ABSTRACT There is continuing demand from practitioners, standard setters, and regulators for accountants to have the knowledge and competencies to contribute to sustainable business practices, reporting, and assurance. Educators at all levels of the accounting curricula have a responsibility to upskill. This research examines the extent of sustainability education among all levels of accounting curricula. Publicly available course information at three levels in New Zealand – secondary school, university, and professional accounting – was analysed using content analysis. The research finds a lack of sustainability education at all accounting curricula levels, with uneven coverage that is focused on sustainability broadly with questionable breadth and depth. This inconsistency among accounting educators results in accounting graduates with varied exposure to sustainability. This research calls for collective responsibility and collaborative leadership among educators, professional accounting bodies, practitioners, standard setters, regulators, and society to ensure sustainability education keeps pace with the development of sustainability accounting practice globally.

ABSTRACT This paper examines how self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation and test anxiety interact with the delivery method (online vs. face-to-face) in upper-level classes (third- and fourth-year students) in their association with course performance. Previous research in accounting [e.g. Chen et al., 2013. Online accounting education vs. in-class delivery: Does course level matter? Issues in Accounting Education, 28(1), 1–16] shows that this higher level is where the delivery method matters most, but conclusions differ as to whether face-to-face or online enjoys a decisive advantage [e.g. Aldahray, 2022. Do accounting students always perform better online? The COVID-19 experience. Accounting Education (Nov), 1–19; Chen et al., 2013; McCarthy et al. 2019. Intermediate accounting and auditing: Does course delivery method impact student performance? Journal of Accounting Education, 46, 26–42]. The findings, based on a survey of 238 students and analyses of variance with more detailed consideration of interactions noted, reveal interesting dynamics between individual student characteristics and suggest that these characteristics play an important role in course performance, possibly offsetting any perceived quality differential for one delivery method over the other. For example, the results underscore an important role played by intrinsic motivation in the learning process. The findings also suggest differential implications for post-secondary institutions in different environments, such as those that generally attract students who are more motivated and prepared versus (vs.) those in which these characteristics vary greatly among students.

ABSTRACT Given the debate in tertiary institutions on the use of technology for assessments due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we compare the performance of accounting students in proctored paper-based and online exams. We examine exam scores across different demographic variables to provide early insights into the impact of these demographics on student performance. Our exploratory analyses indicate that students perform better in proctored online assessments than invigilated paper-based ones. The differences in student performance between these two assessment methods are associated with distinct factors, such as in-person and distance study modes, and student nationality. In summary, the findings of this study provide support for the adoption of online technology in managing exams.

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a revolution in the delivery of modules in higher education. This paper aims to answer the research question: What are the preferences of undergraduate accounting and finance students regarding teaching delivery and exam modes following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown? Specifically, we focus on campus, online synchronous, and hybrid synchronous teaching delivery and exam modes. To address this research question, we conducted an online questionnaire surveying students at a U. K. university. Our data show that modules involving calculations, such as financial accounting, are preferred to be taught on campus, whereas theoretical modules like business law are preferred to be taught online. Additionally, the data reveal reasons for these preferences, including community learning, isolation, concentration, and access to recordings. This research contributes valuable insights into optimising accounting education. We advocate for flexibility in both teaching and exam delivery within accounting education, recognising the diverse needs of students.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to identify strategies for integrating data analytics into teaching management accounting. We conducted a literature review and evaluated students’ perceptions of the introduction of data analytics in teaching management accounting courses. This research is based on the application of the Extended Technology Acceptance Model (ETAM) in management accounting education. We link the findings to the existing theory and practice by providing a foundation for the implementation of data analytics in management accounting subjects and the development of educational resources at both, national and international levels. Thus, the results will be of interest to global readership revealing that data analytics is considered by students both useful and easy to use and concluding that students would benefit from integrating data analytics into management accounting courses across the areas identified in this study. From our analysis of the results, we conclude that a high level of appreciation of such inclusion across perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of data analytics leads to a positive attitude towards using and potentially high actual use of data analytics.

