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Foundational MBA accounting and finance knowledge acquisition: Pedago’s Smartly vs. traditional MBA programs Assessment Design Pamela Drake, PhD, CFA, Chandler/Universal Eminent Professor of Finance at James Madison University Patrick Gosselin, MBA, CFP Study Design and Data Analysis Lindsay Oishi, PhD, Educational Psychology, Stanford University Meg Gordon, MA, International Comparative Education, Stanford University July 2016

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Page 1: Foundational MBA accounting and finance knowledge ... Report - Final... · Foundational MBA accounting and finance knowledge acquisition: Pedago’s ... This study is a comparison

FoundationalMBAaccountingandfinanceknowledgeacquisition:Pedago’sSmartlyvs.traditionalMBAprograms

AssessmentDesign

● PamelaDrake,PhD,CFA,Chandler/UniversalEminentProfessorofFinanceatJamesMadisonUniversity

● PatrickGosselin,MBA,CFP

StudyDesignandDataAnalysis

● LindsayOishi,PhD,EducationalPsychology,StanfordUniversity

● MegGordon,MA,InternationalComparativeEducation,StanfordUniversity

July2016

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ContentsExecutivesummary......................................................................................................................................3Introduction.............................................................................................................................................3Assessment...............................................................................................................................................3Coursework..............................................................................................................................................3Findings....................................................................................................................................................3Conclusions..............................................................................................................................................5

Detailedreport.............................................................................................................................................6Introduction.............................................................................................................................................6Recruitmentandeligibility.......................................................................................................................6Testdevelopment.....................................................................................................................................7Participation.............................................................................................................................................8Smartlycoursework..................................................................................................................................8Testing......................................................................................................................................................8Finalstudysample....................................................................................................................................9Findings..................................................................................................................................................11Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................17Limitationsofthestudy..........................................................................................................................17Possiblefuturestudies...........................................................................................................................17

Appendices.................................................................................................................................................19AppendixA:Eligibilityfunnel..................................................................................................................19AppendixB:Accounting-Detailedresults.............................................................................................20AppendixC:Finance-DetailedResults..................................................................................................23AppendixD:Detailsontests..................................................................................................................27AppendixE:Screeners............................................................................................................................40AppendixF:CourseSyllabi-AccountingI&II(128minutes).................................................................42AppendixG:CourseSyllabi-Finance(111minutes)..............................................................................44AppendixH:Fairassessmentofsubjectmatterknowledge?-Studentcomments...............................46

TablesandFiguresTable1.Participationbygender................................................................................................................10Table2.ParticipationbyAge......................................................................................................................10Table3.ComparisonofSmartlypre-testresultswithMBAgroup.............................................................11Table4.ComparisonofSmartlyparticipants'pre-andpost-testscores...................................................12Table5.Explainingscoreimprovement.....................................................................................................13Table6.Comparisonofpost-testperformancebetweenSmartlyandMBAgroups.................................14Table7.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentofaccountingknowledge?......................15Table8.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentoffinanceknowledge?............................16

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ExecutivesummaryIntroductionThisstudyisacomparisonoftheoutcomesoffoundationalMBAaccountingandfinanceconceptslearnedthroughSmartlyonlinecoursescomparedtothoselearnedthroughtraditionalbrick-and-mortarbusinessschoolsintheUnitedStates.Werecruited105recentMBAgraduatesandcurrentstudents(“MBAgroup”)who had completed relevant accounting or finance coursework, with 51 and 54 participants in theAccounting and Finance groups, respectively. MBA participants came from 26 U.S. universities. ThecomparisongroupthatwentthroughtheSmartlyprogram(“Smartlygroup”)iscomposedof77collegegraduates (34Accounting,43Finance)whohadnot studiedanything in the respective subjectmatterareas.

Pedagofundedthisstudyandprovidedsignificantinputandsupportforthedesignandexecutionoftheresearch.Theauthors,however,providedindependentdataanalysisandconclusions,andadvisedonallaspectsofparticipantrecruitment,selection,communication,andassessment.

AssessmentPedagopartneredwithsubject-matterexpertstocreatetwocustom,onlineassessmentsineachsubject.ParticipantsintheSmartlygrouptookaone-hourpre-test,completedSmartlycoursesintheirrespectivesubjectmatterareas(includingreceivingatleastan80percentpassrateonquizzes),andthencompletedapost-test.ParticipantsintheMBAgroupcompletedthepost-testonly.PreliminaryanalysesshowthatlearnersintheSmartlygroupsperformedaswellasorbetterthanMBAparticipantsatpost-test.

CourseworkThe Smartly Accounting participants completed the Smartly coursesAccounting I: Fundamentals andAccounting II: Revenue and Expenses. These courses help students discover financial statementpreparationprinciples,learnbookkeepingmechanicsforbasictransactions,andtakeadeeperlookathowtoaccountforrevenuesandexpenses,includingthecostofgoodssoldanddepreciation.

TheSmartlyFinanceparticipantscompletedtheSmartlycoursesFinance:TimeValueofMoney,ValuationI:DiscountedFreeCashFlow,andCostofCapitalI:CapitalStructure.Thesecoursesareintendedtohelpstudentsacquirebasicmathematicalabilityaroundthetimevalueofmoney,gainfamiliaritywithsomefinancialterminology,usetoolstoforecastacompany’sfuturefreecashflows,applyfinancialmathtovalueacompanybydiscountingthosecashflowsbacktothepresent,andevaluateacompany’sbalancebetweendebtandequityasameansofassessingtheprofitabilityofproposedprojects.

Findings

Improvement(pre-testtopost-test):SmartlyparticipantsSmartlyparticipantsimprovedanaverageof29percentagepoints(Accounting)and33percentagepoints(Finance)frompre-testtopost-test.Statisticalanalysesindicatethattherearesignificantchangesfrompre-testtopost-testfortheparticipantsinbothAccountingandFinance.

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Meantestscore

CourseNumberofparticipants Pre-test Post-test

ScoreImprovement

Accounting 34 57% 86% 29points

Finance 43 49% 82% 33points

ThoughSmartlyparticipantstookasimilartesttwicewithintwoweeks,itisunlikelythatthisimprovementisduetopracticeormemoryeffects.Afterthepre-test,Smartlyparticipantsdidnotreceivefeedbackontheirperformance,couldnotviewcorrectanswers,andcouldnotviewthetestagain.

Post-testperformance:SmartlyversusMBASmartlygroupsperformedaswellas,inthecaseofFinance,orbetterthan,inthecaseofAccounting,theMBAgroupsonassessmentsofthetopicsstudied.

Smartly MBA

CourseMeanPost-testscore

Numberofparticipants

MeanPost-testscore

Numberofparticipants

Accounting 86% 34 75% 50

Finance 82% 43 81% 54

TimeSpentinSmartlyCoursesOnaverage,Smartlyparticipantsspent147minutescompletingaccountingcourseworkand118minutescompletingfinancecoursework.Thesetimeswereinlinewithcourseestimatesof128minutesforAccountingand111minutesforFinance.

ParticipantevaluationofSmartlycustomassessmentAttheendofthepost-test,allparticipantswereasked,“Doyouthinkthiswasafairassessmentofyour[accounting/finance]knowledge?(Yes/No)”,andwerealsoaskedtoexplaintheirresponse.Amajorityof participants said that the custom Smartly Accounting assessmentwas fair (85 percent Smartly, 86percentMBA);theFinanceassessmentwasalsoconsideredfair(84percentSmartly,69percentMBA).1Representativecommentsinclude:

MBA(Accounting) “ItaskedthefundamentalsthatIlearnedinAccountingI”

Smartly(Finance) “IwaspleasantlysurprisedthattheanswersIhadzeroclueaboutinthepre-assessment,Inowunderstood.”

1Only26of54theMBAFinanceparticipantsansweredthisquestion.Thequestionforthisgroupwassentoutviaemailafewweeksafterthepost-testwastaken,sothelowerresponseratemayhavejustbeencircumstantialandshouldnotbetakenasanintentionalunwillingnessamongthisgrouptoanswerthisquestion.

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Smartlyparticipantsatisfaction(NetPromoterScore)Smartly participants were asked to respond (at the conclusion of the second test) to a standardsatisfactionquestion,“HowlikelyareyoutorecommendSmartlytoafriend?”,onascaleof0(Wouldnotrecommend) to 10 (Definitelywould recommend). TheNet Promoter Score,NPS, is calculated as thepercentageofrespondentsanswering9or10(promoters),lessthepercentageofrespondentsanswering0to6(detractors),withscoresrangingfrom-100to100.

TheSmartlyaccountingcoursehad58percentpromotersand6percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof52.TheSmartlyfinancecoursehad49percentpromotersand9percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof40.ThesescoresareinlinewithrecentNPSscoresfortheHarvardMBAprogramandWhartonMBAprogramof41and51,respectively.2,3Representativecommentsinclude:

Accounting “Iactuallyreallylovedthecourses.IfeltlikeIlearnedalotandwasconsistentlyengaged-thelayoutwasgreatandconstantlyansweringquestionsandclickingthroughwassuperentertaining/helpful.Iwoulddefinitelytakemorecoursesinthefutureifoffered.”

Finance “Excellent.IfeelIlearnedanextraordinaryamountinashortperiodoftime.Thechallengesandquestionsweretheperfectbalancebetweenchallengingandfun.”

ConclusionsManycompaniesarelookingfortheskillsdevelopedwhilepursuinganMBA.However,thepursuitofanMBAmay not always be the right choice for all learners, either due to financial, geographic or timeconstraints.

Thisstudysupportstheassertionthatsomeofthefoundationalaccountingandfinancialconceptstaughtin traditional brick-and-mortarMBA program can be learned independently, online through Pedago’stargetedSmartlyactive-learningcourses.Significantimprovementinstudents’knowledgecanbegainedinaslittleastwohoursofengagementwiththesecourses.

Inadditiontobeingtakenontheirownaspartofacomprehensive independentstudyMBAprogram,these courses could be used as supplements to existingMBA programs. First, they could be used asremedial materials for incoming MBA students who need to enhance their understanding of basicconceptsincertainsubjectmatterareas.Second,theycouldbeusedbyMBAinstructorsaspre-requisitework for blended-learning classes. By having students learn basic concepts and complete structuredpracticeexercisesontheirown,instructorscoulddevotemoreclassroomtimetodeeperlearningthroughcasestudiesandgroupwork.

2StevenHind,“WhatisHBS’sNPS?”TheHarbus,February5,2015,(www.harbus.org/2015/the-harbus-survey-says-hbs-mba-program-more-walgreens-than-apple/)3NatalieKitroeff,“MBAsaremoreSatisfiedatWhartonthanatHarvardBusinessSchool”,Bloomberg,March31,2015(www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-31/mbas-are-more-satisfied-at-wharton-than-at-harvard-business-school).

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DetailedreportIntroductionSmartly is an online educational technology platformby Pedago LLC that replaces traditional lecture-basedinstructionwithactive,individualizedlessonsavailableonanydevice.Smartlylessonsrelyontheprinciples of active learning, requiring learners to solve real problems several times per minute byansweringquestionsthat includemultiplechoice, fill in theblank,andmatchingformats.Every lessonbuildsonpreviouslylearnedconceptssothatstudents’understandingiscontinuallytestedastheyareintroducedtonewconcepts.

After takinganactionwithinSmartly, the learner receives immediateconstructiveexplanationsabouterrors;learnersareencouragedtoexplorewhyanswersarerightorwrong,aidingabetterunderstanding.Smartly’s “bite-sized” lessons make learning more manageable by building on previously learnedconcepts,andprovidingimmediatefeedback.Smartlyisoptimizedforbothdesktopandmobiledevices,solearnerscancompletecourseworkattheirconvenience.AsofMayof2016,Smartlylessonshada96-percentlearnerapprovalrating.

TheSmartlyMBAcurriculumconsistsofninecoresubjectareas.Eachareacontainsrequiredcourses,withup to 120 interactive, feedback-based lessons, eachbetween5 and10minutes in duration.A courseconsistsof5-7lessons,thefinallessonbeingaSMARTCASE,ashortassessmentoftheconceptstaughtinthepreviouslessons.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether accounting and finance concepts learned infoundationalcoursesattraditionalbrick-and-mortarbusinessschoolsintheUnitedStatesarelearnedaseffectively through Smartly courses. This question was addressed by comparing the scores of recentgraduatesandcurrentstudentsfromU.S.MBAprogramstothoseofSmartlystudentsoncustom,onlineassessmentsoffoundationalconceptsintherespectivesubjectmatterareas.

