Search results

This research study examined accounting and business administration education curricula at foreign universities and tested a model for measuring the level of management technology attained by a country. The primary focus of this research was the role of accounting and business education as input for a measurement model designed to aid in assessing the potential for the transfer of management technology. A factor analysis‐based technometric model to measure a country's degree of management technology sophistication was utilised. The model placed newly industrialised countries including Korea, India, China, Brazil, and Mexico at the top of the scale even though these countries do not have the highest Gross National Product (GNP) per capita. These results suggest that per capita GNP may not be a reasonable indicator of accounting and management technological potential, and that the technometric model utilised in this study may provide more accurate information regarding the transfer of accounting and management technology.

There is limited research that utilizes the consequential‐conflictual (CC) approaches, which utilized radical orientation of double loop, second order and reorientation of organizational learning strategies. Both the functional‐institutional (FI) and CC approaches are integrated with the sustainability and ecological resources management literature. The aim of this paper is to fill this research gap.

The paper applies FI and CC sociological approaches.

This paper's contribution to the managerial auditing education literature is based on the proposition that ethics education can improve the moral and ethical reasoning of auditors, when the educational processes incorporate both the FI and CC sociological organizational learning strategies. The paper suggests that ethics education in auditing could benefit from experiential teaching methods utilized in allied applied disciplines of medicine, engineering, and educational psychology.

Sociological approaches have been commonly applied in behavioral managerial accounting and control systems research. This paper extends the FI and CC framework to ethics education in managerial auditing research.

The subject of accounting ethics education is important to auditors. When accounting ethics education utilizes both the FI and CC teaching approaches, the managerial auditing education processes become interactive and cooperative by bringing experiential organizational experiences to the classroom.

Accounting ethics education is shaped by ecological and environmental sustainability concerns. Recently, business school interest and growth in sustainability management has contributed to the integration of ethics education in managerial auditing and accounting contexts, overcoming the shortcomings accounting programs experienced from stand‐alone ethics courses.

This study aims to address the possibility of integrating some elements of the “radical constructivist” approach to management accounting teaching. It answers the following two questions: to what extent should management accounting educators construct a “radical constructivist” foundation to guide active learning? Then, in which ways can management accounting educators use qualitative methods to facilitate “radical constructivist” education?

The study uses a teaching cycle that implements innovative learning elements, e.g. learning from ordinary people, designed following the principles of “radical constructivism”, to engage students with “externalities” at the centre of their knowledge construction. It adopts an ethnographic approach comprising interviews and participant observation for the data collection, followed by the application of qualitative content and narrative analysis of the data.

The study findings and reflections illustrate that the majority of students respond positively to radical constructivist learning if the educators can develop an innovative problem-solving and authentic environment that is close to their real lives. The radical constructivist teaching cycle discussed in this study has challenged the mindsets of the management accounting students as it altered the traditional objectivist academic learning approaches that students were familiar with. Its use of qualitative methods facilitated active learning. Student feedback was sought as part of the qualitative design, which provided a constructive mechanism for the students and educators to learn and unlearn from their mistakes. This process enriched the understanding of learners (students) and educators of successful engagement in radical constructivist management accounting education and provides a base upon which to design future teaching cycles.

The paper provides proof of the ability of accounting educators, as change agents, to apply radical constructivist epistemology combined with multiple qualitative research methods by creating new constructive learning structures and cultures associated with innovative deep-learning tasks in management accounting education.

All accountants make extensive use of information technology (IT) in their working lives, and IT skills have long been part of the Accounting and Finance undergraduate degree programme at the University of Glamorgan. This degree scheme was redesigned on a linear basis with effect from September 2002; one of the major changes being to integrate the teaching of management accounting and IT at the introductory level. The teaching of management accounting lends itself well to the use of IT. This paper describes both the rationale behind, and the design and development of, a case study which aims to integrate the use of IT with the development and application of management accounting techniques. The case study attempts to emulate a “ive” work‐based environment as closely as possible. Completion of tasks at intervals throughout the year form part of the assessment of the module. These are based on data from a variety of sources which students manipulate, using various software packages, in order to produce useful management accounting information. In this way, students learn both management accounting and IT skills, and how to apply these skills to provide management accounting information. The experiences of both students and staff in using the case study over a six‐year period are reported, together with a description of how the case study and its use have evolved in light of the experience.

Accountants and the accounting profession have always been users of information technology and the claim for enlarging levels of Information Technology/Information Systems (IT/IS) skills/knowledge in practitioners and accounting graduates is more powerful than ever. The use of Information Technology in support of business is widespread and becoming more so. Indeed, it is no longer possible to meet the expectations of users of financial and other business performance information without using Information Technology tools. Both academics and practitioners have recognised the value and importance of IT/IS in the achievement of success in the competitive business world and IT/IS skills/knowledge as being essential to longterm success for accountants. The challenges facing organisations now require the skills of a special kind of accountant, this research called the “Hybrid Accountant” (combining IT/IS competencies and mainstream accounting capabilities). A “hybrid” accountant blends different skills and knowledge of business management and information management. It is generally felt that today’s accounting education process fails to develop accountants who are able to serve in this type of demanding accountant.

