The Ethics Interview: Can a Single Interview Exercise Help Students Experience the Benefits of Professional Engagement?

Professional engagement helps students develop professional judgment, connect their coursework to the “real world,” and explore accounting-related careers. Internships often provide a route to these benefits, but some students cannot complete internships. The Pathways Commission calls for new, creative approaches to professional engagement. In the ethics interview exercise, students engage with professionals for a single interview. Following the intentional learning model, students complete activities before and after the interview. They select the interviewee, prepare questions about ethics and topics of personal interest, organize and conduct the interview, and reflect on the experience. We implemented the exercise in different accounting courses at universities in the United States and Bolivia, using both face-to-face and virtual interviews. We applied principles of phenomenology for assessment. Results indicate the exercise helps students experience the benefits of professional engagement. The exercise requires little modification to existing courses and can be modified to support varied learning goals.