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Effect of Depreciation Accounting Exercises on Asset Valuation Skills among Accounting Education Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Depreciation accounting is an important component of financial accounting because it affects the measurement of non-current assets, determination of profit, calculation of carrying amounts, and presentation of financial information. Accounting education students therefore need practical skills to determine depreciation accurately, select appropriate depreciation methods, calculate depreciation expenses, assess changes in asset values, and interpret the effect of depreciation on financial statements. However, conventional approaches to teaching depreciation accounting may emphasize theoretical explanations and routine calculations without providing sufficient opportunities for students to apply depreciation concepts to realistic asset valuation situations. Depreciation Accounting Exercises provide students with structured opportunities to work with asset records, acquisition costs, useful lives, residual values, depreciation methods, asset disposals, revaluations, impairment considerations, and changes in asset values. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of depreciation accounting exercises on asset valuation skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Experiential Learning Theory, Constructivist Learning Theory, and Mastery Learning Theory. Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning through concrete experience, reflection, conceptualization, and active experimentation, providing a suitable framework for students' engagement with practical depreciation activities. Constructivist Learning Theory emphasizes active participation, problem-solving, prior knowledge, and knowledge construction through meaningful learning experiences. Mastery Learning Theory emphasizes repeated practice, formative assessment, corrective feedback, and opportunities for learners to achieve clearly defined competencies. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how depreciation accounting exercises may influence students' asset valuation skills. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible accounting education students. Depreciation accounting exercises will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of practical exercises, determination of depreciable amount, useful-life estimation, residual-value assessment, straight-line depreciation, reducing-balance depreciation, units-of-production depreciation, sum-of-the-years'-digits where applicable, accumulated depreciation, carrying amount, depreciation adjustments, changes in useful life, changes in residual value, asset disposals, gain or loss on disposal, asset revaluation, impairment considerations, depreciation schedules, financial statement effects, spreadsheet-based exercises, accounting software, case studies, lecturer guidance, feedback, and opportunities for repeated practice. Students' asset valuation skills will be assessed using indicators such as determination of asset cost, calculation of depreciable amount, selection of appropriate depreciation methods, calculation of annual depreciation, determination of accumulated depreciation, calculation of carrying amounts, preparation of depreciation schedules, treatment of asset disposals, calculation of gains or losses on disposal, evaluation of changes in asset values, interpretation of revaluation information, recognition of impairment-related effects where applicable, preparation of relevant accounting entries, analysis of financial statement effects, and ability to apply depreciation principles to realistic asset valuation situations. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized asset valuation skills tests, practical depreciation tasks, asset valuation scenarios, case studies, spreadsheet exercises, computerized accounting activities, competency-based assessment rubrics, observation checklists, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental design is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, depreciation learning experiences, practical exercise exposure, and levels of asset valuation skills. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of depreciation accounting exercises on students' asset valuation skills. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, asset valuation skill scores before and after exposure to depreciation accounting exercises may be compared with those of a comparison group receiving conventional financial accounting instruction to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that depreciation accounting exercises have a significant positive effect on asset valuation skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. Students who regularly participate in structured depreciation accounting exercises are expected to demonstrate stronger abilities to determine asset costs, calculate depreciation, select appropriate depreciation methods, prepare depreciation schedules, determine carrying amounts, account for asset disposals, and interpret the financial statement effects of depreciation than students exposed primarily to conventional lecture-based instruction. Practical exercises may help students understand how depreciation affects asset values, reported profits, accumulated depreciation, and financial position. Exposure to different depreciation scenarios may strengthen students' ability to evaluate changes in useful lives and residual values and recognize the implications of different depreciation methods for financial reporting. Spreadsheet-based and computerized accounting exercises may further improve students' ability to calculate depreciation efficiently, maintain asset records, and analyse asset information. However, inadequate access to practical accounting resources, limited accounting software, large class sizes, insufficient instructional time, limited lecturer training, and inadequate exposure to realistic asset records may reduce the effectiveness of depreciation accounting exercises. The study therefore expects structured, practical, progressively challenging, and technology-supported depreciation accounting exercises to contribute significantly to improved asset valuation skills among accounting education students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on depreciation accounting exercises, asset valuation skills, accounting education, financial accounting education, practical accounting competence, experiential learning, constructivist learning, mastery learning, accounting pedagogy, non-current asset accounting, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, accounting firms, employers, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening practical financial accounting education. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for increasing practical depreciation accounting activities, developing realistic Nigerian asset valuation cases, integrating spreadsheet and computerized accounting systems into depreciation exercises, strengthening students' understanding of asset valuation and financial statement effects, training accounting educators in practical asset accounting instruction, using competency-based asset valuation assessments, providing continuous corrective feedback, and creating opportunities for accounting education students to develop the practical asset valuation skills required for effective accounting practice in Nigeria.

Keywords: Depreciation accounting exercises, asset valuation skills, accounting education students, financial accounting education, non-current assets, practical accounting competence, experiential learning, mastery learning, accounting pedagogy, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.