Using Deferred Income Taxes As A Link Between Intermediate Accounting And Corporate Income Tax Courses

Abstract

The accounting curriculum (in fact business colleges in general) often is accused of operating in silos. As a result, it is claimed that students fail to see the connections among the assignments in their separate course work and the necessity to have an integrated understanding to function effectively in the real-world. As a response to the criticism, we use deferred income taxes as a means to help students bridge the gap between their Intermediate Accounting classes and their Corporate Income Tax course. As a bonus, students also: 1.) better understand the difficult topic of deferred income taxes, 2.) better understand Schedule M-1on the corporate tax return, and 3.) gain experience in documentation via the preparation of accounting work papers.