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26
A Summary of Developments in Accounting Education n the United States 1990-2015
G.J. Previts,
Case Western Reserve University, The USA
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9394-2985
J. Jewkes,
Case Western Reserve University, The USA
abstract
The article examines the consequential long-term professional experience of the reforms of higher education in accounting in the United States, which started in the sixties of the last century and is continuing today. This is the joined efforts of non-governmental associations, first and foremost, the American Association of Accountants (AAA) and accountants-academic theorists as well as accountants practitioners. The article considers the publications of leading scientists, who have summarised the experience in the development of the profession and who showed the directions of its development. Particular attention is paid to the conclusion that today an accountant must possess a broad cultural base in the framework of preparation for the professional career in public accounting, industrial accounting or teaching accounting. This article suggests some ways in which accountants can adapt to their rapidly changing working environment. The attention is drawn to the fact that the constant improvement of the effectiveness of the curriculum should be based on the structure of the curriculum, derived from a set of clearly defined goals. The authors of this publication refer the readers to specific articles, which contain the examples of curriculum structure that includes the business core, the core of accounting and the area of specialization of an accounting specialist. Keywords: accounting education in the United States; public accounting Association; professional culture; the structure of the curriculum; business core, the core of accounting and the area of specialization
introduction
Since 1990 the education of accounting professionals, designed to prepare those seeking professional certification as auditors and those holding positions of executive responsibility in corporations, has undergone substantial change. As early as 1959 studies by US academics began to identify important issues, by 1980 accounting programs became eligible for separate academic accreditation by the AACSB a global private sector entity which provides peer reviews of university accounting programs. By 1990 a 'revolution' was identified with the impetus coming from the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC). The course of this revolution is advanced by the AECC, and abetted by the Human Capital recom-
mendations of the U. S. Dept of Treasury's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession (2006-8). The combination of accreditation goals, technological innovations and the requirement that entry level professionals taking the CPA examination achieve the equivalent of five years of education, often in the form of a Master of Accountancy degree, continues to impact and improve the quality of technical and the professional judgment competence of entry level professionals.
This paper presents the abstracts of several 'milestone' papers, many written by persons who would serve as Presidents of the American Accounting Association, the century old academic accounting organization whose 8000 members reside throughout
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G.J. Previts, J. Jewkes
the world. The leadership of the AAA members, who participate in special interest groups and regional meetings through the year, while focusing on the ultimate annual meeting event each year in August, has added substantial impetus to the educational movement in the USA.
The AAA, along with professional organizations such as the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the Institute of Internal Auditors, (IIA), and similar professional organizations in the most recent decade supported a multi-year effort, known as the Pathways Commission, led by Professor Bruce Behn, to establish the breath and scope of educational attainments for the future, with the specific and overarching goal of supporting the development of accountancy as a learned profession.
The papers abstracted in this review begin prior to the revolution of 1990 in order to set the stage of the important changes which occur beginning in 1990 through the 2015 period. The AECC changes initiate modifications of curriculum. During the quarter century from 1990 to 2015, between the activities of the AECC and Pathways, support enormous strides in achieving a faculty highly qualified in research, many with practice backgrounds and relationships which add a necessary clinical tone to the otherwise theoretical and research focus of faculty who achieved doctoral education. The impact of educational reforms has culminated in the expectation that graduate level education will become the essential character of the learned profession of accountancy1.
statement of basic materials
Heaton H., Herbert L., Kell W.*, Warner G. S., Zlatko-vich C. T.* and Wyatt, A.* Committee Report of Committee on Professional Education in Accounting of the American Accounting Association. The Accounting Review. 1959; (April): 195-199 (Heaton H. et al., 1959).
The Committee on Professional Education in Accounting has been considering, for the past two years, the general area of educational preparation for a career in accounting. More specifically, it has
1 An asterisk * symbol appears next to the names of individuals who have served as President of the American Accounting Association.
primarily concerned itself with the education of accountants at the collegiate or university level.