Recruitmentandeligibility

RecruitmentAllparticipantswererecruitedfrom100+onlinesocialmediaMBAgroupsusingoneofthreescreens.Nocompensationwasreceivedforcompletingascreen,andover810peoplecompletedatleastonequestionon the screen. Candidateswere required to be in the age range of 18-44 years to be considered forparticipationinthestudy.

EligibilityMBAgroups

All MBA participants had to have completed an undergraduate degree. Participants in the MBAAccounting group must have also completed at least one accounting course in an accredited MBAprogram.ParticipantsintheMBAFinancegroupmusthavealsocompletedbothcorporatefinanceandfinancial accounting (or equivalent) courses in an accreditedMBAprogram. From those screened, 51participantswereselectedtotaketheAccountingpost-testand54participantswereselectedtotaketheFinancepost-test.

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Smartlygroups

Participants in the Smartly groups could not have completed any MBA program nor completed anundergraduate degree in business, finance, or accounting. Additionally, participants must not havecompletedrelatedcoursesoutsideofanMBAprogramorheldajobinthatfield.ForSmartlyAccountingparticipants, this included courses in accounting or a job as an accountant. For Smartly Financeparticipants,thisincludedcoursesinfinanceorajobwith“finance”inthetitle.Fromthosescreened,93participantswereselectedtotaketheSmartlyAccountingpre-testand119participantswereselectedtotaketheSmartlyFinancepre-test.Ofthoseinvited,62participantsineachgroupcompletedthepre-test.ForAccounting,49participantsstartedthecourseworkand40participantsbothfinishedthecourseworkrequirements and took the post-test. For Finance, 47 participants started the coursework and 43participantsbothfinishedthecourseworkrequirementsandtookthepost-test.

ParticipantsinbothMBAandSmartlygroupswereassignedeithertoaFinanceorAccountinggroup,andcouldnotbe included inbotheven if theycompletedtestsand/orcoursework forbothsubjectareas.NeitherMBAnorSmartlyparticipantshadpreviouslycompletedanySmartlycoursespriortothestudy.

TestdevelopmentBoth the Accounting and Finance tests were created by Pedago’s content development team, whichincludesfull-timeemployeesandcontractedprofessors.ExistingMBAcourseexamsinthesefieldswereusedasaguidelinefordevelopment.

EvaluationandpilottestingThetestswereevaluatedbyPamelaDrake,PhD,CFA,Chandler/UniversalEminentProfessorofFinanceatJamesMadisonUniversityandPatrickGosselin,MBA,CFP.ASpanish-languageversionofthetestwaspilotedwithstudentsfromUniversidadPolitécnicadeMadridinSpain(aninstitutionalpartnerofPedago)toevaluatethetimerequiredtocompleteeachtest.

PilottestswereconductedwithgroupsofcurrentMBAstudentsrecruitedthroughtenonlinesocialmediaMBAgroupstoensurethatquestionswereagoodtestofMBA-levelknowledge.OnepilottestwitheightparticipantswasconductedfortheAccountingtest,whiletwopilotswereconductedfortheFinancetestwith15and31participants.Participantswerepaid$25eachandmetthesameeligibilityrequirementsasMBAparticipantsinthemainstudy.OnequestionontheAccountingtestwasremovedandtenquestionsontheFinancetestwereeitherremovedorchangedbasedonthistesting.

FinaltestsThe finalpre-testandpost-test inAccountingcontained fourteenquestionsandthe finalpre-testandpost-test in Finance contained sixteen questions. Many questions in the Accounting tests containedmultipleparts.Therefore,participantswererequiredtoprovideforty-threeanswersfortheAccountingtests.TheFinancetestsincludedseventeenanswers.

Pre-tests included a question again asking students about prior coursework in the respective subjectmatterareas.Post-testsalsocontainedonequestionaskingwhetherthetestwasafairassessmentofsubjectmatterknowledge(eitherMBAcourseknowledgeorSmartlycourseknowledge,respectively)anda follow up question where participants could explain their answer. Post-tests also included a NetPromoterScore(NPS)questionforSmartlyparticipantstoindicatewhethertheywouldrecommendtheSmartlycoursetoafriend,andwhyorwhynot.

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ParticipationMBAgroup

Onceselected,participants intheMBAgroupweregivenafewdaysfromwhentheywerenotifiedofbeingaccepted intothestudytocompletetheMBApost-test.Smartlystudentsweregivenuptotwoweekstocompletetheirpre-test,Smartlycoursework,andpost-test.Allparticipantscommunicatedwitha research lead who monitored their progress, answered any questions about the research studyprocedures,andsentreminderstocompletethestudy.

MBAgroupparticipantswerepaid$50tocompletetheone-hourpost-test.Smartlyparticipantswerepaid$50tocompletetheone-hourpre-test,$100tocompleteallnecessarycoursework(approximately2-2.5hours),and$50tocompletetheone-hourpost-test.

107MBAparticipantsweresentalinktocompletetheAccountingpost-testand95MBAparticipantsweresent the link to complete the Finance post-test. From this group, 51 participants completed theAccountingpost-testand54participantscompletedtheFinancepost-test.

Smartlygroup

EachSmartlyparticipantreceivedanaccountfortherespectivecoursesandwasemailedausernameandatemporarypassword.SmartlylessonsprovidedetailedfeedbackonbothcorrectandincorrectanswersandallowstudentstoretakeSMARTCASES,shortquizzesattheendofeachchapter.Smartlyparticipantswererequiredtoreceiveatleast80percentonallcoursequizzestobeeligibletotakethepost-test.Allparticipantsthatmettheserequirementswereemailedthepost-testtocompletebytheendoftheinitialallottedtimefortheentirestudyperiod.

SmartlycourseworkAccountingparticipantscompletedtheSmartlycoursesAccounting I:FundamentalsandAccounting II:Revenue and Expenses. These courses are intended to help students discover financial statementpreparationprinciples,learnbookkeepingmechanicsforbasictransactions,andtakeadeeperlookathowtoaccountforrevenuesandexpenses,includingthecostofgoodssoldanddepreciation.

Finance participants completed the Smartly courses Finance: Time Value ofMoney,Cost of Capital I:Capital Structure, andValuation I: Discounted Free Cash Flow. These courses help students apply theprinciplesrelatedtoacompany’sbalancebetweendebtandequity,assesstheprofitabilityofproposedprojects,acquirebasicmathematicalabilitywiththetimevalueofmoney,gainfamiliaritywithfinancialterminology,forecastacompany’sfuturefreecashflows,andvalueacompanybydiscountingthosecashflowsbacktothepresent.

Basedoncourseestimates,studentsshouldhavebeenabletocompletealllessonswithin128minutesforAccountingand111minutesforFinance.Detailedcoursesyllabiincludingcoursestructure,aswellasconceptsaboutandtimerequirementsforeachlessonwithintherequiredcourses,areavailableintheAppendices.

TestingOnceparticipantsqualified, instructionsforparticipating inthestudywereemailedtoeachcandidate.Thepre-andpost-testswereadministeredoverGoogleForms.

Participantsweretoldthateachtestshouldtakelessthananhourtocomplete.Thoughstricttimelimitswere not enforced, students were encouraged to spend nomore than 3minutes on each question.

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Participantswereinformedthattheywouldbeunabletochangeanansweronceitwassubmitted,andparticipantswereadvisednottolookupanyanswerstoquestionsusingexternalreferences.However,thiscouldnotbeenforcedduetothenatureofthetestingplatformandprotocolused.

Themean time between pre-tests and post-tests in the Smartly group was five days for AccountingparticipantsandsixdaysforFinanceparticipants;theminimumwaslessthanonedayandthemaximumwas twelve days. After the pre-test, Smartly participants did not receive any feedback on theirperformance,couldnotviewcorrectanswers,andcouldnotviewthetestagain.Basedonthesefactors,itisunlikelythatanyimprovementwouldbeduetopracticeormemoryeffects,despitetheshortintervalbetween tests. Additionally, more than 95 percent ofMBA participants were currentMBA students.Therefore,theyhadcompletedtherequiredcourseswithinatleastthelasttwoyearsandshouldhavealsohadrelativelyrecentexposuretotheknowledgebeingtested.

FinalstudysampleFinalgroups

ThefinalMBAgroupsconsistedof51participantsforAccountingand54participantsforFinance.FromtheeligibleSmartlygroups,40participantsand45participantscompletedthecourseworkandtookthepost-testforAccountingandFinance,respectively.Someofthosecandidateswereexcludedfromthefinalanalysisbasedonupdatedinformationonpriorknowledgeinthesubjectareasbeingtested.ThefinalSmartlygroupsconsistedof34participantsforAccountingand43participantsforFinance.

Testanswers

AllanswerswereincludedinthefinalanalysisoftheFinancepre-andpost-tests(17).TwoanswersforthesamequestionwereexcludedfromtheanalysisoftheAccountingpre-andpost-testsduetoambiguityinthe wording of the question. Therefore, the final analysis of both Accounting tests included only 41answers.

Participationbygender

Mostofthegroupsarefairlyequally-dividedbygender,asweshowinTable1.TheMBAAccountinggroupiscomposedof39percentwomenand61percentmen,andtheSmartlyAccountinggroupiscomposedof44percentwomenand53percentmen.ForFinance,theMBAgroupcontained43percentwomenand58 percent men, while the Smartly group contained 57 percent women and 43 percent men. Oneparticipantineachgroupdidnotindicategender.

ParticipationbyageSmartlyparticipantstendedtobeslightlyyoungerthanMBAparticipants,asweshowinTable2.Whereasover90percentofparticipantsintheMBAFinanceandMBAAccountinggroupswere25-34yearsofage,theSmartlygroupstendedtobemoreevenlydividedbetweenages25-34(53percentAccounting,58percentFinance)andages18-24(44percentAccounting,37percentFinance).Mostgroupsalsohad1-2participantsintherangeof35-44yearsold.

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Table1.Participationbygender

Accounting Finance

MBA Smartly MBA Smartly

Gender ProportionNumberofparticipants Proportion

Numberofparticipants

Proportion

Numberofparticipants Proportion

Numberofparticipants

Women 39% 20 44% 15 43% 23 57% 24

Men 44% 31 53% 18 57% 31 43% 18

Total 51 33 54 100% 43

Table2.ParticipationbyAge

Accounting Finance

MBA Smartly MBA Smartly

Agerange

ProportionNumberofparticipants Proportion

Numberofparticipants

Proportion

Numberofparticipants Proportion

Numberofparticipants

18-24 4% 2 44% 15 4% 2 37% 16

25-34 92% 47 53% 18 93% 50 58% 24

35-44 2% 1 0% 0 4% 2 4% 2

Notdisclosed 2% 1 3% 1 0% 0 2% 1

Total 51 34 54 43

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Findings

Smartlypre-courseperformancevs.MBAperformanceAllSmartlyparticipantshadatleastabachelor’sdegree,soweexpectthatmostoftheparticipantsintheSmartlygroupwouldhavehadalayknowledgeofatleastsomeoftheconceptsineachofthesubjectareasbeingtested,butnotasmuchknowledgeasMBAstudentswhohadcompletedformalcourseworkinthesesubjects.Wecomparedpre-testscoresforSmartlyparticipantswithpost-testscoresforMBAparticipantstoexaminethisissue.

AsweshowinTable3,themeanscoreforthe34SmartlyAccountingparticipantsis56.7percentandthemedian is53.7percent,witha lowscoreof26.8percentandahighscoreof80.5percent.Forthe43Smartlyparticipantsinfinance,themeanscoreforSmartlyparticipantsis49.2percentandthemedianis52.9percent,withalowscoreof11.8percentandahighscoreof82.4percent.

We calculated the t-statistic for the test of the means of the Smartly participants versus the MBAparticipantstoensurethattheinitialknowledgeoftheSmartlyparticipantswasdifferentfromthatoftheMBAparticipants.WeprovidetheseresultsinTable3.Ourtestofdifferenceinmeansindicatesthatthereisastatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenthemeanpre-testscoresforSmartlyparticipantsandthemeanpost-testscoresforMBA.

Table3.ComparisonofSmartlypre-testresultswithMBAgroup

PanelA:Accounting

Numberofparticipants

MeanScore(Mean) Median

Lowestscore HighestScore

Smartlypre-test 34 57% 54% 27% 80%

MBApost-test 51 75% 76% 41% 93%

t-statisticfortestofdifferenceinmeans,p-valuein()

6.40(<0.0001)

PanelB:Finance

Numberofs Meanscore MedianLowestscore HighestScore

Smartlypre-test 43 49.2% 53% 12% 82%

MBApost-test 54 82.4% 8% 29% 100%

t-statisticfortestofdifferenceinmeans,p-valuein()

-8.58(<0.0001)

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TimespentinSmartlycoursesAccounting participants spent an average of 147 minutes to complete all required lessons, with theshortesttimebeing81minutesandthelongesttimebeing342minutes.Financeparticipantsspentanaverageof118minutestocompleteallrequiredlessons,withtheshortesttimebeing60minutesandthelongesttimebeing186minutes.

