Accounting Professor and Students Demonstrate Monopoly Teaching Game at Conference

David Smith, Westminster College assistant professor of accounting, has modified the board game of Monopolyâ„¢ into a teaching tool for accounting students. Smith and four Westminster students recently demonstrated the modified game at the Promoting Student Success conference at the College of Southern Maryland.

Smith's presentation, "Game-Based Learning with Monopolyâ„¢," included a brief history of games; an analysis of what and how games can teach; what features a good business-oriented game should possess (strategy, diplomacy, risk, and competition); and how he modified the game of Monopolyâ„¢ to turn it into a teaching tool for accounting students.

Smith's modifications included the addition of loans, interest on those loans, depreciation, transaction documentation, and the audit function. He also designed a complete set of accounting records and associated documents for the payers to use in carrying out the complete accounting function.

Following Smith's presentation, the students demonstrated the game. With each play, they explained what was happening in the game, the accounting implication of the plays, and how a full set of accounting records was incorporated into the game activity.

Projected in the background during the demonstration was a silent video from one of Smith's classes, which illustrated the game-playing activity in a classroom setting.

Westminster students accompanying Smith were:

Seth Henderson, a junior business administration major, is a son of Michael Henderson of Homer City and a graduate of Homer Center High School.

Sarah Ortz, a sophomore music education major, is a daughter of William and Connie Ortz of Petersburg, Ohio, and a graduate of Springfield Local High School.

Kyle Pierce, a junior business administration and economics major, is a son of John and Sandra Pierce of North Canton, Ohio, and a graduate of Green High School.

Alex Roudybush, a junior accounting major, is a son of John and Ann Roudybush of Leesport and a graduate of Fleetwood Area High School.

Smith, who has been with Westminster since 2004, earned an undergraduate degree from Bucknell University, a master's degree in taxation from Robert Morris University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a certified public accountant in Pennsylvania.

Contact Smith at (724) 946-7161 or e-mail smithdc@westminster.edu for more information.

David Smith