CATEGORY

The Business Activity Model (BAM) emphasizes financial disclosure and technical research as well as those accounting topics commonly found in traditional Intermediate Accounting courses. The BAM is designed to motivate students for the accounting profession, promote technical competency, develop life-long research skills, advance critical thinking, and foster the development of communication skills. With the inception of the new CPA exam, the BAM is ideally suited for those schools wanting to get a jump on preparing their students for those competencies which will be tested on this new exam: Research, Analysis, Judgment, and Communication. The new exam is specifically designed to test for the knowledge and skills that CPAs will need ON THE JOB. The new exam will utilize simulations to test spreadsheet, research, and multi-disciplinary skills, all factors specifically addressed by the BAM. The BAM's unique simulation also prepares students for the simulation process itself.

BAM is an intermediate accounting simulation. Students mimic the accounting and financial reporting processes found in the "real world" by conducting analytical reviews, soliciting information from clients, preparing adjusting and correcting entries, and drafting financial statements and notes for a fictitious client company (Hydromaint). Issues become more complex as Hydromaint's operations mature. The business begins as a service entity and later develops into a manufacturing and construction enterprise. During this transition, Hydromaint's operations address all of the technical issues traditionally covered in a two-semester intermediate course. Ultimately, students are able to provide a complete set of financial statements (including the statement of cash flows) and appropriate note disclosures (for all seven years) for the company. The repetitive nature of the accounting and financial reporting process pursued in this approach integrates reinforcement with new learning and mimics the service processes found in the business environment. The BAM can be used in conjunction with any Intermediate textbook.