Courseeffectiveness:Pre-testtopost-testImprovementforSmartlyparticipantsOnaverage,participantswhotooktheSmartlycourseimprovedby29percentagepointsand33percentagepointsfrompre-testtopost-testforAccountingandFinance,respectively.Allbutoneparticipantineachgroupachievedahigherscoreatpost-testthanatpre-test.Weprovidetheresultsofthetestofthemeanofthedifferencesbetweenpre-andpost-testscoresforSmartlyparticipantsinTable4.

Table4.ComparisonofSmartlyparticipants'pre-andpost-testscores

Includingparticipantscompletingboththepre-andpost-tests

Meanscore

Smartlycourse

Numberofparticipants Pre-test Post-test

Changefrompretoposttest

t-statisticfortestofdifferencepre-to

post-testp-valuein()

Accounting 34 57% 86% 29.1% 12.39(<0.0001)

Finance 43 49.2% 82.4% 33.2% 12.11(<0.0001)

SomeSmartlyparticipantsdidrelativelywellevenatpre-test(withscoresupto80percentinAccountingand 82 percent in Finance), so we also examine whether pre-test performance was related toimprovementatpost-test.

WespliteachSmartlygroupintolowandhighpre-testscores,andlowandhighimprovement,usingthemedianscoresascutoffs.Wecalculatedachi-squaredtestofindependence,withtheresultofasignificantrelationshipbetweenpre-testperformanceandimprovementforbothAccountingandFinance.4ForbothSmartlygroups,participantswithlowerpre-testscoresweremorelikelytobeinthehighimprovementgroup.However,evenparticipantswhostartedwithhigherscoresatpre-testimproved,onaverage.Thisresultisconsistentwithreversiontothemean--astatisticalphenomenoninwhichhighandlowscorerstend to get closer to the mean scores at re-test -- and with an overall learning effect for Smartlyparticipants.

Wealsotakeanother,morerobustapproachtoexaminingthescoresfortheSmartlygroup.Weestimatetheregressionofpost-testscoresonthepre-testscores,controllingforthetimespentontheSmartlymaterial(Time).WeestimatethisregressionforboththeFinanceandtheAccountingSmartlygroups,and

4ForAccounting,chi-squaredstatisticis10.25withonedegreeoffreedom,resultinginap<0.01.ForFinance,thechi-squaredstatisticis12.64withonedegreeoffreedom,andap-value0.01

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provide the results inTable5. The results are consistentwithparticipantswithhigherpre-test scoresshowingthemostimprovementinscores.Foraccountingparticipants,thegreaterthetimespentonthematerial,thegreaterthechangeinthetestscoresfrompre-to-post-test.5

Table5.Explainingscoreimprovement

Thedependentvariableisthechangeinthetestscore.Estimatedcoefficients,withp-valuesinparenthesesbelowcoefficients

Finance AccountingIntercept 0.5398

(<0.0001) 0.63865

(<0.0001)Pre-testscore 0.2842

(0.0241) 0.3857

(0.0164)Time 0.0013

(0.0383) 0.0001

(0.8335) R-squared 0.2041 0.1889F-statistic 5.13

(0.0104) 3.61

(0.0390)

SmartlyPost-testperformancevs.MBAperformanceWeprovide the resultsof comparing the Smartlypost-test scoreswith theMBAgroup scores for theAccounting and Finance courses, respectively, in Table 6. Aswe indicatewith a t-statistic to test thedifferenceinmeansscoresbetweentheSmartlygroupandtheMBAgroup,theSmartlyAccountinggroupoutperformedtheMBAgroup,withthedifferenceinmeanscoressignificantatmostreasonablelevelsofsignificance.TheSmartlyFinancecourseparticipantsscorenodifferentlythanthoseintheMBAgroup,asindicatedbyap-valueoftheteststatisticthatisabovereasonablelevelsofsignificance.

5Thepre-testscoreandtimetogetherexplain20percentofthevariationintestscoresforFinanceparticipants,andalmost19percentforAccountingparticipants.

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Table6.Comparisonofpost-testperformancebetweenSmartlyandMBAgroups

Smartly MBA

t-statistic(withp-valueinparentheses)fortestofdifferenceinmeanscores

Course MeanNumberofparticipants Mean

Numberofparticipants

Assumingequal

variances

Assumingunequalvariances

Accounting 86% 34 75% 51 3.95(0.0002)

3.97(0.0002)

Finance 82% 43 81% 54 0.44(0.6594)

0.46(0.6473)

FeedbackfromparticipantsAllparticipantscompletingthepost-testwereaskediftheythoughtthetestwasafairassessmentoftheirsubjectmatterknowledgeintherespectiveareas.ForAccounting,85percentofSmartlyparticipantsand86percentofMBAparticipantsindicatedthatthetestwasafairassessment.ForFinance,84percentofSmartlyparticipantsand69percentofMBAparticipantsindicatedthatthetestwasafairassessmentoftheirsubjectmatterknowledge.6WeproviderepresentativecommentsinTable7forAccountinggroups,andinTable8forFinancegroups.

6Only26of54theMBAFinanceparticipantsansweredthisquestion.Thequestionforthisgroupwassentoutviaemailafewweeksafterthepost-testwastaken,sothelowerresponseratemayhavejustbeencircumstantialandshouldnotbetakenasanintentionalunwillingnessamongthisgrouptoanswerthisquestion.

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Table7.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentofaccountingknowledge?

MBA Smartly

Yes ● Allofthequestionswererelevanttogeneralaccounting.

● Becauseitcoveredawidevarietyofquestionsandtheinformationwaspresentedclearly.

● Itaskedaboutconceptsimportanttoaccounting,especiallythosethataremostfrequentlyappliedinreal-worldsettingsofreadingfinancialsandanalyzingaccountingtransactions.Theonlythingmissingwastestingmyunderstandingofwhatgoesintodifferentfinancialstatements(e.g.,incomestatement,cashflowstatement,etc.).

● Allquestionswereverysimilartothesmartlymodulesandseemedtobeafairoveralltestofknowledge.

● Ihavenothadathoroughaccountinglessoninmanyyears,sogoingthroughthecourseandtakingthispost-examshowsmycurrentunderstandingofwhatIretained.

● Itwascomprehensiveandincludedrealisticexamples,similartowhatoneworkinginaccountingwouldhave.

No ● Someofthequestionswerepoorlyworded.ItwasnotclearwhatIwassupposedtoanswer.

● There'smuchmoretoitthanrememberingeasy-to-referenceformulasbyheart.

● Istudiedaccountingwiththecasemethod,learningtomaketoughjudgmentsaboutuniqueaccountingsituationsthatactualcompaniesface.Idon'trememberTaccounts,butIdorememberprinciplesthatwouldbeappliedinactualsituations.

● Ihavenothadtoapplyitinahuman-to-humaninteraction.MyknowledgeiscircumstantialandIwouldnotfeelconfidentsharingthisknowledgeinreallife.

● Yesandno.Whilethisassessmentaddressedthebasics,IdonotbelieveittackledthemorechallenginglessonslearnedinPart2ofthestudymaterials.

● Ithinkit'sprettyspecifictotheSmartlytestenvironment.IthinktherearealotofthingsthatIknowthroughexperiencethatweren'texploredorcapturedhere,butsomemoretechnicalthingslikeLIFOvs.FIFOthatIwasunfamiliarwiththatare.Iwouldsayit'saprettygoodassessmentbasedonthecontentofthelectures.

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Table8.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentoffinanceknowledge?

MBA Smartly

Yes● Itassessedbasicbuildingconceptsof

financethatshouldbelearntduringintroductorycourses.

● Thequestionitselfwassimplebutrequirecertainknowledgeaboutfinance.

● Itcapturedtheessentialsanyfinanceprofessionalshouldknow..Ofcourse,thisonlyscratchesthesurface,butyoumanagedtocapturetheessentials.

● Iwasablankslateforfinanceknowledge.SoanythingIhaveorhavenotlearnedcamedirectlyfromthisplatform!

● IwaspleasantlysurprisedthattheanswersIhadzeroclueaboutinthepre-assessment,Inowunderstood.

● Thequestionspertainedtothemateriallearnedthroughtheonlinemodules.Thesequestionswerenottoodifficult,butalsodidnotgiveawaytheanswers.

No● Itlookedmoreatspecificsinsteadofgeneral

principles● Financeismoreaboutconceptual

knowledgethanjustnumbers..Thisassessmentconcentratedmoreonquantitativestuff.

● Itwastoobasic

● Becausethequestionsseemsverysimpleandsimilartosmartlycontent.Itfeltlikethecoursetaughttothetest.

● Simplytakingacourseonlinewithoutanyextrastudytimedoesnotaccuratelyreflectmyabilitytotakeinandlearninformation.Thequestionsinthefinalassessmentwereverydetailed.Itishardtorememberthesedetailsfromjusttakinganonlinecourseonce.

● Thereshouldbecasebasedquestions.

Smartlyparticipantsatisfaction(NetPromoterScore)Smartly participants were asked (at the conclusion of the second test) to respond to a standardsatisfactionquestion,theNetPromoterScore(NPS)question,“HowlikelyareyoutorecommendSmartlytoafriend?”,onascaleof0(Wouldnotrecommend)to10(Definitelywouldrecommend).TheNPSiscalculated as the percentage of respondents answering 9 or 10 (promoters), less the percentage ofrespondentsanswering0to6(detractors),withscoresrangingfrom-100to100.

TheSmartlyAccountingcourseshad58percentpromotersand6percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof52.TheSmartlyFinancecourseshad49percentpromotersand9percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof40.ThesescoresareinlinewithrecentNPSscoresfortheHarvardMBAprogramandWhartonMBAprogram,withNPSof41and51,respectively.7,8

7StevenHind,“WhatisHBS’sNPS?”TheHarbus,February5,2015,(www.harbus.org/2015/the-harbus-survey-says-hbs-mba-program-more-walgreens-than-apple/).8NatalieKitroeff,“MBAsaremoreSatisfiedatWhartonthanatHarvardBusinessSchool”,Bloomberg,March31,2015(www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-31/mbas-are-more-satisfied-at-wharton-than-at-harvard-business-school).

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ConclusionManycompaniesarelookingfortheskillsdevelopedwhilepursuinganMBA.However,thepursuitofanMBAmaynotalwaysbetherightchoiceforalllearners,duetofinancial,geographic,ortimeconstraints.

Thisstudysupportstheassertionthatsomeofthefoundationalaccountingandfinancialconceptstaughtin traditionalbrick-and-mortarMBAprogramscanbe learned independently,online throughPedago’stargetedSmartlyactive-learningcourses.Significantimprovementinstudents’knowledgeisacquiredinaslittleastwohoursofengagementwiththesecourses.

Inadditiontobeingtakenontheirownaspartofacomprehensive independentstudyMBAprogram,these courses could be used as supplements to existingMBA programs. First, they could be used asremedial materials for incoming MBA students who need to enhance their understanding of basicconceptsincertainsubjectmatterareas.Second,theycouldbeusedbyMBAinstructorsaspre-workforblended-learning classes. By having students learn basic concepts and complete structured practiceexercisesontheirown,instructorscoulddevotemoreclassroomtimetodeeperlearningthroughcasestudiesandgroupwork.

LimitationsofthestudyTheSmartlycoursesarestillunderdevelopmentandfewstudentshavetakenallofthecoursesthatwouldbeequivalenttoallofthecourseworkinagivenMBAsubjectmatterarea.Therefore,itisnotcurrentlypossibletotestcomprehensivesubject-matterknowledge.Thetestsusedweredevelopedin-houseandintendedspecificallytocovertheconceptstaughtinthecurrentcourses.

Whereasthetestsusedweredeemedbystudentstobeafairassessmentoftheirknowledge,manyMBAstudentsmentionedthatthetestscoveredbasicaccountingprinciples,butdidnotcoverotherconceptstheyhadlearnedintheiraccountingcourses.Forfuturestudieswithstudentswhohavecompletedanentirecourseseries,itwouldbehelpfultouseamore-widelyacceptedtest.First,suchatestwouldallowfortheassessmentofabroadersetofknowledge.Additionally,thissortofassessmentwouldallowforcomparisonacrossawidersetofparticipantsintraditionalMBAprograms.Amore-widelyacceptedtestwouldpermitmorecross-sectionsofthegroup,aswellasadeeperanalysis.

