How to Tutor in Introductory Accounting

Teaching someone basic accounting ideas and procedures is nothing new. Financial professionals often engage in this type of instruction when helping persons set up budgets or plan investments. If approached to teach the basics of accounting in a one on one setting, there are a few basic tools and approaches that will serve the task well.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Accounting Textbook or Instructions
• Accounting Software
• Schedule of Regular Sessions
• Homework Assignments
• Tests and/or Quizzes

1. Determine the student’s familiarity and comfort level with accounting. This will help provide the starting point in the education process. Assessing the level of competence also helps to prevent wasting time going over information the student has already mastered.
2. Schedule regular sessions. Set up specific dates and times to meet and go over some aspect of the accounting process. The sessions may be scheduled weekly or more often based on the time constraints of tutor and pupil.
3. Create lesson plans. A lesson plan is simply an outline of what will be covered in each session. Often, the content for each lesson is correlated with chapters in the textbook. This allows both tutor and pupil to know in advance what will be covered and when.
4. Assign homework. Each homework assignment should be relevant to information covered in the most recent session. Allow the student to complete the assignments using the accounting software and print out reports to show the placement of entries and transactions.
5. Use quizzes and exams to ensure that the information is being assimilated properly. The use of pop quizzes and regular testing may be more commonly employed in classroom settings, but it can be equally effective in a tutoring situation. Both tutor and student can see the tests as a chance to measure progress and also uncover any points that may need further explanation before proceeding.
6. Entertain questions. Always make sure the student feels free to ask any question related to the course of study. This will help to ensure that communication between tutor and student remains positive and complete.

Tips & Warnings

• Select a specific setting for the tutoring sessions and stick to it. This will help provide a sense of continuity for both tutor and student.
• Avoid becoming too casual during the sessions. This will make the sessions disjointed and run longer than necessary. Focus on the learning process first, then socialize afterward if both parties wish to do so.