Teaching tip: Teaching expert systems in a postgraduate accounting degree program

Teaching the concepts of expert systems to accounting students is often challenging, not only because these students are not equipped with the necessary technical knowledge to comprehend the concepts taught, but also due to the other various constraints (e.g., limited teaching hours and a diverse background of the students’ undergraduate disciplines) imposed on teaching and learning. A further difficulty is how to design a hands-on project so that, on the one hand, learning can be reinforced and, on the other hand, students are able to complete the projects with their limited technical knowledge and background. This article shares our experience in teaching an expert system component and designing a corresponding project in one of the first information technology courses for accounting students at the master’s level. A subsequent student feedback evaluation exercise was performed, showing that students were able to understand the expert system concepts and that they considered the project interesting and useful.