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Impact of Accrued Expense Exercises on Students’ Expense Adjustment Skills among Accounting Education Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Accurate adjustment of accrued expenses is an important accounting competency because expenses incurred but not yet paid must be properly recognized and reflected in financial records. Accounting Education students are expected to understand the nature of accrued expenses, identify outstanding expenses, determine the appropriate accounting period, prepare adjusting entries, post adjustments to relevant ledger accounts, and reflect the resulting balances in financial statements. However, students may experience difficulties in applying accrued expense concepts when instruction is primarily theoretical and provides limited opportunities for practical exercises. Accrued Expense Exercises provide students with opportunities to practise identifying, calculating, recording, adjusting, and reporting accrued expenses using realistic accounting situations. Such exercises may strengthen students’ ability to apply accrual accounting principles and improve the accuracy of expense adjustments. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of Accrued Expense Exercises on students’ expense adjustment skills among Accounting Education students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Experiential Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Human Capital Theory. Experiential Learning Theory explains how students develop practical accounting competencies through direct experience, reflection, conceptualization, and active experimentation. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes learning through observation, modelling, guided practice, feedback, and self-efficacy. Human Capital Theory explains how investment in relevant accounting knowledge and practical skills improves students’ productivity, employability, and preparedness for professional accounting responsibilities. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how Accrued Expense Exercises may influence students’ expense adjustment skills. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental research design. The population will comprise Accounting Education students enrolled in selected Nigerian universities and polytechnics. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select institutions, departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible students. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, accrued expense assessment scales, practical accounting exercises, adjustment-entry tasks, ledger-posting exercises, financial-statement preparation tasks, practical performance rubrics, observation checklists, and pre-test and post-test assessments. Accrued Expense Exercises will be assessed using indicators such as identification of accrued expenses, recognition of outstanding expenses, determination of expenses incurred but unpaid, expense-period identification, accrual calculation, outstanding-expense calculation, monthly accrual calculation, annual accrual calculation, partial-period accrual calculation, expense-estimation exercises, accrual-adjustment preparation, adjusting journal-entry preparation, debit and credit identification, expense-account adjustment, accrued-liability recognition, liability-account adjustment, ledger posting, adjustment of expense accounts, adjustment of liability accounts, preparation of adjusted trial balances, preparation of income statements, preparation of statements of financial position, reversal-entry preparation, subsequent-payment recording, cash-payment recognition, expense-recognition timing, matching of expenses with accounting periods, supporting-document review, invoice verification, payment-status verification, outstanding-balance verification, transaction-date verification, expense-description verification, account classification, expense classification, liability classification, error identification, incorrect-accrual identification, omitted-accrual identification, overstatement identification, understatement identification, duplicate-adjustment identification, incorrect-period identification, incorrect-amount identification, incorrect-account identification, adjustment correction, reconciliation, accrued-expense schedule preparation, supporting-schedule preparation, expense-analysis activities, financial-record updating, documentation, record filing, accounting-software activities, spreadsheet-based accrual calculations, digital adjustment entries, electronic accounting records, practical demonstrations, guided exercises, individual assignments, group activities, case studies, repeated practice, peer assessment, lecturer assessment, self-assessment, feedback activities, reflective practice, and progressively challenging accrued-expense scenarios. Students’ expense adjustment skills will be assessed using indicators such as ability to identify accrued expenses, recognize outstanding expenses, determine unpaid expenses, identify the appropriate expense period, calculate accrued amounts, calculate outstanding expenses, calculate monthly accruals, calculate annual accruals, calculate partial-period accruals, estimate appropriate accrual amounts, prepare accrual adjustments, prepare adjusting journal entries, identify appropriate debit and credit accounts, adjust expense accounts, recognize accrued liabilities, adjust liability accounts, post adjusting entries to ledgers, update expense accounts, update liability accounts, prepare adjusted trial balances, prepare income statements, prepare statements of financial position, prepare reversal entries, record subsequent payments, recognize cash payments, determine appropriate expense-recognition periods, match expenses with accounting periods, review supporting