Using role playing in a tax classroom

Editor: Annette Nellen, Esq., CPA, CGMA

Role playing is a pedagogical tool used to enhance engagement and knowledge retention. Within the tax classroom, role playing can be used to teach soft skills that are greatly desired among accounting professionals. A 2023 AICPA poll revealed 99% of responding accounting firms wanted CPA candidates to increase their soft skills (see “AICPA Poll Reveals Skills Accounting Firms Seek in New Graduate Hires” (March 8, 2023)).

Contrary to a commonly held belief that accountants merely crunch numbers, tax accountants often serve as individuals’ most trusted financial advisers. The ability to effectively communicate with clients, providing guidance and conveying complex information, is an important skill to learn. Such effective communication also involves a variety of other soft skills.

This column summarizes the accounting professional’s relevant soft skills and the basis for role playing in education. Further, this column discusses a class activity that uses role playing to allow students to practice client communication and increase their ability to articulate basic tax rules. This column also provides suggestions for using this class activity in a professional setting.

Importance of soft skills for accounting professionals

Soft skills play a crucial role in the accounting workplace, complementing technical skills to enhance both individual and organizational performance. There are several key reasons why soft skills are important in accounting. First, accounting professionals need great communication skills to convey complex financial information clearly and effectively to colleagues, management, and clients, many of whom may not have a strong financial background. Whether through reports, presentations, or meetings, strong communication skills help in making financial data more accessible and actionable.

Accounting professionals also need to work collaboratively with others, whether in an internal department setting or with external constituents. The ability to work well with others, share knowledge, and collaborate on solving problems is essential for project success and organizational cohesion.

Accounting professionals need to be good problem-solvers and critical thinkers. Accounting professionals often encounter challenges such as discrepancies in financial records or the need to optimize processes. Strong problem-solving and critical thinking skills enable accountants to analyze situations, evaluate data from multiple angles, and find effective solutions. Good ethical judgment and integrity are fundamental soft skills in accounting due to the fiduciary responsibility accounting professionals have over financial reporting. Ethical judgment and integrity help professionals maintain transparency, comply with legal standards, and protect an organization’s reputation.

For those in public accounting or client-facing roles, relationship-building skills are also critical. Accounting professionals need to maintain trust, respond to client needs, and provide a high level of service. This helps in retaining clients and fostering long-term professional relationships. For those senior accounting professionals in managerial roles, leadership and mentoring skills are key to guiding teams, developing junior staff, and fostering a positive work environment. Good leaders inspire and motivate their teams, improving performance and job satisfaction.

Additionally, accounting professionals often work under tight deadlines. Being well organized and managing time efficiently allows them to meet deadlines while ensuring accuracy and quality in their work. The accounting field is constantly changing — whether through regulatory updates, tax law revisions, or advancements in technology (e.g., automation and artificial intelligence). Therefore, accounting professionals must be adaptable to keep pace with these changes and to integrate new tools and methods into their work processes.

Soft skills are essential in creating a well-rounded accounting professional who can navigate not only the technical aspects of their position but also the interpersonal and organizational dynamics of the workplace. These skills can significantly impact career advancement and the overall success of the accounting function within an organization.

Importance of role playing in pedagogy

Role playing is an important pedagogical tool that enhances the learning experience in several areas by providing a dynamic and interactive approach to education. First, role playing transforms passive learning into an active process by requiring students to immerse themselves in real-world scenarios. This approach allows students to learn by doing, which promotes better retention of knowledge and a deeper understanding of concepts.

Role-playing activities allow students to practice verbal and nonverbal communication, negotiation, and collaboration, which helps them improve their ability to articulate ideas, listen to others, and work effectively in teams — skills that are valuable in both academic and professional settings. Role playing also presents students with complex, real-life problems that require critical thinking to solve. By simulating scenarios such as business negotiations, legal cases, or ethical dilemmas, students learn to assess situations, weigh options, and make informed decisions under pressure.

Allowing students to take on different roles, such as a customer, manager, or patient, encourages them to see situations from other perspectives. This fosters empathy and helps students develop a more well-rounded view of human behavior, which in turn enhances their ability to relate to others in diverse situations.

Role playing can also make learning more enjoyable and engaging. Allowing students to actively participate in the learning process can increase their motivation and interest in the subject matter. The interactive nature of role playing can also reduce anxiety and create a more relaxed learning environment.

Role playing provides a safe environment for students to simulate real-world experiences without the associated risks. This is especially useful in fields such as business, law, health care, and education, where students can practice professional skills, experiment with different strategies, and make mistakes without real-world consequences. By involving both cognitive and emotional processes, students are better able to internalize knowledge. When students actively engage in role-playing activity, they are more likely to remember what they learned, compared to passive learning methods such as lectures or reading. In addition, role playing encourages students to be creative in their approaches to problem-solving. Students can explore different behaviors, responses, and strategies, allowing for innovative thinking and adaptability in complex situations.

In role-playing exercises, students often receive immediate feedback from peers or instructors, which helps students recognize areas for improvement and refine their approach in real time. Role-playing exercises also promote self-reflection as students evaluate their performance after the activity. Since role playing often involves group work, social interaction and learning from peers also occurs. Through collaboration, students can exchange ideas, discuss different approaches, and learn from each other’s experiences, enhancing their collective understanding.

