Accounting Practitioners' Views of the Relative Importance of Teaching and Research in Accounting Education

Abstract

Within the accounting profession and academia there is a continuing debate over the relative importance of research and teaching. National leaders of the accounting profession have made their “pro-teaching” views known. To determine how generally accepted these views are, we conducted a survey of practicing accountants. In general, the results indicate that accounting practitioners hold opinions consistent with those of the national leadership, that is, the respondents valued quality teaching over quality research. These results may be of interest as accounting academicians debate the direction of future accounting programs within the universities.