Learning & Teaching Accounting With a Business Simulation Game
I skipped 90% of my classes in college. But I still put the work in and graduated with a degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering and most of a BSc in Math. Got a good job with IBM but quit after 16 months to start my own business.
It was time to learn accounting. So I bought a book and read it. It was easy compared to the complex topics I studied in college.
But then it happened. Six months into my new business I ran into cash flow problems. That's when I realized I didn't really understand accounting — I had to feel accounting. And it was not a good feeling.
I've learned a lot about accounting since then. I've even designed entire accounting software systems. And I have discovered that many (most?) business people do not understand accounting. Many even fear it.
And I think I know why. It's because accounting is not taught well. Not in books and not in school. College students study business and accounting for years and still don't truly understand it. Because doing case studies and quizzes does not really prove competency.
Even fundamental concepts like the Accounting Equation — Assets equals Liabilities plus Equity — I feel is presented in a non-intuitive way. Yes, this original format aligns closer with Debits equals Credits, which make sense from a bookkeeping perspective. But it is much less intuitive from a business management perspective when the same formula represents a Balance Sheet.
Here's a better way that shows the purpose of a business is to create value:
So I set out to test a theory I had about a better way to teach accounting. I used one of my business simulations that enables students to run their own business (similar to McDonald's, Starbucks, Platinum Fitness, Napa Autocare, Great Clips, etc.) and expanded the accounting features. I then recorded a series of short videos of me playing the business simulation while demonstrating accounting in action. That's the key — demonstrating accounting in the context of an active business.
My second objective was to teach accounting fundamentals as quickly as possible. Because I know most people don't want to sit through an accounting course. The result was a video course that teaches accounting basics in 29 minutes. Yes, 29 minutes, that's not a typo.
And I made the course available for free on Udemy — the world's leading course marketplace, plus some other platforms as well.
The result is that I've had over 30,000 students enroll in the course with nearly 2,000 reviews, nearly all 5-star ratings. The positive student comments reveal what I had thought to be true — that many people do have trouble with accounting and many college students go through school without really understanding it ("feeling it") despite being able to pass their courses. But after taking my course, they do.
Nowadays, many high schools and colleges use my business simulation to teach accounting. And they are able to do so in a much deeper way than my video course offers because students can play the simulation themselves. Students run their own business while practicing and applying accounting — experiential learning at its best.
If you want to learn accounting basics in less than one hour, I invite you to try my free video course —
On Udemy — Udemy
On my website — GoVentureCourses.com/Accounting-Basics
If you want to teach accounting, check this out — GoVenture.net/accounting
And here's a free accounting cheat sheet — GoVenture.net/CheatSheet
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I'm Mathew Georghiou and I write about how games are transforming education and learning. I also share my experience as an entrepreneur inventing products and designing educational resources used by millions around the world. More about me at Georghiou.com