TallyTacs: an intelligent transaction validation system for enhancing accuracy in accounting simulation projects

Accounting education at the foundational level often emphasizes conceptual understanding; however, students frequently encounter difficulties in constructing accurate and complete business transactions that meet assignment requirements. In UiTM basic financial accounting courses such as ACC106 and ACC117, students are required to prepare a first-month business transaction list as part of accounting simulation projects. Many submissions are incomplete, inconsistent, or incorrectly classified, which disrupts the entire accounting cycle, including journal entries, ledgers, and trial balance. This not only affects students’ performance but also increases lecturers’ workload due to manual verification. To address this issue, this study introduces TallyTacs, an Excel-based intelligent transaction validation system that ensures completeness, accuracy, and compliance at the initial stage. The system integrates a Transaction Builder, a Rule-Based Validation Engine, a Real-Time Feedback System, and a Lecturer Dashboard. TallyTacs adopts a preventive approach by detecting and correcting errors before students proceed further. This innovation enhances learning accuracy, promotes self-directed learning, and improves confidence in executing accounting tasks, while shifting the lecturer’s role toward facilitation. Furthermore, TallyTacs demonstrates strong commercialization potential as an adaptable digital solution that can be integrated into learning management systems, or developed into a standalone learning application, thereby contributing to more efficient and technology-enhanced accounting education.