APSU business professor uses cookies to illustrate accounting concepts

APSU business students Marleigh Heggie and Camille Leath

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Dr. Jennifer Thayer, assistant professor of accounting, introduced a new concept to one of her accounting classes this semester - cookies! Thayer adapted a case study by Alesha Graves, associate dean at Asbury University, that offered her students an innovative project illustrating real-world accounting practices. 

The project consisted of: 

• Determining a cookie, ingredients and time.
• Calculating the cost of direct materials and direct labor, overhead costs, break-even points and target profits.
• Preparing a budgeted income statement.
• Completing a production and variance assessment.

Upon completion, students were required to prepare a reflection response to demonstrate their understanding of how the information will benefit their chosen professions. On the last day of class, students had the chance to bake their cookies and share them with their classmates. 

“After reading their reflection points, I was excited to see how much they recognized that the project reinforced our accounting concepts,” Thayer said. “I was impressed with their take-aways from the project and humbled by multiple references to how they will use what they learned in their future professions. I am excited to see what these students go on to do as we had majors from all of the College of Business disciplines represented.” 

The mission of the College of Business is to seek new ways to push students beyond the textbook, and projects like Thayer’s continue to drive that very mission forward. To learn more about the accounting program at Austin Peay, visit www.apsu.edu/business.