For many students, practicing skills in a safe, controlled environment through role playing builds their confidence and allows them to gain familiarity with challenging scenarios and to develop the competence to handle similar situations in real life. The confidence gained from practice in real-world activities should prove helpful for both job interviews and the start of students’ accounting careers.

Role playing can also serve as an effective assessment tool by providing instructors with the opportunity to observe how students apply theoretical knowledge to practical situations. Role-playing activities can reveal students’ strengths and weaknesses in real-world contexts, helping educators tailor future instruction to address specific needs.

In summary, role playing is a powerful pedagogical tool that supports a variety of learning objectives. It nurtures the development of critical skills such as communication, problem-solving, and empathy while making learning more engaging and reflective of real-world experiences.

Role-playing activity for the tax classroom

The following role-playing activity is designed for an introductory tax classroom. With a class size of 20 to 30 students, the project can be completed over three 50-minute class sessions with approximately four hours of outside work. Before completing the activity, students will need to have a basic understanding of federal Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and the calculation of taxable income. The activity is best completed near the end of a student’s first undergraduate tax course.

Step 1: Create a unique tax scenario

Students will form groups of two or three to create a fictional tax scenario. Powell et al. highlighted the importance of allowing creativity in role-playing scenarios (Powell et al., “Fostering Creativity in Audit Through Co-Created Role-Play,” 29 Accounting Education 605 (November 2020)). Students who were able to bring their own ideas and interests into a project reported higher levels of engagement and learning.

Each scenario must include five unique facts that require applying tax laws and concepts covered in the introductory tax course. The scenario should provide sufficient details to enable completion of the first two pages of an individual income tax return (Form 1040) and at least two supporting schedules.

Step 2: Role playing the client—tax preparer interaction

In each group, students take on specific roles: one as the tax preparer and the other(s) as the client(s). To enhance the exercise’s authenticity, encourage students to dress appropriately for their roles. The presentation will simulate an initial meeting between a tax preparer and client(s). Each group delivers an eight-to-10-minute oral presentation in front of their classmates, demonstrating a professional interaction based on their created tax scenario. This role playing should showcase the student’s ability to communicate fundamental tax concepts.

Step 3: Complete a tax return based on the tax scenario

Following the role-playing presentation, each group must submit a written assignment. This should include a summary of their tax scenario that lists the five relevant facts incorporated into the tax return. Additionally, the submission must contain a completed Form 1040 (pages 1 and 2) and two supporting schedules. This written component demonstrates the students’ ability to translate their verbal presentations into accurate tax forms.

Variations of the role-playing activity

A variation on the original role-playing activity involves the professor taking on the role of the client. Each student is provided with the same five-fact tax scenario. Before class, students should study the facts and be prepared to play the role of a tax preparer. Based on the class size, the professor can randomly select students to participate in the scenario. This variation allows the professor to ask challenging questions and dig deeper into the student’s tax knowledge.

Another variation involves using platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom, or other virtual platforms that allow for recording. Instead of presenting in a classroom, students will record their client—tax preparer role-playing activity in an online collaboration. This enables the professor to watch the recording asynchronously and evaluate the quality of the interaction. Recording the role playing also allows students to see and assess their own performance.

These variations could also incorporate the written tax form assignment.

Use of role playing in a professional tax practice

Tax accountants of all experience levels can benefit from the use of role playing in a professional setting. The ability to clearly and succinctly explain difficult tax topics to clients is a challenge. Within organizations, role playing can help foster employee development. It can be used to model appropriate client interactions. When new tax laws are introduced, role playing can demonstrate how staff should communicate those changes to clients. Additionally, role playing can be implemented easily in new employee training to model appropriate communication with clients, both on the phone and in person.

Role-playing scenarios can offer an alternative way to communicate difficult topics during staff meetings and encourage staff interaction. Researchers have found a trio role-playing format is effective for engaging participants (see Cannon, Douglas, and Butler, “Developing Coaching Mindset and Skills,”6 Management Teaching Review 330 (December 2021)). In a trio format, participants assume three roles: the client, tax preparer, and observer. The observer’s role is to provide feedback on the scenario and foster discussion on ways to improve.

A major benefit of using role playing in a professional development setting is the ability to learn from peers who may approach situations differently (see Pilnick et al., “Using Conversation Analysis to Inform Role Play and Simulated Interaction in Communications Skills Training for Healthcare Professionals: Identifying Avenues for Further Development Through a Scoping Review,”18 BMC Medical Education 267 (November 2018)). Role playing provides the opportunity for participants to think on their feet, receive real-time feedback, and simulate real-world experiences in a safe environment.

Role playing results in improved soft skills

While role playing may seem time-consuming in an already busy classroom or workplace, the value of practice and the opportunity to learn in a safe environment generally offers deeper learning and retention and improves important soft skills that can improve confidence and capabilities.

Contributors

Vicky Johnson, CPA, DBA, is an assistant professor at the University of Mary Hardin—Baylor in Belton, Texas. Frances Ann Stott, CPA, DBA, is an associate professor, and David M. Stott, CPA, Ph.D., is director, both in the School of Accountancy of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Annette Nellen, Esq., CPA, CGMA, is a professor and director of the graduate tax program (MST) in the Department of Accounting and Finance at San José State University in San José, Calif., and is a past chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee. For more information about this column, contact thetaxadviser@aicpa.org.