The business law course: Call for rejuvenation of vital piece in the accounting curriculum

The words of Robert E. Stone in the 1930s reflected the importance of business law courses in the undergraduate business curriculum: “It has sometimes seemed to me that which is most practical, useful, and beneficial in the... [ view full abstract ]

The words of Robert E. Stone in the 1930s reflected the importance of business law courses in the undergraduate business curriculum: “It has sometimes seemed to me that which is most practical, useful, and beneficial in the education of a business student is a proper appreciation of the importance of certain fundamental truths, and that nowhere can such be learned so well as in a law course.” The disruption in the securities markets in the early 20^th century served as a catalyst for regulatory reform and hence the need to study the business law component in institutions of higher learning. Dow Votaw covered the importance of business law courses in the undergraduate business curriculum in an article from 1960--“to remove law from the education of the businessman for the purpose of broadening that education is much like dumping a blimp's helium in order to lighten the load. Subotnik writing in 1987 stated “. . .accounting education, considered both as a self-contained discipline and as a means of preparing practitioners, could benefit from a dose of the methodology that underlies legal education.” More recently Menter and his colleagues offered arguments supporting both more and less business law the in the accounting curriculum.  This paper addresses the need for appropriate business law emersion into the educational path of the accountant.