Changes in business environments have challenged the competencies (technical knowledge, skills and attitudes) of professional accountants. Accounting professions have responded by developing competency frameworks. In 2008, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) issued a draft competency framework encapsulating a broad range of knowledge, skills and attributes. The objective of the study reported on here was to determine training officers’ perceptions of the knowledge and skills requirements of entry‐level trainee accountants. SAICA could consider the findings of this study in the finalisation of its competency framework. The study reveals that nearly three‐quarters of all the topics in the current prescribed SAICA syllabus are considered to make at least an important contribution to the knowledge requirements of entry‐level trainee accountants. Although more than half the management accounting topics prescribed in the SAICA syllabus are perceived as being only reasonably important, further statistical analysis revealed that TOPP (training outside public practice) training officers disagreed significantly with their TIPP (training inside public practice) counterparts on the importance of management accounting topics and perceived them to be at least important. Except for specialised topics, all other topics covering the remaining core subjects (Financial Accounting, Financial Management, Taxation and Auditing) were perceived to be important or even more than important by the respondents. The study demonstrates that there is a movement towards an expanded set of competencies beyond the technical knowledge typically taught to prospective CAs, and that there is evidence of a need for today’s entry‐level trainee accountants to receive training in communication, analytical, interpersonal and computer skills.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of accounting education and practice as influenced by the socio-economic transformation in Jordan.

The paper presents an explanatory study of how accounting education and practice has developed in relation to socio-economic change in Jordan, using the institutional economic theory-based constructivist approach, in which knowledge is constructed by compiling data from different sources, including historical and statistical analyses, documents, and archival records.

The study finds that accounting education in Jordan cannot be effectively studied without reference to how accounting practice affects, and is affected by the social, economic, political and cultural dimensions of its operating environment. The study finds that accounting change has been driven by the Jordanian Government’s response to the macroeconomic challenges that had historically restricted economic growth, including the scarcity of natural resources, budget deficits, soaring debt, and structural unemployment. The ongoing program of privatization has been a significant contributor to economic, accounting, and legal change. Since accountancy is accepted as a social practice, culture plays a significant role in accounting research, and cultural factors bearing on accounting education and practice in Jordan include the historical imposition of western accounting paradigms in developing countries, Jordan’s cultural values, the quality of its education system, and the disparity between the private sector’s and public management’s embrace of technology and applications for management accounting. The study finds that accounting education in Jordan cannot be effectively studied without reference to how accounting affects, and is affected by the social, economic, political and cultural dimensions of its operating environment.

This paper describes the development of accounting education in an environment of socio-economic change, which has potential implications for accounting practitioners, academics, and policy makers in developing countries. The study’s constructivist approach selected with the aim of constructing a picture of the change environment, and thus, present new knowledge in a compilation of data limits, however, the generalizability of the findings.

The paper is a one of very few research studies in the accounting literature to present evidence from the Middle East of how accounting education and practice has developed in response to socio-economic transformation, and has itself contributed to socio-economic growth in Jordan. The significance of cultural factors in these developments provides further understanding of the dynamics of developing accounting education and practice in the era of globalization.

The aim of this paper is to gain insights into the gap that persists between management accounting education (MAE) and practice.

MAE is examined from four perspectives of the balanced scorecard (BSC), in terms of what is being taught at tertiary level: customer satisfaction, learning and growth, internal business and financial. A survey questionnaire was sent to management accountants selected randomly from a list of practicing management accountants identified by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in South Africa.

The study finds support for allegations that a gap exists between MAE and practice and indicates that to address this gap, a holistic focus using the four perspectives of the BSC would be useful to investigate the gap.

Previous studies in relation to the gap in management education have focused on the lack of skills provided by tertiary education. As one of the few studies to focus on the overall performance of MAE, this study identifies that the gap is not limited to the provision of adequate skills. The findings show that the gap is significant in terms of customer perspective but is not significant in relation to the internal business, learning and growth and financial perspectives of the BSC. The study provides deeper insights into the gap and will help tertiary education providers to improve their performance.

As one of the few studies on gaps between MAE and practice, the study provides insights to the potential gaps. The findings serve as a basis for further empirical and theoretical enquiries.

The study contributes to the management accounting literature by focusing on the gap in MAE using a BSC approach. Rather than single out the lack of skills provided by MAE as a reason for the gap, this paper provides information on the four areas of the BSC as ways to identify the gap.

Explores the possibilities that accounting could become a resource in a movement towards fairer and more just societies. Considers specifically the ways in which mainstream management accounting textbooks, as tools of management accounting education, have the effect of encouraging students of the discipline to be unaware, unquestioning and uncritical of the social and organizational effects of management accounting practice. Aims to explore, through illustrations from a leading mainstream management accounting text, both the obvious and the more subtle ways in which such texts can inculcate these future practitioners with norms of practice that preclude management accounting’s emancipatory role in society. Considers in the course of this analysis the described purpose of management accounting; the assumptions made about human behaviour; the presentation of class structures and interests; and the importance of cultural specificity when considering management accounting. Counter‐illustrations are offered of how accounting educators might move towards encouraging students to consider accounting’s enabling possibilities. Finally, suggests areas for further investigation and effort which are material to the development of an enabling accounting.

This study seeks to identify how professional accountants in France are educated in sustainability; we examine the French accounting programs in regard to sustainability accounting education recommendations.

We analyze a variety of documents to ascertain what comprises the typical accounting education program in France. Additionally, we conduct five interviews of various stakeholders to understand the importance of sustainability accounting and education in the French context.

We note an interesting paradox in the French context: while the government requires the reporting and auditing of corporate sustainability information, we find that sustainability is not greatly present in the government-funded French accounting education program. We determine that the government’s power in setting the education agenda combined with its budget restrictions and ability to defer responsibility to other parties has resulted in this paradox in the French setting.

This research draws attention to the consequences of society ignoring sustainability education for professional accountants.

This paper contributes to the discussion on how to educate responsible professional accountants and the implications for the planet if accountants are not trained in sustainability.

This research contributes to the important domain of sustainability accounting education. We also explore additional implications for the accounting profession and the general public.