VITA, the MTC and the modern accounting curriculum.

• Author: Long, Brett J.
• Position: Part 1 - Volunteer income tax assistance, modern tax curriculum

Several authors have discussed the benefits of "service learning" in the accounting curriculum and, more specifically, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This is described as a means of strengthening the accounting curriculum by engaging students in critical analysis and problem solving; see Still and Clayton, "Utilizing Service-Learning in Accounting Programs," 19 Issues in Acct'g Ed. 478 (November 2004). Service learning assignments have been proposed as a means of accomplishing the goals of the 1999 MCPA Core Competency Framework; see Gujarathi and McQuade, "Service Learning: Extending the Curriculum," 72 The CPA Journal 168 (February 2002). The VITA program is often mentioned in these discussions and has been proposed as a way to accomplish the active-learning objectives of Accounting Education Change Commission Position Statement No. 1; see Quinn et al., "Revitalizing VITA to Address AECC Position Statement No. 1 Objectives," 13 J. of Acct'g Ed. 479 (1995).The development of technical knowledge and of communication, team and computer skills has been attributed to this clinical tax program; see Porter and Bradwick, '"School-to-Work' Preparedness: Integrating Tax Clinics into the Business Curriculum," 27 TTA 505 (August 1996). The community service aspect of VITA provides an opportunity for accounting students to make a difference in their local communities; see Shafer and Park, "Giving Back: Pro Bono Accounting Services," 188 JOA 95 (November 1999).

Some have claimed that VITA's pedagogical merits are too significant for it to be offered only as a voluntary extracurricular activity; see Dunlevy and Sherman, "VITA: A Means to Compete for the Future" 70 PA CPA Journal 17 (Winter 2000). Others have compared university-sponsored VITA programs on the basis of whether academic credit was offered and found that resource issues were of more concern to the success of a VITA program; see Strupeck and Whitten, "Accounting Service-Learning Experiences and the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Programme: A Teaching Note," 13 Acct'g Ecl. 110 (March 2004). While most authors have been generally positive toward the program's educational and community benefits, one important potential problem has been identified: inadequate training and certification of volunteers has resulted in significant numbers of incorrectly prepared tax returns for taxpayers using the service; see Banoff and Lipton, "VITA Program Scores a Zero," 101 J. Tax'n 320 (November 2004).

The role played by VITA in the modern accounting curriculum remains a relevant issue. According to a 2004 American Taxation Association (ATA) survey, ATA members have a strong commitment to the VITA program; see Bauman et al., "Pro-Bono Tax Services: The Role of Tax Academics and Students," 36 TTA 500 (August 2005). The 79 faculty members who responded to the survey reported that they completed Federal and state tax returns for nearly 30,000 taxpayers; see ATA, "Pro-Bono Tax Services Taskforc--March 5, 2005, Executive Summary of Survey Resuits," available at http://aaahq. org/ ata/public-interest/reports/ATAPro-Bono-SurveyReport-March 2005.pdf. About half the faculty conducted their pro-bono work on campus, while the others worked off campus. A majority of the respondents indicated that they have a long-term commitment to VITA: 35% were involved for more than 10 years, and an additional 25% were involved over five years. But the survey also indicated that slightly less than 40% of participating students at university sponsored VITA sites received course credit for their involvement. Further, only 35% of the faculty involved indicated that they received recognition or support from their universities for their efforts. The primary reason offered by faculty for not offering pro-bono tax services was the lack of institutional recognition and support for this time-intensive activity; see id. at p. 2.

Any discussion of the VITA program's educational role must occur in the context of the current tax curriculum. A joint AICPA-ATA task force conducted a 2003 survey on the state of the tax curriculum; see Kern and Dennis-Escoffier, "Current Status of the Tax Curriculum in Accounting," 35 TTA 712 (November 2004). That survey found that while many undergraduate accounting programs offered electives, only 11.7% required two undergraduate tax courses. On average, 57.15% of accounting graduates took only one undergraduate tax course. Generally, they found that the first tax class emphasized property transactions and individual income taxation. Programs with only a single tax class covered individuals, property transactions and sometimes business entities. The survey found that the lecture method was the predominant teaching method used. The authors concluded that it was time to reconsider the tax curriculum in accounting programs.

The VITA program is a potential piece of the tax curriculum and, thus, a potential part of a university's accounting curriculum. Part I of this column describes the program in sufficient detail to inform those who make or influence curricular decisions on the...