documents, verify invoices, verify payment status, verify outstanding balances, verify transaction dates, verify expense descriptions, classify accounts correctly, classify expenses correctly, classify liabilities correctly, identify accounting errors, identify incorrect accruals, identify omitted accruals, identify overstated expenses, identify understated expenses, identify duplicate adjustments, identify incorrect accounting periods, identify incorrect amounts, identify incorrect accounts, correct adjustment errors, reconcile accrued expenses, prepare accrued-expense schedules, prepare supporting schedules, analyse expense records, update financial records, maintain documentation, file accounting records, use accounting software, perform spreadsheet-based accrual calculations, prepare digital adjustment entries, maintain electronic accounting records, demonstrate accuracy, demonstrate attention to detail, demonstrate numerical competence, demonstrate accounting competence, demonstrate analytical ability, demonstrate problem-solving ability, demonstrate decision-making ability, demonstrate confidence, demonstrate efficiency, demonstrate accountability, demonstrate responsibility, demonstrate professionalism, demonstrate adaptability, and overall expense adjustment competence. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students’ demographic and academic characteristics, exposure to Accrued Expense Exercises, practical experiences, and expense adjustment skill levels. Inferential statistical techniques, including paired and independent t-tests, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of Accrued Expense Exercises on students’ expense adjustment skills. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, expense adjustment skill scores before and after participation in the exercises may be compared with those of a control group receiving conventional classroom instruction to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that Accrued Expense Exercises have a significant positive impact on students’ expense adjustment skills in Nigeria. Students exposed to structured accrued expense exercises are expected to demonstrate improved ability to identify, calculate, adjust, record, reconcile, and report accrued expenses. Accrued-expense identification activities may improve students’ understanding of expenses incurred but not yet paid. Outstanding-expense recognition may strengthen students’ ability to identify financial obligations arising from unpaid expenses. Expense-period identification may improve students’ understanding of the period in which expenses should be recognized. Accrual-calculation exercises may strengthen students’ numerical accuracy in determining amounts to be adjusted. Monthly, annual, and partial-period accrual activities may improve students’ ability to calculate accrued expenses under different accounting circumstances. Expense-estimation activities may strengthen students’ ability to determine reasonable accrual amounts where final invoices or payments are not yet available. Adjusting-entry exercises may improve students’ ability to translate accrued expenses into appropriate accounting entries. Debit-and-credit identification activities may strengthen students’ understanding of the double-entry implications of accrued expenses. Expense-account adjustment may improve students’ ability to recognize the correct effect of accruals on expenses. Accrued-liability recognition may strengthen students’ ability to identify the corresponding liability. Liability-account adjustment may improve students’ ability to update outstanding obligations accurately. Ledger-posting exercises may strengthen students’ ability to transfer adjustments from journals to relevant accounts. Adjusted-trial-balance exercises may improve students’ ability to confirm the effects of accrued expense adjustments on accounting records. Income-statement preparation may strengthen students’ ability to reflect the correct expense amount in reported profit or loss. Statement-of-financial-position exercises may improve students’ ability to recognize accrued liabilities correctly. Reversal-entry activities may strengthen students’ understanding of subsequent-period treatment of accrued expenses. Subsequent-payment exercises may improve students’ ability to record actual payments after accruals have been recognized. Expense-recognition timing activities may strengthen students’ understanding of accrual accounting and the matching principle. Supporting-document review may improve students’ ability to verify evidence associated with outstanding expenses. Invoice-verification exercises may strengthen students’ ability to confirm the validity of expense claims. Payment-status verification may improve students’ ability to distinguish paid expenses from unpaid obligations. Outstanding-balance verification may strengthen students’ ability to confirm amounts requiring adjustment. Transaction-date verification may improve the accuracy of expense-period determination. Expense-description verification may strengthen students’ ability to understand the nature of transactions. Account-classification activities may improve students’ ability to distinguish expense and liability accounts. Expense-classification activities may strengthen appropriate allocation of accrued expenses. Liability-classification exercises may improve students’ understanding of the corresponding obligations. Error-identification activities may strengthen students’ ability to detect incorrect accounting treatments. Incorrect-accrual exercises may improve students’ ability to identify wrongly calculated adjustments. Omitted-accrual activities may strengthen students’ ability to identify expenses that have not been recognized. Overstatement and understatement exercises may improve students’ ability to detect inaccurate