An Intelligent Tutoring System for the Accounting Cycle: Enhancing Textbook Homework with Artificial Intelligence

This paper describes an electronic tutoring system, developed using principles of artificial intelligence (AI), to help students learn the accounting cycle. Unlike other educational technologies, the tutoring system provides instruction and feedback that is tailored to each individual student and addresses not only problem-solving outcomes but also problem-solving processes. To assess the effectiveness of the tutoring system, we administered a pre-test and then required students in a sophomore accounting course to use either the tutoring system or their textbook as a reference when journalizing transactions for a homework assignment. We then administered a post-test. A pre-post analysis showed that the tutor group’s test performance increased approximately 27% points, whereas the textbook group’s test performance improved by only 8% points. Implications of these findings for instructors and researchers are discussed.