The role of professional accounting programmes: towards a

Abstract

Introduction Accounting education has received considerable attention of researchers in recent years, as reflected in the numerous articles published in various journals on the subject. There have also been various reports, particularly in the US on accounting education (e.g., AAA, 1986; Arthur Andersen et al.,1989; Sundem, 1999; Albrecht and Sack, 2000). The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), in its introduction to International Education Standards (IES), emphasises that the production of competent professional accountants is dependent on a combination of accounting education and practical experience (IFAC, 2003). In many countries, accounting education often consists of academic accounting programmes (AAPs) and professional accounting programmes (PAPs). However, the issues related to PAPs have received very little scrutiny. The professional accounting bodies in Anglo-American countries normally provide a very general statement about the objectives of PAPs, and the relationship between the AAPs and PAPs. Further, there has been little discussion in the literature on the purpose of PAPs, e.g. are they supposed to repeat or complement AAPs?, what skills and knowledge do they seek to develop and examine? The academic community also seems reluctant to raise these questions. The challenges faced by accounting education fit Schon’s (1983; 1987) description of the crisis in professional education. This paper proposes to raise some questions concerning the role of PAPs and explore the possibility of adopting the framework proposed by Schon, which is based on the concept of 'reflective practicum', to address some of the issues of accounting education, with the hope that the ideas presented will stimulate further discussion in this important area of the preparation of accounting professionals.