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This paper aims to examine ethnographic evidence on the acculturation of non-native English-speaking teachers in accounting (ANNESTs) in an Australian university to understand the process, strategies and outcomes of the acculturation process.

Ethnographies of five ANNESTs representing diverse cultural backgrounds were studied. Data were collected from publicly available sources and informal discussions supplemented by semi-structured interviews.

The findings show that integration – that is, learning and participating in the Australian host culture while maintaining original cultural values – is the most popular acculturation strategy, followed by assimilation, whereby ANNESTs interact primarily with the host culture and retain loose links with their original culture. ANNESTs covered in this study fall into different stages of the acculturation process depending on their English language competency, the extent of contact with native Australians, cultural proximity and length of residence in Australia.

This paper concludes that challenges of acculturation confronting ANNESTs concern broader cultural issues than language proficiency alone. Institutional support directed at enhancing teaching effectiveness of ANNESTs should be devised from this perspective.

Given the cultural relevance of accounting systems and the influence of culture on the learning and teaching styles of ANNEST, the study illuminates that ANNEST’s acculturation strategies could facilitate or hinder the ANNEST’s speed of cultural understanding necessary to productively engage in the learning and teaching.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the generic skills that are important for the career success of accounting graduates in Sri Lanka from the perspectives of university educators and employers.

Bui and Porter's (2010) expectation-performance gap framework was modified to match with the context of the current study. Data collected via questionnaire survey was analysed for non-parametric tests: the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann-Whitney test, using SPSS version 20, and quantified the expectation-performance gap and its components.

The major finding of this research is that the main cause for the expectation-performance gap, as identified in the analysis of the constraint gap is university educators’ low confidence in teaching the required generic skills for career success of graduates. However, university educators are aware of the employer expectations of graduate accountants in terms of generic skills. Employers indicated that many of the generic skills are not achieved by the accounting graduates.

Findings of this study reflect the importance of expanding the accounting curricula by embedding and assessing generic skill development activities. In addition, it is vital to develop the capacities of university educators in terms of teaching and assessing generic skills in accounting degree programmes.

This study contributes to the literature as one of few studies that investigate the generic skills development of accounting graduates in Asia, particularly in Sri Lanka.

The purpose of this exploratory study is to investigate the generic skills developed during the undergraduate degree from the perspectives of final year undergraduates and graduate employers.

The list of generic skills tested in this study was contextualised to Sri Lanka and developed based on prior studies. Data obtained from stakeholders via a questionnaire survey was analysed using paired-sample t-test; independent sample t-test; principal component analysis; and one-way-analysis of variance (ANOVA), with a view to explore, evaluate and compare respondents’ perspectives.

Our findings revealed both stakeholders believe that most of the generic skills tested in this study are important for graduates’ career success. Consistent with prior studies, respondents prioritised generic skills for career success above technical skills. Final year accounting undergraduates are aware of the skill expectations in the employment market. However, they perceive that most of the important generic skills are not adequately developed during the degree.

Findings of this study inform the importance of adopting a holistic approach to the redesign of the accounting curricula to accommodate generic skill development during the degree. Suggestions include: establishing strong links between universities, professional accounting institutions and employers; introducing participatory methods of curriculum design; and assimilating continuous reviews and frequent updates to curricula.

Sri Lanka, a developing country, was selected for this research given that little has been reported in the literature in terms of generic skills development of accounting graduates in developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the accounting education systems in three countries – Australia, Japan and Sri Lanka – to inform the development and testing (by application) of a Global Model of Accounting Education.

An action research methodology is applied with a case study and model development approach.

The case studies reveal variations in accounting education systems, which exist across the three countries examined in this research. Key differences (some significant and others nuanced) were found between accounting education systems and include: entry requirements to professional programs; accreditation processes; and benchmark discipline standards. These differences are provided for in the questions that underpin the model developed and applied as a key part of the research.

This model is presented as a tool to assist interested parties in any country to take initial steps to identify their own unique system of accounting education. It may also be of particular use in those countries in the early stages of developing an accounting education system. This understanding of accounting education systems enhances the opportunity for global convergence of accounting education.

The model, informed by the case studies, is an original contribution to the literature and discussions around global convergence in accounting education. The model is designed for practical application and the value is that it provides an important starting point for considering issues of importance in the development of a system of accounting education, and/or, better understanding the similarities and differences across existing systems.