State of management accounting practice in Australia

Accounting education is important in order to obtain an accounting job. Changes in the real world, such as advances in technology, increased global competition, and the shift from a manufacturing-based to a service-based economy are influencing the management accounting techniques used by educators and practitioners today. The purpose of this research paper is to discover what techniques are required to obtain a management accounting job today. The research sampled situations vacant listings over four weeks. From the total of 374 management accounting job advertisements, 248 stated the management accounting technique operational budgeting. The next most common techniques were variance analysis, financial reporting, capital budgeting, and computer system experience. The least common techniques were activity-based costing (ABC), process costing, standard costing, cost volume profit, activity-based management (ABM), costs of quality, balanced scorecard, behavioral implications, ethics, and other. Management accounting educators should focus on the more frequently-cited techniques in order to prepare students for the practical world. This study also finds that many management accounting positions require financial accounting, so students should continue to be taught financial accounting conjointly.