expense balances. Duplicate-adjustment exercises may strengthen students’ ability to identify repeated accrual entries. Incorrect-period activities may improve students’ ability to identify expenses recorded in the wrong accounting period. Incorrect-amount exercises may strengthen numerical accuracy. Incorrect-account exercises may improve students’ ability to select appropriate accounts. Adjustment-correction activities may strengthen students’ ability to rectify accounting errors. Reconciliation exercises may improve students’ ability to compare accrued-expense records with supporting evidence and subsequent payments. Accrued-expense schedule preparation may strengthen students’ ability to summarize outstanding expenses systematically. Supporting-schedule activities may improve students’ ability to provide detailed evidence for adjustment entries. Expense-analysis activities may strengthen students’ ability to evaluate changes in accrued expenses. Financial-record updating may improve students’ ability to maintain accurate accounting information. Documentation activities may strengthen students’ ability to maintain adequate evidence of adjustments. Accounting-software exercises may improve students’ ability to process accrual adjustments within digital accounting environments. Spreadsheet-based accrual calculations may strengthen students’ ability to calculate and analyse accrued expenses electronically. Digital adjustment-entry activities may improve students’ familiarity with technology-supported accounting procedures. Electronic accounting-record activities may strengthen students’ ability to maintain accurate digital financial information. Practical demonstrations may provide clear models of accrued-expense adjustment procedures. Guided exercises may provide structured support during skill development. Individual assignments may strengthen independent expense-adjustment ability. Group activities may improve collaborative problem-solving. Case studies may expose students to realistic accrued-expense situations. Repeated practice may improve students’ accuracy, speed, confidence, and independence. Peer assessment may expose students to alternative approaches to solving adjustment problems. Lecturer assessment and feedback may help students identify and correct accounting errors. Self-assessment may encourage students to evaluate their practical performance. Reflective practice may help students learn from adjustment errors. Progressively challenging scenarios may prepare students for increasingly complex expense-adjustment responsibilities. However, the effectiveness of Accrued Expense Exercises may be constrained by inadequate accounting laboratories, limited access to realistic accounting documents, insufficient computers, poor internet connectivity, unreliable electricity supply, large class sizes, limited practical training periods, inadequate lecturer supervision, outdated instructional materials, limited access to accounting software, insufficient authentic business records, inadequate feedback, low student participation, weak industry collaboration, and inadequate integration of practical accrual-accounting activities into Accounting Education curricula. The study therefore expects realistic, structured, hands-on, technology-supported, workplace-oriented, and adequately supervised Accrued Expense Exercises to contribute significantly to improved expense adjustment skills among Accounting Education students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on Accrued Expense Exercises, expense adjustment skills, Experiential Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, Human Capital Theory, accounting education, practical accounting education, accrual accounting, accrued expenses, outstanding expenses, adjusting entries, adjusting journal entries, expense recognition, expense-period determination, matching principle, accrued liabilities, ledger posting, adjusted trial balances, financial statement preparation, reversal entries, subsequent payments, expense reconciliation, accounting documentation, error detection, error correction, internal accounting procedures, accounting software, spreadsheet skills, digital accounting, workplace readiness, employability skills, professional competence, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, Nigerian polytechnics, and Accounting Education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education, university and polytechnic administrators, Accounting Education departments, accounting educators, curriculum developers, professional accounting bodies, employers, industry partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening students’ practical expense-adjustment competencies. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating Accrued Expense Exercises into Accounting Education programmes, establishing realistic accrual-accounting simulation environments, providing authentic expense records and supporting documents, strengthening students’ adjusting-entry and financial-statement skills, incorporating reconciliation and error-correction activities, improving digital accrual-accounting competencies, providing repeated practical exercises and structured feedback, expanding collaboration between educational institutions and accounting workplaces, and aligning Accounting Education programmes with contemporary accrual-accounting and financial-reporting requirements in Nigeria.

Keywords: Accrued Expense Exercises, expense adjustment skills, accrued expenses, outstanding expenses, accrual accounting, adjusting entries, adjusting journal entries, expense recognition, accrued liabilities, financial statements, expense reconciliation, accounting documentation, accounting software, digital accounting, practical accounting education, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.