Perspectives on the Auditing Profession Part II: The Academic Profession

Abstract

THE ACADEMIC ACCOUNTING PROFESSION Unlike the practicing professional auditor, there is no Education Act similar to the Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 to help me frame overarching concepts similar to those related to audits. I have attempted my own overarching concepts statement because, as with practice, it frames the rest of my discussion. Similar to the practicing professional serving not only private contracting aims, but also the public contract nature of the audit, education serves more than one function. For example, academics have traditionally been given the time and reflection necessary to seek out new knowledge about their discipline, as well as to contribute to its application through research, teaching, and practice. Academic accounting professionals neither currently produce students solely for entry to the public auditing function, nor even solely for the public accounting business, broadly defined. I do not have exact statistics, but I suspect less than half of the student output enters the business of public accounting and a smaller fraction than that will enter as junior auditors. Also, many of those who enter as junior auditors will leave the audit function within the firm and will ultimately leave the firm altogether. These students need an education that recognizes these varied paths within and through the public accounting business. In addition, the other half of the class with either no interest or no opportunity to enter the public accounting business is nevertheless part of the broader accounting profession and needs the same quality of education, perhaps with differing emphases, as demanded by the public auditor. The common threads in discussing the academic domain are the search for new knowledge and the student experience. The student’s need should dominate the education experience.