Additionally,thetimeframeforthestudywascompact.Therefore,thetimebetweenstartingacourseandtakingthepost-testwasrelativelyshort,andmaynotrepresentthetimethatmoststudentswouldtaketofinishagivencourse.Itwouldbeusefultotestthissamegroupagainin3-6monthstoseehowmuchofthecourseknowledgeisretainedovertime.

Possiblefuturestudies

Comparisonstootheronline,self-studyplatformsTherearemanyfree,onlineself-guided learningsystemsnowavailable forstudentswhoaretryingtoimprovetheirknowledgeskillsatatimeandplacethatismostconvenientforthem.PedagohasdesignedSmartly’slearningsystemtoprovideadifferentexperiencefromtheseothersystemsbyfocusingon“bite-sized”lessonsthatincorporateactivelearning.Itwouldbeinterestingtoconductpre-/post-evaluationswithstudentstakingspecificsubjectmattercoursesonotherplatformswiththosecompletingthecoursesinSmartly.Thiscomparisonwouldhelptonormalizesomeconditionsthatwerenotavailableinthisstudy,includingindependentvs.classroom-basedlearning,anddigitalvs.analoglearning.

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ItemanalysisInthisstudy,wedidnotexaminelearningoutcomesforspecificitemsonthetest.However,weshouldreview this data based on the concepts being assessed. Concept-specific analyses of the Smartlyparticipantdataisexpectedtohighlightwherestudentshadthesmallestgainsinknowledge.Suchresultsmight indicate that the lessonson thoseconceptseithermayneed tobe improvedor thatadditionallessonsinthoseconceptsmayberequiredfortheknowledgetobemorefullyacquired.Concept-specificanalysesoftheMBAdatamightbeusedto identifytheconcepts least likelytoberetainedovertime,which could also help Pedago tomake strategic decisions about how to structure their own contentrelatedtothoseitems.

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AppendicesAppendixA:Eligibilityfunnel

Screen participants (810)

ACCOUNTING

SMARTLYPre-test taken

(62)

MBAinvited to

participate (107)

SMARTLYCoursework started (49)

SMARTLYAnalysis group

(34)

MBAAnalysis

group (51)

FINANCE

MBATake post-test (54)

SMARTLYtake pre-test

(62)

SMARTLYCoursework

completed and post-test taken

(43)

SMARTLY Start

coursework started (47)

SMARTLYAnalysis group

(43)

MBAAnalysis

group (54)

SMARTLYCoursework

completed and post-test taken

(40)

MBAInvited to

participate (95)

MBA Take

post-test (51)

SMARTLYInvite to

participate (93)

SMARTLYInvite to

participate (119)

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AppendixB:Accounting-Detailedresults

SmartlyAccountinggroupresults(N=34)

Mean Median Mode Minimum Maximum

Pre-testscores 57% 54% 54% 27% 80%

Post-testscores 86% 89% 98% 49% 100%

%Change 59% 46% 38% -9% 191%

PointChange 29 27 27 -5 61

SmartlyAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=34)

Student Pre-test Post-test %change Pointchange

MinutestocompleteSmartlycourse

RetookQuizzes

SmartlyAcctgStudent1 34% 61% 79% 27 135 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent2 61% 88% 44% 27 173 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent3 78% 98% 25% 20 126 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent4 46% 90% 95% 44 99 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent5 54% 95% 77% 41 179 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent6 54% 90% 68% 37 176 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent7 63% 93% 46% 29 81 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent8 49% 93% 90% 44 101 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent9 49% 71% 45% 22 233 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent10 68% 95% 39% 27 342 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent11 27% 78% 191% 51 155 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent12 68% 85% 25% 17 157 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent13 71% 98% 38% 27 134 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent14 71% 98% 38% 27 122 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent15 66% 90% 37% 24 141 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent16 51% 78% 52% 27 95 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent17 66% 98% 48% 32 123 Yes

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SmartlyAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=34)(cont’d)

Student Pre-test Post-test %change Pointchange

MinutestocompleteSmartlycourse

RetookQuizzes

SmartlyAcctgStudent18 49% 80% 65% 32 114 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent19 78% 90% 16% 12 90 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent20 44% 85% 94% 41 128 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent21 76% 98% 29% 22 214 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent22 49% 66% 35% 17 108 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent23 61% 76% 24% 15 127 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent24 59% 83% 42% 24 151 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent25 44% 90% 106% 46 131 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent26 80% 83% 3% 2 212 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent27 37% 98% 167% 61 112 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent28 39% 88% 125% 49 168 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent29 59% 83% 42% 24 136 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent30 54% 49% -9% -5 127 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent31 54% 98% 82% 44 146 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent32 54% 80% 50% 27 147 Yes

SmartlyAcctgStudent33 76% 100% 32% 24 209 No

SmartlyAcctgStudent34 41% 73% 76% 32 108 Yes

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MBAAccountinggroupresults(N=51)

Mean Median Mode Min Max

Post-testscores 75% 76% 88% 41% 93%

MBAAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=51)

MBAAccountingStudent

Post-testscore

MBAAccountingStudent

Post-testscore

MBAAccountingStudent

Post-testscore

MBAAcctgStudent1 93% MBAAcctgStudent18 88% MBAAcctgStudent35 88%

MBAAcctgStudent2 85% MBAAcctgStudent19 78% MBAAcctgStudent36 76%

MBAAcctgStudent3 90% MBAAcctgStudent20 93% MBAAcctgStudent37 68%

MBAAcctgStudent4 83% MBAAcctgStudent21 80% MBAAcctgStudent38 66%

MBAAcctgStudent5 78% MBAAcctgStudent22 59% MBAAcctgStudent39 76%

MBAAcctgStudent6 80% MBAAcctgStudent23 90% MBAAcctgStudent40 68%

MBAAcctgStudent7 59% MBAAcctgStudent24 71% MBAAcctgStudent41 76%

MBAAcctgStudent8 71% MBAAcctgStudent25 73% MBAAcctgStudent42 54%

MBAAcctgStudent9 88% MBAAcctgStudent26 73% MBAAcctgStudent43 88%

MBAAcctgStudent10 66% MBAAcctgStudent27 54% MBAAcctgStudent44 88%

MBAAcctgStudent11 68% MBAAcctgStudent28 41% MBAAcctgStudent45 80%

MBAAcctgStudent12 51% MBAAcctgStudent29 80% MBAAcctgStudent46 85%

MBAAcctgStudent13 90% MBAAcctgStudent30 71% MBAAcctgStudent47 93%

MBAAcctgStudent14 78% MBAAcctgStudent31 71% MBAAcctgStudent48 61%

MBAAcctgStudent15 73% MBAAcctgStudent32 88% MBAAcctgStudent49 66%

MBAAcctgStudent16 80% MBAAcctgStudent33 61% MBAAcctgStudent50 68%

MBAAcctgStudent17 66% MBAAcctgStudent34 85% MBAAcctgStudent51 83%

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AppendixC:Finance-DetailedResults

SmartlyFinancegroupresults(N=43)

Mean Median Mode Minimum Maximum

Pre-testscores 49% 53% 65% 12% 49%

Post-testscores 82% 82% 88% 41% 82%

%Change 94% 60% 50% 0% 94%

Pointchange 33 35 29 0 33

SmartlyFinanceindividualparticipantresults(N=43)

Student Pre-test Post-test %changePointchange

Minutestocomplete

SmartlycourseRetookquizzes

SmartlyFinanceStudent1 24% 88% 275% 65 164 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent2 65% 88% 36% 24 85 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent3 71% 82% 17% 12 117 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent4 65% 100% 55% 35 90 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent5 47% 88% 88% 41 60 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent6 47% 76% 63% 29 101 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent7 47% 88% 88% 41 149 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent8 47% 76% 63% 29 130 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent9 29% 41% 40% 12 106 Yes

SmartlyFinanceStudent10 53% 94% 78% 41 150 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent11 29% 71% 140% 41 93 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent12 65% 76% 18% 12 127 Yes

SmartlyFinanceStudent13 18% 100% 467% 82 162 Yes

SmartlyFinanceStudent14 29% 94% 220% 65 129 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent15 41% 94% 129% 53 146 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent16 59% 94% 60% 35 172 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent17 53% 100% 89% 47 74 No

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SmartlyFinanceindividualparticipantresults(N=43)(cont’d)

Student Pre-test Post-test %changePointchange

Minutestocomplete

SmartlycourseRetookquizzes

SmartlyFinanceStudent18 35% 82% 133% 47 87 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent19 53% 65% 22% 12 123 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent20 35% 76% 117% 41 119 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent21 53% 82% 56% 29 108 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent22 47% 82% 75% 35 70 Yes

SmartlyFinanceStudent23 41% 65% 57% 24 81 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent24 41% 41% 0% 0 104 Yes

SmartlyFinanceStudent25 65% 82% 27% 18 61 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent26 59% 94% 60% 35 124 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent27 76% 100% 31% 24 163 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent28 65% 71% 9% 6 114 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent29 29% 88% 200% 59 115 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent30 76% 94% 23% 18 137 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent31 29% 82% 180% 53 85 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent32 65% 82% 27% 18 110 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent33 82% 88% 7% 6 73 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent34 59% 88% 50% 29 134 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent35 35% 76% 117% 41 110 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent36 53% 100% 89% 47 186 Yes

SmartlyFinanceStudent37 29% 71% 140% 41 133 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent38 76% 88% 15% 12 128 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent39 12% 65% 450% 53 101 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent40 35% 71% 100% 35 102 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent41 59% 88% 50% 29 178 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent42 59% 76% 30% 0 139 No

SmartlyFinanceStudent43 59% 88% 50% 29 112 No

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MBAFinanceparticipantresults(N=54)

Mean Median Mode Minimum Maximum

Post-testscores 81% 88% 100% 29% 100%

MBAAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=54)

MBAFinanceStudent Post-testscore

MBAFinanceStudent Post-testscore

MBAFinanceStudent Post-testscore

MBAFinanceStudent1 82% MBAFinanceStudent19 65% MBAFinanceStudent37 71%

MBAFinanceStudent2 47% MBAFinanceStudent20 76% MBAFinanceStudent38 100%

MBAFinanceStudent3 94% MBAFinanceStudent21 82% MBAFinanceStudent39 71%

MBAFinanceStudent4 53% MBAFinanceStudent22 59% MBAFinanceStudent40 47%

MBAFinanceStudent5 53% MBAFinanceStudent23 100% MBAFinanceStudent41 94%

MBAFinanceStudent6 94% MBAFinanceStudent24 100% MBAFinanceStudent42 88%

MBAFinanceStudent7 100% MBAFinanceStudent25 88% MBAFinanceStudent43 94%

MBAFinanceStudent8 94% MBAFinanceStudent26 76% MBAFinanceStudent44 100%

MBAFinanceStudent9 100% MBAFinanceStudent27 76% MBAFinanceStudent45 82%

MBAFinanceStudent10 100% MBAFinanceStudent28 100% MBAFinanceStudent46 41%

MBAFinanceStudent11 71% MBAFinanceStudent29 100% MBAFinanceStudent47 82%

MBAFinanceStudent12 100% MBAFinanceStudent30 53% MBAFinanceStudent48 100%

MBAFinanceStudent13 71% MBAFinanceStudent31 65% MBAFinanceStudent49 76%

MBAFinanceStudent14 29% MBAFinanceStudent32 94% MBAFinanceStudent50 94%

MBAFinanceStudent15 94% MBAFinanceStudent33 100% MBAFinanceStudent51 88%

MBAFinanceStudent16 94% MBAFinanceStudent34 76% MBAFinanceStudent52 100%

MBAFinanceStudent17 47% MBAFinanceStudent35 71% MBAFinanceStudent53 100%

MBAFinanceStudent18 88% MBAFinanceStudent36 53% MBAFinanceStudent54 88%

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AppendixD:Detailsontests

AccountingtestsQuestion1

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Balancesheet

Selecttheequationthatistrueofallbalancesheets.

assets=liabilities+equity;equity=liabilities+assets;liabilities=assets+equity

assets=liabilities+equity

A1Sameaspre-test

Question2

ConceptTested

Question Answeroptions Correctanswers Answer# Question Answeroptions

Correctanswers

Balancesheet

Labelthefollowingbalancesheetaccountsasassets,liabilities,orequity.AccountsReceivable;BankLoanPayable;Cash;Inventory;Paid-InCapital;PrepaidExpenses;Property,Plant&Equipment;RetainedEarnings

Asset;Liabilities;Equity

Assets A2Sameaspre-testLiabilities A3

Assets A4Assets A5Equity A6Assets A7Assets A8Equity A9

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Question3

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Balancesheet

Moneythatacompanyowestoitsvendorsisrecordedintheaccount_____________________________.

