The Pathways Commission on Accounting Higher Education: Charting a National Strategy for the Next Generation of Accountants

Abstract

T he Pathways Commission on Accounting Higher Education was created by the American Accounting Association (AAA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to study the future structure of higher education for the accounting profession and develop recommendations for educational pathways to engage and retain the strongest possible community of students, academics, practitioners, and other knowledgeable leaders in the practice and study of accounting. This charge is, by design, expansive in its scope and open to much interpretation. Accordingly, the Commission began its work by developing a number of fundamental principles on which to focus its study, outreach, and the process used to make its recommendations. This introduction highlights some of those principles as a prelude to the summary of recommendations that follow. Pathways Commission participants, including leading accounting practitioners and educators, sought input from a variety of stakeholders over the last 18 months to investigate ways to enhance the opportunities and relevance of the accounting education experience in its broadest sense. This document serves solely as an executive summary of the much more comprehensive report of the Pathways Commission; we encourage readers to explore the full report. To achieve the Pathways Commission’s charge, it was important to explore a wide range of perspectives on current and future challenges and opportunities for the profession. For instance, the amount and complexity of information accountants are charged with interpreting, processing, reviewing, and reporting is continuously increasing. While technological advances can surely enable a profession to better address change and meet new challenges, technological change offers