The ‘Individualised Accounting Questions’ Technique: Using Excel to Generate Quantitative Exercises for Large Classes with Unique Individual Answers

The ‘individualised accounting questions’ (IAQ) technique set out in this paper encourages independent active learning. It enables tutors to set individualised accounting questions and construct an answer grid that can be used for any number of students, with numerical values for each student's answers based on their student enrolment number. The individualised questions reduce the risk of collusion and thus allow tutors to set accounting coursework assessments that contribute to final grades in a manner that incentivises students to do them in their own time, drawing on teaching materials and helping them to develop competency. The method also allows specific individualised feedback, and has been used successfully by the authors and found to encourage students to work independently. Publisher statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Accounting Education: An International Journal on 16 Apr 2014, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09639284.2014.894771.