Accounting Simulator - Dual-Perspective Learning Tool

Try it live: Streamlit Community Cloud App
View the code: GitHub Repository

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About

This project is an interactive Streamlit simulator that teaches one business event from two angles:

• The Auditor's View (financial accounting / GAAP reporting)
• The CFO's View (managerial accounting / decision support)

Learners make a first-pass guess, then reveal guided feedback and side-by-side analysis.

Built by an MBA student with a background in IT, this tool was created to bridge the gap between classroom accounting theory and the decision-making reality faced by executives. Every scenario forces you to reconcile what the books say with what a manager actually needs to know.

Current feature set

• Engine-driven random scenario generation via AccountingScenarioEngine in engine.py
• 14 built-in scenarios across financial accounting and managerial decision contexts
• A focal account prompt for debit/credit and increase/decrease reasoning
• Decision-mode scenarios that intentionally produce no journal entry until execution
• Explicit "Today" vs "Future Period" effects for accounting and cash flow timing
• Four managerial lens categories with definitions shown in the UI
• Teaching feedback for common misconceptions after reveal
• Modern warm light-themed Streamlit UI in app.py

Managerial lenses used in the app

• Cash vs. Accrual Timing
• Cost Behavior
• Incremental Analysis
• Working Capital & Liquidity

Scenario catalog

Cash vs. Accrual Timing

• Prepaid Insurance
• Machine Purchase and Depreciation
• Credit Sale
• Cash Received Before Service
• Accrued Wages
• Multi-Period Subscription

Working Capital & Liquidity

• Inventory Purchase on Credit
• Early Payment Discount

Incremental Analysis

• Bad Debt Estimate
• Special Order Decision
• Make vs. Buy Decision

Cost Behavior

• R&D Spend - Sunk Cost
• Automation - Fixed vs. Variable Cost Tradeoff
• Production Volume Increase - Fixed Cost Dilution

How the learner flow works

1. Generate a scenario.
2. Make an accounting guess:
   • Transaction scenarios: choose debit/credit direction and whether the focal account increases or decreases.
   • Decision scenarios: decide whether a journal entry exists today.
3. Choose the most relevant managerial lens.
4. Reveal analysis to see:
   • Guess feedback and teaching notes
   • The Auditor's View: journal lines and net income timing
   • The CFO's View: lens rationale, metric output, and cash timing

Run locally

1. Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Launch the app:

streamlit run app.py

Requirements

Current runtime dependency:

• streamlit (see requirements.txt)

Project files

• app.py: Streamlit UI, state management, guessing workflow, and rendering
• engine.py: data models, lens taxonomy, and scenario generation logic
• requirements.txt: Python dependencies

Suggested future enhancements

• Persist learner progress and streaks in session or local storage
• Add scenario filtering by lens or topic
• Add instructor mode with deterministic seeds
• Add difficulty settings and adaptive feedback depth