ABSTRACT The accounting profession is challenged by professional shortages, declining university enrolments, and uncertainty about the profile of future accountants regarding technological advancements. It is thus timely to investigate the employability beliefs of accounting students in higher education throughout Australia. This study employed a multi-factor self-assessment of perceived employability (PE) grounded in social cognitive career theory to investigate the PE of accounting students (n = 3116) relative to other business students (n = 4973), and across degree progression. Compared with their business peers, accounting students reported greater program awareness, but their perceived communication skills, emotional intelligence, and ethical and responsible behaviour were lower than their business peers. Accounting students became more likely to reconsider their choice of program as they progressed, with accounting students in their third year or later less confident in terms of self-awareness, program awareness, the perceived relevance of their program, and their perceived ethical and responsible behaviour. The discipline-specific comparisons extend previous research and indicate that employability initiatives should be embedded early in accounting curricula to enhance students’ PE, career understanding, and related skillsets. The potential to enhance accounting students’ PE, and thus improve academic achievement, persistence, and employment outcomes is relevant to educators, curriculum managers and accreditation bodies.

ABSTRACT Stakeholders emphasise that accounting graduates need excellent teamwork skills. Group work activities, included in the academic programme to develop teamwork skills, often lead to ‘free-riding’ by some students and disillusionment on the part of diligent students. Diligent students often prefer to work alone and could lack teamwork skills as a result. The aim of this study was to evaluate how course design can facilitate the development of teamwork skills for diligent students with negative perceptions on group work. Detailed perception data on how a certain group work activity affected diligent students’ teamwork skills were collected via in-depth interviews. Themes identified through thematic analysis were compared to existing literature to construct recommendations on structuring group work activities for diligent students. The recommendations indicate that a challenging assignment conducted by a small group of students, selected on some form of commonality, over a substantial period, with limited lecturer instructions, incorporating both online and in-person components, without formal peer assessment, is best suited to foster the trust that is essential in teamwork and leads to open communication and ultimately collaboration. Educators could employ these recommendations when designing group work activities, especially when they note negative perceptions regarding group work in diligent students.

ABSTRACT Drawing on Bourdieu’s sociological framework, this study examines how prospective accountants engage with professional socialisation opportunities within the accounting higher education field. Prospective accountants globally experience anticipatory professional socialisation through which they develop employability skills and shape their professional trajectories. Through interviews with Malaysian prospective accountants and insights from local accounting professionals and academics, this study reveals that the prospective accountants’ professional socialisation practice is not solely a conscious and deliberate process. Instead, it involves ongoing negotiation between an individual’s habitus (way of being), capital (resources), and the opportunities that the accounting higher education field offers to them. The findings also highlight the ways in which an individual’s way of being is influenced by their class and ethnic background, and how this impacts their socialisation and career orientations. Individuals from privileged backgrounds tend to possess greater cultural and social capital, positioning them advantageously to benefit from professional development opportunities provided by their institutions compared to those from less privileged backgrounds. These findings raise questions about the role of higher education institutions in promoting equity and expanding access to the accountancy profession for underprivileged groups.

ABSTRACT We aim to understand how the accounting academic community shapes and socializes doctoral students. From a critical-qualitative stance, the analyses found support in Étienne Wenger’s Social Learning Systems, focusing on the relationship between doctoral students’ socialization and the accounting academic community – understood as a Community of Practice (CoP). Our findings indicate that doctoral students, as Legitimate Peripheral Participants, do not become central members due to imposed communitarian limits. These limits work as an impediment to the relationship between the individual and the CoP. Some participants indicated a loss of meaning and episodes of epistemic violence that (re)produce community limits that define the ‘good accounting academic’, among other aspects, regarding boundaries and power dynamics. We contribute to expanding the discussion on Social Systems of Learning and CoPs by presenting empirical evidence of the barriers between CoPs and the professional socialization process.

ABSTRACT There is growing support to the argument that effective use of technology in blended learning initiatives, such as gamification, can influence student retention and combat low levels of student engagement as well as improve academic performance. The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a gamified mobile application (GMA) towards enhancing student engagement, improving student learning outcomes and increasing retention. Our study indicates significant improvement in student engagement and retention between users and non-users of a GMA for first year accounting students. Specifically, the study found users of GMA were more engaged with learning materials, their teachers, and their peers. The improved learning outcomes also motivated a greater number of students to persist and continue their studies. Furthermore, GMA-users provide feedback that its use increased their connectedness and propensity for engagement.