AccountsReceivable;AccountsPayable;AllowanceforDoubtfulAccounts;Credits;Current;Debits;Noncurrent/Long-term;RetainedEarnings

AccountsPayable A10Sameaspre-test

Netincomethatisreinvestedinthecompanyisknownas_____________________________.

Retainedearnings A11

Liabilitiesandassetsthatareexpectedtobepaidofforconvertedintocashwithinoneyeararesaidtobe_____________________________.

Current A12

Moneyduetoacompanyfromitscustomersisrecordedintheaccount_____________________________.

AccountsReceivable A13

Liabilitiesandassetswithalongertimeframearesaidtobe_____________________________.

Non-current/long-term A14

InT-accounts,_____________________________alwaysgoontheleft.

Debits A15

InT-accounts,_____________________________alwaysgoontheright.

Credits A16

Question4

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Generalledger

Whichofthefollowinggeneralledgeraccountsareclosedoutattheendofeachaccountingperiod?(Selectallthatapply.)

Cash;Expenses;NetIncome;RetainedEarnings;Revenues

Expenses;Revenues A17Sameaspre-test

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Question5

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Generalledger

Foreachtypeofaccountbelowdeterminewhethertheleftsideofthebalancesheetrecordsincreases(+)orrecordsdecreases(-).AssetAccount;LiabilityAccount;EquityAccount;Revenues;Expenses

Plus;Minus

Plus A18Sameaspre-testMinus A19

Minus A20Minus A21Plus A22

Question6

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Journal Adeliveryofmerchandisewasmadetoacustomer.Themerchandisecosttheseller$3,500tomake.Thecustomerpaid$1,500andowesanother$4,000.Inwhichorderdothefollowingtermsappearinthefirstcolumnofthebalancesheetabove?(Oneaccountdoesn’tbelong.).AccountsReceivable;Cash;Expenses;Inventory;Revenues;DeferredRevenue

1;2;3;4;5;Doesn'tBelong

2 A23Sameaspre-test1 A24

4 A255 A263 A27Doesn'tbelong A28

Question7

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Conservatismprinciple

Accordingtotheconservatismconcept,revenuesarerecordedwhen:

anorderisplacedcashisreceivedandnotbeforeinventoryisreadytobesolditisreasonablycertainthattheywillbecollected

itisreasonablycertainthattheywillbecollected

A29Sameaspre-test

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Question8

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Conservatismprinciple

Expensesarerecordedassoonastheyare:

Incurred;paidwithcash;projectedinaproposal;reasonablycertain

incurred A30Sameaspre-test

Question9

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

ManufacturingOverhead

Lastyear,acompanyhad$3millioninproductionoverheadandspent$1.5millionondirectlaborcosts.Usinglaborcostasitsbasis,selectthecorrectoverheadrate.

$3million÷$1.5million=$2;$1.5million÷$3million=$0.50;$3million×$1.5million=$4.5million;($3 million − $1.5 million) ÷ $1.5 million = $1;

$3million÷$1.5million=$2

A31 Lastyear,acompanyhad$4.5millioninproductionoverheadandspent$1.5millionondirectlaborcosts.Usinglaborcostasitsbasis,selectthecorrectoverheadrate.

$4.5million÷$1.5million=$3;$1.5million÷$4.5million=$0.33;$4.5million×$1.5million=$6.75million;($4.5million−$1.5million)÷$1.5million=$2

$4.5million÷$1.5million=$3

Question10

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Depreciation Afixedassetthatcost$200,000hasaservicelifeof5years.Usingstraight-linedepreciation,whatwilltheannualdepreciationexpensebe?

open-ended 40,000 A32 Afixedassetthatcost$300,000hasaservicelifeof6years.Usingstraight-linedepreciation,whatwilltheannualdepreciationexpensebe?

open-ended 50,000

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Question11

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Journal Anassethasaccumulateditsentire$4millioncostindepreciationovera10-yearperiod.Ascrapdealerpurchasestheassetfor$5,000.PlacetheaccountsbelowinthecorrectorderthattheywouldappearinthejournalAccumulatedDepreciation;GainonAssetDisposal;Cash;PP&E

1;2;3;4 2 A33 Anassethasaccumulateditsentire$3millioncostindepreciationovera10-yearperiod.Ascrapdealerpurchasestheassetfor$4,000.Placetheaccountsbelowinthecorrectorderthattheywouldappearinthejournal.[AccumulatedDepreciation][GainonAssetDisposal][Cash][PP&E]

1234

23 A34 31 A35 14 A36 4

Question12(Excludedfromanalysis)

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Inventory AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodX]

LIFO;FIFO MethodX

X1 AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodX]

LIFOFIFO

MethodX

AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodY]

LIFO;FIFO MethodY

X2 AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodY]

LIFOFIFO

MethodY

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Question13

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Journal Acraftsmanpurchased$700worthofmaterialsoncredit.Shefinishedcraftingapieceofmerchandiseworth$200anddisplayeditinherstorewithapricetagof$450.Selectwhichofthetransactionsaboveneedtoberecorded.

A;B;C B A37 Acraftsmanpurchased$900worthofmaterialsoncredit.Shefinishedcraftingapieceofmerchandiseworth$300anddisplayeditinherstorewithapricetagof$600.Selectwhichofthetransactionsaboveneedtoberecorded.

ABC

B

Question14

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Journal Completethejournalentriesforselling$2,000ofinventoryfor$4,000oncredit.Referencethisimage.BlankA;BlankB;BlankC;BlankD

$4,000;$6,000;$2,000;$8,000

$4,000.00 A38 Completethejournalentriesforselling$5,000ofinventoryfor$9,000.[Referenceimage]

$4,000$5,000$14,000$9.000

$9,000.00

Cash;Revenues;Inventory;DeferredRevenue

revenues A39 CashRevenuesInventoryDeferredRevenue

revenues

$4,000;$6,000;$2,000;$8,000

2,000 A40 $4,000$5,000$14,000$9.000

$5,000.00

Cash;Revenues;Inventory;DeferredRevenue

Inventory A41 Cash;Revenues;Inventory;DeferredRevenue

Inventory

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AccountingTest–DemographicandOpinionQuestions

Pre-testquestions

Question#

Question Answeroptions Participants Answer#

Question15

Haveyouevercompletedanaccountingcourse? Yes,inanMBAprogram;Yes,asanundergraduateorinagraduatedegreeprogramotherthananMBA;No,Ihavenevercompletedanaccountingcourse

Smartly A42

Post-testquestionsQuestion#

Question Answeroptions Participants Answer#

Question15

Doyouthinkthiswasafairassessmentofyouraccountingknowledge? Yes;No SmartlyandMBA

A43

Question15

Whyorwhynot?open-ended

A44

Question16

WhatdidyouthinkoftheSmartlycourseexperience?PleasetellusanythingpositiveornegativeabouttheSmartlycoursesthatyoutook. open-ended

Smartly A45

Question17

HowlikelyisitthatyouwouldrecommendSmartlytoafriendorcolleague? open-ended

A46

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FinancetestsQuestion1

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

TimeValueofMoney

Discountingmoneyallowsyoutocalculatea__________.

open-ended presentvalueA1 Compoundingmoney

allowsyoutocalculatea__________.

open-ended futurevalue

Question2

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

TimeValueofMoney

Whichoftheaboveformulaecalculatesthepresentvalueofafuturecashflow?

A:CF0x(1+r)nB:CF0xrnC:CFn/(1+r)nD:ern/CFn

CA2 Whichofthe

aboveformulaecalculatesthefuturevalueofapresentcashflow.

A:rn+CF0x(rt-rn)B:CF0x(1+r)nC:CFn/(1+r)nD:CFnxern

B

AA3

C

Question3

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

TimeValueofMoney

Whichoftheexpressionsabovetellsushowmuch$6,000willbein4yearsassumingitgrowsat5%annually?

A:($6,000x1.05)/4B:$6,000x(1.05)4C:1.054/$6,000D:$6,000/1.054

netpresentvalueA4 Whichofthe

expressionsabovetellsushowmuch$4,000wasworth5yearsagoassumingithadgrownat6%annually?

A:($4,000x1.06)/5B:($4,000x(1.06)5C:1.065/$4,000D:$4,000/1.065

D

Question4

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ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Netpresentvalue

Thepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows)isknownas________________.

netpresent;value;grossmargin;revenue;operatingprofit

netpresentvalueA5 Whatisnet

presentvalue?

thepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows);thepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows)minusthepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows);thefuturevalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows);thefuturevalueofcosts(cashoutflows)minusthepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)

thepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows)

Question5

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Costofcapital

Matchthesourcewitheachtypeoffunding.[debtfunding]

creditorsowners creditors

A6 Matchthesourcewitheachtypeoffunding.[debtfunding]

creditorsowners owners

ownersA7

creditors

Question6

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Costofcapital

Interestpaymentsdividedbydebtwillcalculateacompany'sbefore-tax__________________.

costofdebt;costofequity;returnondebt;debtmargin

costofdebtA8 Beforetaxesare

factoredin,costofdebtisequalto______________dividedbydebt.

Interestpayments;dividends;principalpayments;netincome;

interestpayments

Question7

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ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Costofcapital

IfBisthecostofdebtbeforetaxesandTistheeffectivetaxrate,whatistheformulaforcomputingtheafter-taxcostofdebt?

BxT;Bx(T-1);Bx(1-T);Tx(B-1)

B×(1−T)A9 IfBisthecostofdebt

beforetaxesandTistheeffectivetaxrate,whatistheformulaforcomputingtheafter-taxcostofdebt?

BxT;Bx(T-1);Bx(1-T);Tx(B-1)

B×(1−T)

Question8

ConceptTested Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Costofcapital Whichofthefollowingismostlikelytobeusedasarisk-freerate?

thegrowthrateoftheeconomyasawhole;the10-yearU.S.TreasuryConstantMaturityRate;theaverageoftenyearsofmonthlyreturnsoftheS&P500;acompany'sbetatimesthegrowthrateofthestockmarketasawhole

the10-yearU.S.TreasuryConstantMaturityRate

A10Sameaspre-test

Question9

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer# Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test) Correctanswers(Post-test)

Costofcapital

Thevolatilityofaparticularstockcomparedtothemarketasawholeisknownas_________________.

alpha(α);

beta(β);

gamma(γ);

delta(δ)

beta(β)A11

Beta(β)isameasureof_________________

howvolatileaparticularstockiscomparedtothemarketasawhole.;changeinthemarketasawholefromdaytoday;changeinthemarketasawholefromthesamedaythepreviousyear;howvolatileaparticularstockiscomparedtoitsperformanceduringthelastquarter

howvolatileaparticularstockiscomparedtothemarketasawhole.

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Question10

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test) Correctanswers(Post-test)

Capitalassetpricingmodel

Iftherisk-freerateis2%,theexpectedmarketreturnis13%,andβis1.6,whatisthecostofequityusingCAPM?

2%+1.6×(13%−2%)=19.6%;1.6×(13%−2%)=17.6%;1.6%+(13%−2%)=12.6%;13%+1.6×(13%−2%)=30.6%

2%+1.6×(13%−2%)=19.6%

A12 Iftherisk-freerateis3%,theexpectedmarketreturnis13%,andβis0.6,whatisthecostofequityusingCAPM?

3%+0.6×(13%−3%)=9%;0.6×(13%−3%)=6%;0.6%+(13%−3%)=10.6%;13%+0.6×(13%−3%)=19%

3%+0.6×(13%−3%)=9%

Question11

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Costofcapital

Acompanywithahighproportionofdebtissaidtobehighly___________.

leveraged;profitable;solvent;liquid

leveragedA13 Acompanythatishighlyleveraged

hasahighproportionof___________.

debt;equity debt

Question12

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test) Correctanswers(Post-test)

Weightedaveragecostofcapital

Whatistheweightedaveragecostofcapital(WACC)ofacompanythathasaneffectivetaxrateof25%,costofdebtof7%,costofequityof11%,40%equityfinancing,and60%debtfinancing?

(11%×40%)+(7%×60%×75%)=7.55%;(11%×60%)+(7%×40%×75%)=8.70%;(11%×40%)+(7%×60%×25%)=5.45%;(11%×60%)+(7%×40%×25%)=7.30%

(11%×40%)+(7%×60%×75%)=7.55%

A14 Whatistheweightedaveragecostofcapital(WACC)ofacompanythathasaneffectivetaxrateof30%,costofdebtof6%,costofequityof12%,40%debtfinancing,and60%equityfinancing?

