High school and post-secondary students test their accounting skills with The Accounted app

EDMONTON, Nov. 4, 2014 /CNW/ - When hotshot detective ACE is confronted by puzzles and accounting clues, she just has to follow the case. The mystery unfolding in 1940 New York challenges ACE's accounting knowledge every step of the way. ACE realizes that not everything is what it seems as she dives deeper into the dark world of notorious mobster, Tony Zoots.

The Alberta Accountants Unification Agency, Athabasca University and Rocketfuel Games announce the release of The Accounted for Apple iPhone® iPad® and Android®. By downloading the app from the iTunes or Google Play stores, teens and young adults will enjoy a fun, engaging and educational mystery with an accounting twist.

Notable app features include:

• Puzzles - Solve the puzzles and find the clues to get ACE to the next level. Can you help her solve the case?
• Accounting - Challenge your knowledge of accounting. Can you complete the entire classified balance sheet and get to the bottom of Tony Zoots' business?
• Educational – Developed in direct consultation with Athabasca University and the Alberta Accountants Unification Agency.

"Our goal was to introduce high school and post-secondary accounting students to an accounting game driven by a 1940s film noir style and based on forensic accounting themes," says Jason Suriano, CEO & Creative Director of Rocketfuel Games, the app producer."

"The Accounted is a wonderful way to introduce students to the world of accounting and finance," says John Carpenter, CEO of the Alberta Accountants Unification Agency. "It can spark their interest in pursuing an accounting career path, but more importantly, it also helps develop financial literacy, a cause we support through our My Money, My Future publications and other resources."

"The best learning happens when students are active and engaged. We can push and pull learning by using highly engaging web-based tools supplemented by peers working together in virtual spaces all supported by teachers. Gone are the days when students were content sitting in a classroom or in front of their computer listening to a professor talk. Games are one vehicle for self-directed learning because the gamer is motivated to continue. They learn without knowing they are learning. My hope is that The Accounted app will be successful in kindling interest and excitement in learning more about accounting," says Tilly Jensen, Assistant Professor of Accounting at the Faculty of Business, Athabasca University.

The Accounted is a free download, now available on the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores.

About the Alberta Accountants Unification Agency
In Alberta, the Certified General Accountants of Alberta, the Certified Management Accountants of Alberta and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta are working toward unification under the new Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation. The CPA Prerequisite Education Program began in 2013 and the CPA Professional Education Program (certification level) begins in 2014. Visit albertaaccountants.org for more information.

About Athabasca University's Faculty of Business
Athabasca is a recognized leader in international online education. AU offered the world's first fully interactive online Executive MBA program in 1994, it is Canada's largest MBA and ranks among the world's best. AU continues to build a tradition of excellence in business and management education, launching Canada's first online Doctorate in Business in 2009. Nearly 20,000 students enroll in Business courses each year with Athabasca.
Visit business.athabascau.ca for more information.

About Rocketfuel Games
Rocketfuel Games is an award winning digital agency specializing in websites, mobile apps and interactive games. We create exceptional experiences for our customers and clients and have won several awards for our work such as the Canadian New Media Award for Most Promising New Company, KidScreen Summit international "Pitch It!" award, Children's Technology Review, Editors Choice award and multiple digital advertising awards for our work in the education, marketing and communications sectors. For more information, visit our website rocketfuelgames.ca

SOURCE: Alberta Accountants Unification Agency

Media Contacts: Jason Suriano, CEO & Creative Director, Rocketfuel Games, 780.994.4237, [email protected]; Magdalena Matracki, Media, Public Relations, Alberta Accountants Unification Agency, 403.714.1463, [email protected]