A Commentary on Who ‘Owns’ the University Accounting Curriculum?: And on Why That ‘Ownership’ Matters

Abstract

The issue raised in this commentary is: who determines, who owns, the accounting curriculum in universities, and does it matter who does? The question has a clear answer. But the answer is not what you would expect it to be. The accounting professoriate does not ‘own’ the accounting curriculum. Professional accountants and auditor organizations, the accounting profession, as well as accounting and auditing regulators and oversight bodies do. The problem with the domination of the accounting profession and regulators of the university accounting curriculum is that it prevents the professional quality of accountants and auditors from reaching its full potential. I argue in this commentary that this will only happen when the accounting professoriate takes full charge of curriculum design. This commentary is a call for that to happen.

Keywords:

• accounting education
• accounting curriculum
• accounting regulation

Acknowledgements

I thank Tjibbe Bosman and Christian Peters, as well as Anne Jeny and Gilad Livne (Associate Editors), for their helpful comments on an earlier version.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).