(12%×60%)+(6%×40%×70%)=8.88%;(12%×40%)+(6%×60%×70%)=7.32%;(12%×60%)+(6%×40%×30%)=7.92%;(12%×40%)+(6%×60%×30%)=5.88%

(12%×60%)+(6%×40%×70%)=8.88%

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Question13

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Valuation Whatistheterminalvalue?

thepresentvalueatapointintime(whethernoworinthefuture)ofallcashflowsfromthatpoint;acompany'scostofcapitalweightedaccordingtoitscapitalstructure;thereturninvestorscanexpecttoreceivebyinvestinginthestockmarketasawhole;thetotalmarketvalueofacompany'sassets

thepresentvalueatapointintime(whethernoworinthefuture)ofallcashflowsfromthatpointonwards

A15Sameaspre-test

Question14

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Valuation Usingtheincomestatementaboveandaneffectivetaxrateof26%,calculatethecompany'snetoperatingprofitaftertax(NoPAT).(Thisisalsocallednetoperatingprofitlessadjustedtaxes,orNoPLAT.)

$168,938×(1−26%)=$125,014.12;

($168,938−$24,415)×(1−26%)=$106,947.02;

$70,975×(1−26%)=$52,521.50;

($168,938−$73,548)×(1−26%)=$70,588.60

$168,938×(1−26%)=$125,014.12

A16 Usingtheincomestatementaboveandaneffectivetaxrateof28%,calculatethecompany'snetoperatingprofitaftertax(NoPAT).(Thisisalsocallednetoperatingprofitlessadjustedtaxes,orNoPLAT.)

$956×(1−28%)=$688.75;

($956−$201)×(1−28%)=$543.60;

$518×(1−28%)=$372.96;

($956−$237)×(1−28%)=$517.68

($956−$201)×(1−28%)=$543.60

Question15

ConceptTested

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions(Pre-test)

Correctanswers(Pre-test)

Answer#

Question(Post-test)

Answeroptions(Post-test)

Correctanswers(Post-test)

Valuation IfFCFstandsforfreecashflow,Nistheyearforwhichtheterminalvalueiscalculated,risthediscountrate,andgistheterminalgrowthrate,whichoftheformulaeabovewillcalculatetheterminalvalue?

A:FCFN+1x(r-g)B:FCFN+1x(r+g)C:(FCFN+1)/(r+g)D:(FCFN+1)/(r-g)Note:FCFN+1+FCFNx(1+g)

DA17

Sameaspre-test

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Finance–DemographicandOpinionquestions

Question16(Pre-testonly)

Question#

Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions Participants Answer#

Question16

Haveyoucompletedfinancialaccountingandcorporatefinance(orequivalentcourses)inanMBAprogram?

Yes,IhavecompletedfinancialaccountinginanMBAprogram;Yes,IhavecompletedcorporatenanceinanMBAprogram.;No,butIhavecompletedfinancialaccountingorcorporatefinanceinanundergraduateorgraduateprogramotherthananMBA.;No,Ihavenotcompletedeitherofthesecourses(ortheirequivalents).

Smartlyonly A18

Question17

HaveyoucompletedanyotherfinancecoursesbesidestheonesaboveinanMBAoranotherprogram? open-ended

A19

Post-testquestions

Question# Question(Pre-test)

Answeroptions Participants Answer#

Question16

Doyouthinkthiswasafairassessmentofyourfinanceknowledge[gainedthroughSmartly]?

Yes;No SmartlyOnly

A20

Question17

Whyorwhynot?open-ended

A19

Question18

WhatdidyouthinkoftheSmartlycourseexperience?PleasetellusanythingpositiveornegativeabouttheSmartlycoursesthatyoutook. open-ended

A20

Question19

HowlikelyisitthatyouwouldrecommendSmartlytoafriendorcolleague? 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

A21

Question18

Weretheretopicscoveredinthisassessmentthatyouwerenotexposedtoduringbusinessschool?

Yes;No MBAOnly

A24

Question19

PleaseexplainmoreOpen-ended

A25

Question20

Haveyoucompletedfinancialaccountingandcorporatefinance(orequivalentcourses)inanMBAprogram?

Yes;

No

A22

Question21

HaveyoucompletedanyotherfinancecoursesbesidestheonesaboveinanMBAoranotherprogram?

Yes;

No

A23

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AppendixE:Screeners

1. Undergradlocation

2. UndergradSchoolAcceptanceRate

3. Whatisyourname?

4. Whatisyouremailaddress?(Wewillcontactyouatthisemailaddress)-Open-EndedResponse

5. HaveyoustartedorcompletedanycourseonSmartly?

6. Version1-Doyouhaveanundergraduatedegree?Version2&4-Doyouhaveanundergraduatedegreeorareyoucurrentlyenrolledinanundergraduateprogram?

7. Fromwhatuniversitydidyoureceiveyourundergraduatedegree?-Open-EndedResponse

8. Whatyeardidyougraduatefromyourundergraduateprogram?

9. Whatwasyourmajor?-Open-EndedResponse

10. Version1-DoyouhaveanMBA(orareyoucurrentlyenrolled)?ORVersion2&4-HaveyoueverbeenacceptedintoanMBAprogram?

11. Version1-Doyouhaveanon-MBAgraduatedegree?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.ORVersion2&4-DoyouhaveorareyoupursuingagraduatedegreethatisnotanMBA?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.

12. Version1-Doyouhaveanon-MBAgraduatedegree?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.-Pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduationORVersion2&4-DoyouhaveorareyoupursuingagraduatedegreethatisNoTanMBA?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.-Pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation

13. HaveyouevercompletedanyaccountingcoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.

14. HaveyouevercompletedanyaccountingcoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.-Pleasespecifycoursesandatwhatinstitutionsthecoursesweretaken.

15. Version4ONLY-HaveyouevercompletedanyfinancecoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.

16. Version4ONLY-HaveyouevercompletedanyfinancecoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.-Pleasespecifycoursesandatwhatinstitutionsthecoursesweretaken.

17. Version4ONLY-Howmanyfinancecoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?

18. Version4ONLY-Howmanyfinancecoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?-ThenamesofthefinancecoursesIcompletedare:

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19. AtwhatuniversitydidyoureceiveorareyoupursuingyourMBA?-Open-EndedResponse

20. WhatisyouryearofgraduationfromyourMBAprogram?

21. Howmanyaccountingcoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?

22. Howmanyaccountingcoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?-ThenamesoftheaccountingcoursesIcompletedare:

23. Sincegraduatingfromyourundergraduateinstitution,howmanyyearsofworkexperiencedoyouhave?

24. Whatisyourcurrentposition?-Open-EndedResponse

25. Inwhatcountrydoyoucurrentlylive?

26. Inwhatcountrydoyoucurrentlylive?-Other(pleasespecify)

27. Whatisyourcountryofcitizenship(listallthatapply)?-Open-EndedResponse

28. Whatisyourage?

29. Whatisyourgender?

30. Whichrace/ethnicitybestdescribesyou?(Pleasechooseonlyone.)

31. Whichrace/ethnicitybestdescribesyou?(Pleasechooseonlyone.)-Multipleethnicity/Other(pleasespecify)

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AppendixF:CourseSyllabi-AccountingI&II(128minutes)

AccountingI

Chapter01:BalanceSheetBasics(31minutes)

Lesson LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 IntroductiontotheBalanceSheet

Assets,liabilities,andequity;Thedual-aspectconcept 7minutes

Lesson2 FundamentalPrinciplesofAccounting

Theentityandmoney-measurementconcepts;Double-entrybookkeeping;Whichitemsyouwouldliketoseeonabalancesheet;Measuringassetsateitherfairvalueorcost

6minutes

Lesson3 AllaboutAssets GroupingassetsintoCurrentandNoncurrentAssetsonthebalancesheet;Currentassets,includingAccountsReceivable,Inventory,andPrepaidExpenses;Noncurrentassets,includingPP&E;Thegoing-currentconcept

6minutes

Lesson4 Liabilities&Equity Currentandnoncurrentliabilities,includingAccountsPayable,BankLoanPayable,andEstimatedTaxLiability;Equity,includingRetainedEarningsandTotalPaid-InCapital.

6minutes

Lesson5 SewYouThinkYouCanKnit:Smartcase

Applywhatyou'velearnedaboutthebalancesheettoanewbusiness 6minutes

Chapter02:ThePracticeofAccounting(37minutes)

Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 Debits&Credits HowtouseT-accountstokeeptrackofeverytransactionabusinessmakes;WheretorecorddebitsandcreditsonaT-account

5minutes

Lesson2 Revenues&Expenses HowtoreadandrecordtransactionsinRevenueandExpenseaccounts

5minutes

Lesson3 IncomeStatements Howtocalculatenetincome;Howtocreateanincomestatement 5minutes

Lesson4 GeneralJournal Howtorecordtransactionsinthegeneraljournal 4minutes

Lesson5 GeneralLedger Howtokeeptrackofallaccountbalanceswiththegeneralledger;Howtotransfertransactionsfromthegeneraljournaltothegeneralledger;Howtocloseoutrevenueandexpenses;Howtocreateabalancesheetandincomestatementusingthegeneralledger

6minutes

Lesson6 PracticeMakesPerfect

Reviewdebitsandcredits,T-accounts,RevenuesandExpenses,journals,andthegeneralledger

6minutes

Lesson7 WrestlingwithAccounts

Applywhatyou'velearnedaboutthebalancesheet,incomestatement,generaljournal,andgeneralledgertoanewbusiness

6minutes

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AccountingII

Chapter01:RealizingRevenuesandExpenses(27minutes)

Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 Revenueandcash Cashandrevenuedonotmeasurethesamething;Revenuesarerecordedwhentheyarereasonablycertain;revenuesarerealizedwhenproductsaredelivered

6minutes

Lesson2 Expensesandthematchingconcept

Expensesarematchedwiththerevenuestheygenerate;Thedifferencebetweenexpendituresandexpenses.

6minutes

Lesson3 RealizingRevenuesandExpensesovertime

Whentorecognizerevenuesandexpensesthatspanmultipleperiods. 5minutes

Lesson4 Baddebt Howtohandlebaddebt;Makingprovisionfordoubtfulaccounts 6minutes

Lesson5 FurnishingtheAccounts:Smartcase

Areviewoftheconservatism,realization,andmatchingconcepts 4minutes

Chapter02:AccountingforAssets(33minutes)

Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 InventoryandtheCostofGoodSold

Howtocalculatecostofgoodssold(COGS);First-in,first-out(FIFO)versuslast-in,last-out(LIFO)

6minutes

Lesson2 ManufacturingInventory

Howtoaccountforthemanufactureofinventory;Howtoassigncostofinventory

5minutes

Lesson3 Fixedassets&straight-linedepreciation

Reviewnon-currentandtangibleassets;Understandstraight-linedepreciation;Learnhowsalvagevalueaffectsdepreciation

7minutes

Lesson4 Otherdepreciationmethods

Howtouseunits-of-productionandaccelerateddepreciationmethods;Theimplicationsofaccelerateddepreciationandtaxes;Disposaloffixedassets

6minutes

Lesson5 Depletion&Amortization

Learnwhentousedepreciation,depletion,andamortization;Calculatedepletionandamortization

5minutes

Lesson6 GoldenAssets:Smartcase

Reviewtheaccountingofinventoriesanddepreciation 4minutes

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AppendixG:CourseSyllabi-Finance(111minutes)

Finance:TheTimeValueofMoney

Chapter01:TheTimeValueofMoney(PartI)(24minutes)

Lesson LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 TheTimeValueofMoney

Thevalueofmoneydependsontime;Whatthepresentvalueofacashflowis;Whatthefuturevalueofacashflowis.

5minutes

Lesson2 TheTimeline Basicconventionsusedtosolvetimevalueofmoneyquestions;Howtocreatetimelinesforsolvingtimevalueofmoneyproblems.

6minutes

Lesson3 MovingMoneyThroughTime:Compounding

Thedifferencebetweencompoundinganddiscounting;Howtocalculatethefuturevalue(FV)ofalumpsumofmoneyinoneyear’stime.

6minutes

Lesson4 MovingMoneyThroughTime:Discounting

Howtocalculatethepresentvalue(PV)ofalumpsumofmoneyfromoneyeartothefuture;Howtoquicklydistinguishbetweentheeffectsofcompoundinganddiscounting.

7minutes

Chapter02:TheTimeValueofMoney(PartII)(29minutes)

Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 MovingMoneyForwardOverMultipleYears

Howtosolvefuturevalueproblemsovermultipleyears;Howthecompoundingformulaandtimelinechangewhenmultipleyearsareinvolved.

