Managing the intermediate accounting overload: An experiment

Abstract Attempts by faculty to integrate growing bodies of accounting standards, regulatory requirements, and academic research into their courses have contributed to a general perception of overload. The problem seems most acute in intermediate accounting. This article describes an experiment designed to test the effect of one approach to alleviating the problem-the selective omission of redundant material traditionally included in the first intermediate course. The results revealed no negative effects on students' performance on other intermediate topics, with the added bonus of being able to allocate additional time to covering several of the more difficult topics, as well as several new topics for which no time had been available in previous offerings of the intermediate sequence.