Affective Impediments to Instructor 3.48
Loss of control in the classroom, unexpected
occurrences in the classroom, physical and
emotional demands
It is interesting to note that all the impediments are given less importance than the
benefits.