SINGAPORE - Professor Seow Poh Sun, an associate professor of Accounting (Education) and associate dean (Teaching and Curriculum) at the Singapore Management University (SMU); and SMU senior lecturer Wong Suay Peng of the School of Accountancy were honoured with the 2015 Innovation in Accounting Education Award from the American Accounting Association (AAA) last month.

This is the first time in the history of the AAA that the award had been presented to professors of a university outside of America.

The award, sponsored by the Ernst & Young Foundation, was given to Prof Seow and Ms Wong in recognition of their outstanding achievement in innovative teaching in the use of a mobile game app. Their work, Accounting Challenge: Mobile-Gaming App For Learning Accounting, is the first mobile-gaming app developed for teaching financial accounting.

It aims to enhance learning of accounting by engaging students to play and learn accounting on the go, anywhere at any time. “I share this honour with my partner in this project Suay Peng. To receive this prestigious Innovation in Accounting Education Award, being recognised by your peers halfway across the world for your accomplishments is one of the highest honours a faculty member can receive, and I am deeply grateful,” said Prof Seow.

“I’d also like to thank my colleagues at Singapore Management University, without whose support, this achievement would not be possible.”

The app is an innovative approach to introduce, explain and illustrate financial accounting, and has proven successful in helping students understand this type of accounting. Prof Seow added: “The Accounting Challenge (ACE) app is freely available in iPhone/iPad and Android version. In June, the total number of download for ACE was 15,110, spanning 90 countries. I hope more students will benefit from the app and learn accounting on the go.”

“The Accounting Challenge is an exciting innovation that meets the needs of a fast-changing learning environment. The selection committee enthusiastically felt Poh Sun and Suay Peng stood out among a significant list of very well-deserving entries, based on the criteria set forth,” said Guido Geerts, professor of accounting and management information systems and Ernst and Young Faculty Scholar at the University of Delaware and the chair of the committee that selected the Innovation in Accounting Education Award winners.

The annual Innovation in Accounting Education Award is intended to encourage innovation and improvement in accounting education, and submissions are judged by their innovation, demonstrated educational benefits and adaptability by other academic institutions or to other situations.

The American Accounting Association promotes worldwide excellence in accounting education, research and practice. Founded in 1916 as the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting, its present name was adopted in 1936. The Association is a voluntary organisation of persons interested in accounting education and research.