Design Thinking Implications for Accounting Pedagogy in the Brave, New DeFi World

Abstract

Abstract Rapidly evolving fintech and decentralized finance environments present an opportunity to reconsider how best to teach financial reporting, internal controls, auditing, taxation, and accounting information systems. Industrial firms have found considerable success in growing the customer value/cost ratio by applying “design thinking” (DT) to product and service innovation. DT may serve a similar, value-enhancing role in curriculum development and accounting pedagogy. The authors demonstrate the application of DT to the accounting curriculum using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as an illustration. This chapter defines NFTs and DT, proposes a DT-based curriculum development model, and offers specific recommendations for teaching about NFTs in the classroom.