The Future of Undergraduate Accounting Programs and Curricula

Structual change in accounting education is long overdue. The 2012 Pathways Commission report, issued by the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), suggests undergraduate education should have a foundational program paradigm that would anchor studies to real-world settings. The Commission also advocates for closer links between research and practice as well as between practice and education. According to the Commission, existing academic research has become too far removed from real-world accounting problems and thus is of little use to current practitioners. Regarding education, the typical accounting program is built on an outmoded lecture model that requires students to memorize accounting rules and then apply them while solving structured problems. When confronted with a more detailed problem that varies from the textbook exercise, students are often at a loss on where to begin. Often, after performing poorly on an exam, they complain the problem was not like the ones we worked on in class or for homework. Given the sheer quantity of areas that have to be covered in the intermediate accounting series, course coverage often is limited by time, forcing the instructor to quickly go over key concepts and work a few exercises. Little time is available for more creative assignments, such as case studies and research projects. These higher-level exercises help students think through concepts and explore their significance. In short, accounting education at many universities is limited to content learning with little emphasis on curricula and assignments that emphasize abstract reasoning and critical thinking. The Commission suggests such a passive learning model may discourage brighter, more capable students from majoring in accounting. This model also fails to provide accounting graduates with the higher skill level they need to succeed in their careers. Collaboration and research skills are important for students to master, as are skills in public speaking and report writing. Moreover, the Pathways Commission report suggests graduates need a better understanding of how the accounting profession contributes to the global business environment and to society in general. In this regard, the commissioners assert that undergraduate accounting programs should be restructured to place greater emphasis on conceptual learning by adopting an interactive approach. Doing so would require innovative pedagogical tools, including assignments designed to stress research, report writing, group projects, and simulations. By adopting an interactive approach emphasizing student engagement, accounting graduates would be better prepared for the challenges ahead. In this article, we posit an undergraduate student-centered program model based on the Pathways Commission's recommendations. In addition, we present suggestions on addressing the impediments listed in the Commission's report that inhibit development of such a model. AN INTERACTIVE, STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING PROGRAM A student-centered approach to undergraduate accounting education would first require fundamental changes at both the program and course levels. Currently, accounting coursework consists of multiple financial and cost/managerial courses supplemented by three to six hours of tax and accounting information systems courses. Under this model, which characterizes the vast majority of current programs, students often are unable to connect knowledge gained in one course to that gained in another. In essence, there is no unifying theme or paradigm linking accounting courses. The result? Upon graduating, students have little more than a superficial knowledge of the technical skills needed for solving essentially structural problems. The pressure of accommodating the 150-credit-hour requirement has limited the ability to develop a program model and coursework that emphasize the skill sets that employers are looking for in accounting graduates. …