The committee believes that its primary problem was to establish a concept of professional education for a career in accounting. A clear understanding of the nature of professional education in accounting is a necessity prior to embarking upon consideration of the means by which preparation for an accounting career might best be accomplished. Therefore, the nature of professional education in accounting and the objectives which a program of professional education should achieve are dis cussed first. The committee also concerned itself with possible avenues of implementation of a professional educational program. However, the problem of implementation was considered to be secondary to that of establishing a basic educational concept.
Anderson, W.T.* Suggested Changes in Accounting Education to Meet the Demand of the Profession. Journal of Accounting Education. 1983; (Autumn): 5-10 (Anderson W. T., 1983).
Accounting education is going through rapid changes. New rules and regulations are so numerous that accounting educators can barely keep pace. New teaching techniques and procedures are needed. This paper suggests some ways that accounting educators can adapt to their rapidly changing environment.
Sundem G.*, Williams D.* and Chirona J. The Revolution in Accounting Education. Management Accounting. 1990; (December): 49-53 (Sundem G. et al., 1983).
Do you remember sitting through long lectures in your accounting classes? Solving problem after problem, trying to come up with the one right answer? How often do you solve similar problems in your job? If you are like most management accountants, the problems you face in your work environment are nothing like those you solved in your accounting classes. Discussion of major changes in the education of accountants began in the in 1980s, but it was not until mid-1989 that a coordinated effort to foster change began.
Herring IIIH. C., Williams J. R.* The role of objectives in curriculum development. Journal of Accounting Education. 2000; 18: 1-14 (Herring III H. C., Williams J. R., 2000).
This paper presents the case that continuous improvement in curriculum effectiveness should be based on a curriculum structure derived from a set of explicitly stated objectives. Although previous
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research on expanded competencies and assessment describes new curricula at a few institutions, little guidance has been provided that describes how to develop curricula that focus on these expanded competencies. We believe that it is possible to make significant strides in improving curricula in this way. An example for a curriculum structure that includes a business core, an accounting core, and a specialization area in a master of accountancy degree is provided in the paper. Our suggested approach involves specifying goals for the educational program, followed by stating assessable objectives for program subsets. One implication of such a curriculum structure is that assessment must take place primarily at the course level.
Black W. The Activities of the Pathways Commission and the Historical Context for Changes in Accounting Education. Issues in Accounting Education. 2012; 27(3): 601-625 (Black W., 2012).
The Pathways Commission examined accounting education in the United States in response to a recommendation from the U. S. Treasury Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession. The paper summarizes the Pathways activities and process during 2010 and 2011, and sets forth a historical context to help understand the recommendations for change in accounting education over the last several decades.
Behn B. et al. The Pathways Commission on Accounting Higher Education: Charting a National Strategy for the Next Generation of Accountants. Issues in Accounting Education. 2012; 27(3): 595-600 (Behn B. et al., 2012).
According to an old African proverb, "If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." A little less than two years ago, a diverse
group of accounting educators and practitioners gathered, under the joint auspices of the American Accounting Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, to begin to craft a bold vision for the future of accounting education. The report of the Account Pathways Commission, summarized here, certainly does not represent the culmination of this work; it is rather a beginning. Much work remains. The much more challenging task of implementation, securing the future of our discipline as a learned profession, and actually "going far," will require that we-accounting educators and practitioners-"go together" on this journey. It is our dream that together we will undertake the genuinely monumental effort that will be required of us as we implement the strategies and structures recommended in the Pathways Commission report, that together we will embrace the vision of a bright future of our profession.
conclusion
This report is a summary of the committee's discussions and deliberations concerning the nature, objectives, and implementation of professional education in accounting. Early in its discussion the committee concluded that today an accountant must have a broad cultural back ground as a part of his preparation for a professional career in public accounting, industrial accounting, governmental accounting, or the teaching of accounting. We also concluded early that basically the same educational preparation is necessary for a professional career in any of these four areas of accounting; that is, the similarities of educational preparation for careers in alternative phases of accounting are far more significant than the differences.
about the authors
Gary John Previts — Distinguished University Professor, Case Western Reserve University, The USA [email protected]
Jackson Jewkes — Case Western Reserve University, The USA
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