6minutes

Lesson2 MovingMoneyBackwardOverMultipleYears

Howtosolvepresentvalueproblemsovermultipleyears;Howthediscountingformulaandtimelinechangewhenmultipleyearsareinvolved.

5minutes

Lesson3 MovingCashFlowsThroughTime

Howtomoveaseriesofcashflowstothepresent:Howtomoveaseriesofcashflowstothefuture.

7minutes

Lesson4 NetPresentValue Whatnetpresentvalue(NPV)is;Howtocalculatenetpresentvalue(NPV);Howtousenetpresentvalue(NPV)tomakeinvestmentdecisions

7minutes

Lesson5 FairTradeFinance(SMARTCASE)

Reviewthebasicconceptsformovingmoneythroughtime;HowtouseTVMconceptstomakeinvestmentdecisions.

4minutes

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CostofCapitalI-CapitalStructure

Chapter01-CostofCapital(23minutes)

Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 CostofDebt Whatcostofdebtis;Variablesthatinfluencethecostofdebt;Howtocomputethecostofdebt.

6minutes

Lesson2 CostofEquity Whatcostofequityis;Therelationshipbetweenriskandreward;Variablesthatinfluencethecostofequity;UsingtheCapitalAssetPricingModeltoestimatecostofequity.

6minutes

Lesson3 CapitalStructureandWACC

Whatcapitalstructureis;Howtocalculatetheweightedaveragecostofcapital;HowcompaniesandinvestorsuseWACCtodetermineinvestmentplans.

7minutes

Lesson4 CapitalConstruction(SMARTCASE)

Reallifeapplicationsofthecostofdebt,costofequity(CAPM),capitalstructure,andWeightedAverageCostofCapitalformulas.

4minutes

ValuationI-DiscountedFreeCashFlow

Chapter01-DiscountedFreeCashFlowValuation(35minutes)

Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete

Lesson1 DiscountedFreeCashFlowValuation

Basicstepsforfreecashflowvaluation 5minutes

Lesson2 FreeCashFlow Whatfreecashflowis;Whyweusefreecashflowindiscountedcashflow(DCF)valuation.

5minutes

Lesson3 CalculatingFreeCashFlow Howtocalculatefreecashflow;Howtocalculatenetoperatingprofitaftertax;Wheretofindrelevantfreecashflowinformationonacompany’sfinancialstatements.

7minutes

Lesson4 ForecastingFreeCashFlow Howtoforecastfreecashflow;Howtouseamulti-stagegrowthforecast;Howtocalculateterminalvalue.

6minutes

Lesson5 FreeCashFlowValuation Learntodiscountfreecashflowstothepresent;UseWACCinafreecashflowvaluation.

6minutes

Lesson6 HowMuchIsThatCatintheCatalog?(SMARTCASE)

Testyourknowledgeofdiscountedfreecashflowvaluation 6minutes

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AppendixH:Fairassessmentofsubjectmatterknowledge?-Studentcomments

MBAAccountingparticipantcomments

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes Allofthequestionswererelevanttogeneralaccounting. MBAAcctgStudent27

Yes Basicknowledgefocusedaroundcredit,debit,assets,liabilities,andretainedearnings.Onlyconcernisifyoudidnotrecallwhichsidepossessedthecreditsandwhichthedebitsyoucouldreversemostoftheexam

MBAAcctgStudent37

Yes Basicquestionsaskedalthoughsomepartsofmyknowledgeneededtoberefreshed.

MBAAcctgStudent41

Yes Becauseitcoveredawidevarietyofquestionsandtheinformationwaspresentedclearly.

MBAAcctgStudent34

Yes ConsistenttotopicslearnedalthoughIamrusty.Basiclevelaccountingmetricsandassessment.Thankyou!

MBAAcctgStudent17

Yes coveredbasicaccountingprinciplesthatwe'dlearned MBAAcctgStudent29

Yes CoveredmostallofthegeneralaccountingknowledgethatwastaughtinmyMBAaccountingcourse.

MBAAcctgStudent50

Yes coverstopicsreviewedinclass;formatofsomequestionsischallengingtofollowanddifferentthantypicalformatinclass.

MBAAcctgStudent33

Yes Diditoffthetopofmyhead MBAAcctgStudent15

Yes Fair,clearquestions. MBAAcctgStudent14

Yes Feltcomprehensiveandstraightforward MBAAcctgStudent40

Yes Forapersonwhotookonlyseveralaccountingcourses,thisassessmentisfairbecausetheyarenottrickyquestions.

MBAAcctgStudent20

Yes GreatQuestions MBAAcctgStudent42

Yes Havingtakenaccountingcoursesbefore,Iwassomewhatfamiliarwiththetermsandconcepts.EvenifIwasunfamiliarwiththetermsandconcepts,thiswouldhavebeenafairassessmentasIwouldimmediatelyknowwhatareasIneedtodevelop.

MBAAcctgStudent49

Yes Iamnotanaccountant,socanonlyanswerthemostbasicaccountingquestionswithoutreferences.Lackofpracticehasledtosomeerosion.

MBAAcctgStudent32

Yes Iguess,itisbesttotestknowledgewhenyouarenotjustrammingitupandtryingtounderstandtheconcepts.Thisconceptualcheckwasgood.Betterwouldbeifigettoknowhowiperformedandwhichareasineedtofocusmoreon.

MBAAcctgStudent12

Yes IhaveanaccountantandCFOforthis;) MBAAcctgStudent38

Yes Irecognizedalltheterms MBAAcctgStudent26

Yes Irememberedsomethings,andforgotothers.SoIwouldsayitwasfair. MBAAcctgStudent11

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MBAAccountingparticipantcomments(cont’d)

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes IntermsoftheMBAfirst-semestercorefinanceclass,yes;however,managerialaccounting(ratherthanthefundamentalsofT-accounts,etc.)seemstobemoreofanemphasis

MBAAcctgStudent36

Yes ItansweredquestionsthatIshould'velearnedinmyaccountingclass. MBAAcctgStudent19

Yes Itaskedaboutconceptsimportanttoaccounting,especiallythosethataremostfrequentlyappliedinreal-worldsettingsofreadingfinancialsandanalyzingaccountingtransactions.Theonlythingmissingwastestingmyunderstandingofwhatgoesintodifferentfinancialstatements(e.g.,incomestatement,cashflowstatement,etc.).

MBAAcctgStudent35

Yes itaskedthefundamentalsthatIlearnedinAccountingI MBAAcctgStudent45

Yes ItcoveredallthebasicaspectsonAccountinginasuccinctway. MBAAcctgStudent7

Yes itcoveredmanyconcepts MBAAcctgStudent48

Yes ItcoveredthetopicsIlearnedduringthelastquarter,andIwasabletoanswerwithreasonablelevelofconfidence.

MBAAcctgStudent23

Yes Itcoversthebasicaccountingconceptsoneshouldknow. MBAAcctgStudent43

Yes Itseemsprettyfairforashort,basicassessment.However,itdoesnotcovermanyoftheotherconceptslearnedinaccounting.

MBAAcctgStudent46

Yes Ittestedbasicaccountingprinciples MBAAcctgStudent8

Yes Itwasafairlygoodassessmentbutintherealworld,onecanalwaysrefertothebasicsagain.

MBAAcctgStudent30

Yes Itwasbasicaccounting,butfairasageneralassessment. MBAAcctgStudent16

Yes Itwasdifficulttounderstandhowtheimagesneededtobeexplainedinafewofthequestions,otherthanthatyes.

MBAAcctgStudent21

Yes Questionsincludedcoveredavarietyoftopics,assessingmyfoundationalknowledgeofaccounting.

MBAAcctgStudent6

Yes RememberingaccountprinciplesoffthetopofmyheadweredifficultbecauseIwasnotanaccountingmajor.SinceIwasunabletorefertonotesorothersources,ittookmelongertorespondtoquestions.However,thisassessmentwasarefresherofwhatIneedtolearnandapplyduringandaftermyMBAprogram.

MBAAcctgStudent10

Yes SeemedlikebasicquestionsbutnotsurprisedIdidn'trememberalltheconceptsfrommycoresemesterclass.It'spartofacurriculumthatmakesmelearntheverybasicsandI'veretainedsomebutnotenoughprobably.Ithinkonemoredeeperlevelclasswouldhavemadesenseformytotalcurriculum.

MBAAcctgStudent28

Yes Someeasy,someneedtothink MBAAcctgStudent51

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MBAAccountingparticipantcomments(cont’d)

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes Testedbalancesheetandbasicjournalentries MBAAcctgStudent44

Yes Theywereallconceptsthathadbeencoveredandthatshouldbeunderstoodifyou'vetakenanintroductoryaccountingclass

MBAAcctgStudent13

Yes Thistestedmeonvariousaspectsofaccounting. MBAAcctgStudent47

Yes uptothepar MBAAcctgStudent5

Yes Verybasicknowledgeinaccounting MBAAcctgStudent22

Yes Veryfocusedont-acounnts,whichwaslessafocusofourclass,butstilluseful MBAAcctgStudent24

Yes well,noteveryactuallyusestheTmethod,orweneverlearneditinclass,butIthinktheorganizationandjournalentryquestionswerefair

MBAAcctgStudent31

Yes Yes,becauseallofthisiscontentthatIhavecoveredinmyintroaccountingcourse(buthavenotrememberedeverything!).

MBAAcctgStudent18

No Ididn'tstudy MBAAcctgStudent39

No Istudiedaccountingwiththecasemethod,learningtomaketoughjudgmentsaboutuniqueaccountingsituationsthatactualcompaniesface.Idon'trememberTaccounts,butIdorememberprinciplesthatwouldbeappliedinactualsituations.

MBAAcctgStudent4

No Itfocusedalittletoomuchonbookkeeping,notmanagementaccounting.Idon'trememberwhichsideofa"T"accountdoeswhat!TheMBAaccountingknowledgeismoreabouthowtorecordrevenues/expenses,howtoreadfinancialstatements,assessacompany'sfinancialhealth,etc.ItfeltlikethereweretoomanyquestionsaboutLITERALLYrecordingtheseinthebooks.

MBAAcctgStudent9

No NeverlearnedFIFO/LIFO;Irememberoverallaccountingconceptsrelevanttodoingbusiness,butnottheformatsforjournalentriesverywellanymore

MBAAcctgStudent25

No Someofthequestionswerepoorlyworded.ItwasnotclearwhatIwassupposedtoanswer.

MBAAcctgStudent1

No There'smuchmoretoitthanrememberingeasy-to-referenceformulasbyheart. MBAAcctgStudent2

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SmartlyAccountingparticipantscomments

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes AllquestionswereverysimilartotheSmartlymodulesandseemedtobeafairoveralltestofknowledge.

SmartlyAcctgStudent31

Yes Becausehonestly,withmyeducationandexperience,Ididn'tknowadamnedthingaboutaccountingbeforethiscourse.

SmartlyAcctgStudent22

Yes Coveredfullrangeoftopics SmartlyAcctgStudent14

Yes Everythingtestedinthequizwastaughtinthelectureseries.Thankyou,thiswasaveryhelpfultooltogivemeabasicunderstandingofaccounting!

SmartlyAcctgStudent12

Yes Havingnobackgroundknowledge,Ihaveappliedthelearningfromthe2.5-3hoursofonlinelessonsonly.Hence,theassessmentwasfair

SmartlyAcctgStudent28

Yes Icompletedtheassesmentaloneandwithouttheuseofstudymaterials SmartlyAcctgStudent23

Yes Ididnotrefertoexternalresourcesandthoughtcarefullyabouteachquestion. SmartlyAcctgStudent25

Yes Ihavenothadathoroughaccountinglessoninmanyyears,sogoingthroughthecourseandtakingthispost-examshowsmycurrentunderstandingofwhatIretained.

SmartlyAcctgStudent2

Yes Ilearnedalotfromthecourseandappliedtomybestofability. SmartlyAcctgStudent29

Yes IrecognizedalltopicsIwasaskedabout. SmartlyAcctgStudent9

Yes IthinkithitonmostofthetopicsthatIhadlearnedthroughouttheclasses,andtheclassescomprisedmostofmyknowledge.

SmartlyAcctgStudent4

Yes Ithinkittestedtheconceptswell.Idon'treallygettheframingoftheLIFO/FIFOquestion,though. SmartlyAcctgStudent7

Yes Itcoveredmostofwhatthecoursescovered,andIimprovedalotfromstarttofinish. SmartlyAcctgStudent8

Yes ItcoveredtheconceptscoveredintheaccountingcoursesItookonSmartly. SmartlyAcctgStudent18

Yes Itfocusedonthehighlightsofwhatwelearnedinclass. SmartlyAcctgStudent16

Yes Itreferstosomeconceptofaccountingandsomeexamples. SmartlyAcctgStudent33

Yes Itwascomprehensiveandincludedrealisticexamples,similartowhatoneworkinginaccountingwouldhave.

SmartlyAcctgStudent32

Yes Mostofthequestionswerestraightforward SmartlyAcctgStudent3

Yes Questionswerebasedontopicslearnt. SmartlyAcctgStudent30

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SmartlyAccountingparticipantscomments(cont’d)

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes Relevantandchallengingquestionswereaskedtotestknowledgegainedfromthecourseware. SmartlyAcctgStudent21

Yes Similartocoursequestionswhichismyonlybasisforassessingaccountingknowledge SmartlyAcctgStudent24

Yes Simpleandconcise SmartlyAcctgStudent1

Yes TheclassesthroughSmartlyaremyonlyexposuretoaccounting.Irecognizetheconceptsintheassessmentfromtheblocksoninstruction,howeverIthinkitissafetosayIdidn'tmastertheconcepts.

SmartlyAcctgStudent15

Yes Thequestionsaskedexactlywhatwelearnedfromthecourse. SmartlyAcctgStudent26

Yes Thequestionscoveredawiderangeofaccountingtopics. SmartlyAcctgStudent19

Yes ThequestionswerebasedonthefundamentalaccountingcourseworkthatIlearnt SmartlyAcctgStudent27

Yes Thequestionswerenottootrickyandaccuratelycorrespondedtotheknowledgelearnedduringthelessons.

SmartlyAcctgStudent6

Yes TheSmartlycoursewascomprehensiveandpreparedmewell SmartlyAcctgStudent34

Yes Thiswasadecentassessment,butmyonlycommentisthatIhavealreadyseenthesequestionseitherintheSmartlymaterialorinthepre-assessmentmaterial.Newquestionsmightbeamorefairassessment,butachallengewouldbeassessingwhetherimprovementwasmade.

SmartlyAcctgStudent10

No Ihavenothadtoapplyitinahuman-to-humaninteraction.MyknowledgeiscircumstantialandIwouldnotfeelconfidentsharingthisknowledgeinreallife.

SmartlyAcctgStudent5

No IonlywrotenobecauseIdon'tlikeyesornoquestions.Ithinka"rating"questionwouldbebetter.Ithoughtforthemostpartitwasafairassessment.However,there'salotmoreofmaterialthatwasnotcovered.

SmartlyAcctgStudent11

No Ithinkit'sprettyspecifictotheSmartlytestenvironment.IthinktherearealotofthingsthatIknowthroughexperiencethatweren'texploredorcapturedhere,butsomemoretechnicalthingslikeLIFOvs.FIFOthatIwasunfamiliarwiththatare.

SmartlyAcctgStudent17

No I'mstillabitconfusedontheconcepts. SmartlyAcctgStudent20

No Yesandno.Whilethisassessmentaddressedthebasics,IdonotbelieveittackledthemorechallenginglessonslearnedinPart2ofthestudymaterials.

SmartlyAcctgStudent13

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MBAFinanceparticipantcomments

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes Basicknowledge MBAFinanceStudent52

Yes Covereddecentamountoftopics MBAFinanceStudent49

Yes Iagreewithresult.Questionswereformulatedwell,perhapstooeasyforafinancemajor MBAFinanceStudent44

Yes Ihonestlydon'treallyrememberthetest MBAFinanceStudent29

Yes Itassessedbasicbuildingconceptsoffinancethatshouldbelearntduringintroductorycourses. MBAFinanceStudent23

Yes Itcapturedtheessentialsanyfinanceprofessionalshouldknow..Ofcourse,thisonlyscratchesthesurface,butyoumanagedtocapturetheessentials.

MBAFinanceStudent1

Yes Itcoveredagreatdealofinformationthatwasactuallyrelevanttowhathasbeenlearned.deal MBAFinanceStudent14

Yes Itcoveredbasicprinciples. MBAFinanceStudent38

Yes Ittestedavarietyofconceptscoveredinmbacoursework MBAAcctgStudent6

Yes ItwasrepresentativeofwhatIlearnedinmyfinancecourses. MBAFinanceStudent27

Yes SeemedtoaskthesametypesofquestionsthatwewereaskedtolearnduringtheMBA.However,sometimesthequestionswerephrasedalittleconfusingly.Thosequestionswereprobablylessaccurateassessmentsofmyknowledge.

MBAFinanceStudent25

Yes Seemedtoaskveryspecificquestionstargetedatassessingtheleveltheresponderunderstandsordoesnotunderstandfinance,rangingfromeasytohardquestions,soyeahithoughtitwasfair.

MBAFinanceStudent54

Yes Similarquestionsdemonstratedincoursematerial MBAFinanceStudent30

Yes Theassessmentevaluatedbasicfinancialconcepts. MBAFinanceStudent24

Yes Thequestionitselfwassimplebutrequirecertainknowledgeaboutfinance. MBAFinanceStudent16

Yes Thequestionshavecoveredmostofthecorporatefinance MBAFinanceStudent18

Yes ThequestionsmadesensetomeandIthinkshouldbeabaseleavel MBAFinanceStudent42

Yes Thequestionsspannedabroadrange MBAFinanceStudent37

No Financeismoreaboutconceptualknowledgethanjustnumbers..Thisassessmentconcentratedmoreonquantitativestuff.

MBAFinanceStudent35

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MBAFinanceparticipantcomments(cont’d)

Fair? Comment Participant

No Ifeltthequestion'swerereallybasic.Ifit'ssupposedtomeasurebasicfinanceskills,spoton.Butoverallforsomeoneinfinanceitdoesn'tgiveproperassessmentasitwastoobasicandeasy.

MBAFinanceStudent7

No itaskedtheoriesanddefinitions MBAFinanceStudent46

No Itlookedmoreatspecificsinsteadofgeneralprinciples MBAFinanceStudent4

No ItwastooBasic MBAFinanceStudent39

No Questioncouldhavebeenharder MBAFinanceStudent43

No Tobehonest,Ican'tremember.IdothinkthatStanford'sfinancecurriculumiswhollyinadequateandstultifying.

MBAFinanceStudent50

No Tooeasy MBAFinanceStudent9

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SmartlyFinanceparticipantcomments

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes Allconceptswerecoveredinthelessons SmartlyFinanceStudent25

Yes BecauseItriedashardIcould.ButIamreallybadatthisstuff.Istilllearnedabit. SmartlyFinanceStudent39

Yes Coveredthetopics,majorconceptsandmethodologies SmartlyFinanceStudent34

Yes Iperformedbetterthanthefirsttest,andSmartlywasmyonlyinfluenceonthedifferenceinmyknowledge.

SmartlyFinanceStudent43

Yes IreallylikedhowIwasabletogethints,usemykeyboardentirelyandbeexposedtohelpfulandrelatableexamples.

SmartlyFinanceStudent13

Yes Irecognizedalotoftheterms.Theonlyissuewasmemorizingtheformulas,whichIdidn'tdo! SmartlyFinanceStudent11

Yes Irecognizedallofthetermsandequationsthatwerepresentedinthisquiz.Ididn'tnecessarilystudymynotesdiligentlybeforetakingthispost-assessment,though;IwouldhavedonebetterhadIstudiedasifitwereanactualclassorexam.

SmartlyFinanceStudent6

Yes Ithinkgivingusthesamequestionsbeforeandafterthecoursesisausefulwaytotestwhatwelearnedinthemiddle

SmartlyFinanceStudent22

Yes IthinkitaccuratelycoveredmostofthematerialthatwastaughtthroughSmartly! SmartlyFinanceStudent19

Yes Iwasablankslateforfinanceknowledge.SoanythingIhaveorhavenotlearnedcamedirectlyfromthisplatform!

SmartlyFinanceStudent10

Yes IwaspleasantlysurprisedthattheanswersIhadzeroclueaboutinthepre-assessment,Inowunderstood.

SmartlyFinanceStudent36

Yes itadequatelytestedallthetopicsandformulaeIjustlearnedthroughSmartly SmartlyFinanceStudent15

Yes ItaskedquestionsdirectlyrelatedtotheSmartlymaterial. SmartlyFinanceStudent1

Yes Itreviewedthematerialexactlyaspresented. SmartlyFinanceStudent4

Yes IttestedtheformulasIlearned.Idothinkthatyoushouldtestwhattheconceptsactuallymean. SmartlyFinanceStudent3

Yes Itwasdefinitelyfair.IthinkthattheSmartlycoursesdidnotaskforenoughanswerstoquestionswithouttheir"trick"support...ie:green/yellowfontleftroomforguessing...

SmartlyFinanceStudent7

Yes I'vegonethroughthecoursesinashorttimeandcompletedthetestwithnohelpfromoutsidesources.

SmartlyFinanceStudent20

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SmartlyFinanceparticipantcomments(cont’d)

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes Questionscoveredthematerialinthelessons SmartlyFinanceStudent21

Yes QuestionswerebasedontopicscoveredinSmartlycourses.Coursewasknowledgeableandenjoyable.

SmartlyFinanceStudent16

Yes Similarquestionformattothelessons. SmartlyFinanceStudent23

Yes SinceIdidn'tspecificallyprepareforit,itreflectsaccuratelytheextenttowhichIwouldbeabletorelyonthistraininginthefuture.

SmartlyFinanceStudent14

Yes TheassessmentallowedmetoshowwhichequationswhoseunderlyingrelationshipsIunderstood.IprobablygottheanswerswrongforquestionswhereIdidn'tfullyunderstandtheconcepttaughtthroughSmartly.

SmartlyFinanceStudent8

Yes TheassessmentcoverswhatIlearnfromthecourses. SmartlyFinanceStudent38

Yes TheassessmentquestionssumuptheSmartlycourses SmartlyFinanceStudent37

Yes Thecontentwasgenerallythesame. SmartlyFinanceStudent2

Yes Thecoursesweregoodbutattimestheywentquickly SmartlyFinanceStudent40

Yes Thematerialwascoveredinthelessons. SmartlyFinanceStudent17

Yes ThequestionsarebasedontheonlinecoursesIlearnedonSmartly. SmartlyFinanceStudent41

Yes Thequestionspertainedtothemateriallearnedthroughtheonlinemodules.Thesequestionswerenottoodifficult,butalsodidnotgiveawaytheanswers.

SmartlyFinanceStudent31

Yes Thequestionsweresimilartotheonesinthetraining SmartlyFinanceStudent29

Yes Thiscoveredpartsfromeachofthedifferentchapters/courses. SmartlyFinanceStudent35

Yes wentoverwhatthecoursesit SmartlyFinanceStudent5

Yes Yesbecausealltopicsquestionedwerecovered.IthinkIgotafewoftheproblemswrongwhereIhadtoapplyrealnumberstoformulasIhadpreviouslylearnedasIamstillnot100%familiarwitheachformula.

SmartlyFinanceStudent12

Yes Yes,itwaslessdifficultthanIthoughtitwouldbe SmartlyFinanceStudent28

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SmartlyFinanceparticipantcomments(cont’d)

Fair? Comment Participant

Yes yes.Ilearnedalot SmartlyFinanceStudent9

Yes Reviewoflessons SmartlyFinanceStudent42

No BecausethequestionsseemsverysimpleandsimilartoSmartlycontent.Itfeltlikethecoursetaughttothetest.

SmartlyFinanceStudent18

No Iwasabletofiguresomeoutfromtheanswers,buthonestlywouldnotbeabletothinkofitandeverythingaformulameanswithouttheanswer.

SmartlyFinanceStudent26

No Iworkedininvestmentbankingforalmosttwoyears SmartlyFinanceStudent33

No Morecalculationexamples,aswehadtroughclassescouldhavebeenincludedhere,like"realcase"examples.

SmartlyFinanceStudent30

No Simplytakingacourseonlinewithoutanyextrastudytimedoesnotaccuratelyreflectmyabilitytotakeinandlearninformation.Thequestionsinthefinalassessmentwereverydetailed.Itishardtorememberthesedetailsfromjusttakinganonlinecourseonce.

SmartlyFinanceStudent24

No Someoftheassesmentquestionswerepurelycommonsense.InPart3,Iwouldhavelovedtosolveoneofthecasesagainwhichwouldhavetrainedmefurtheronpracticalapplications.Also,Part3wasexactlythesameasPart1whichmeansIalreadyknewthecommonsenseanswerstomanyproblems.

SmartlyFinanceStudent27

No Thereshouldbecasebasedquestions SmartlyFinanceStudent32