Exploring professional identity: The perceptions of chartered accountant students

The aim of this paper is to explore the developing professional identity of the Chartered Accountant Student. It explores professional training through analysing the narratives of students. This qualitative study shows how students begin to develop their sense of professional identity through membership of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) within the training organisations, rather than through the professional body. This novel approach to further understanding the professional development of the accounting trainee adds to current academic knowledge as the role of communities of practice, in this context, has not been previously explored. The views and perceptions of Chartered Accountant Students are also relevant to accounting professional bodies, training organisations and to those considering embarking on accounting training. In understanding this process those involved in training can facilitate and, therefore, potentially influence the process because understanding how trainees learn to be professional is central to how they will learn to contribute to professional life and to their future in society.     

Sustainability of the accounting and finance academic profession: students’ and supervisors’ views about the PhD supervision process

This study explores the research supervisory practices of accounting and finance PhD students at Australian and New Zealand universities. Given documented faculty shortages in the accounting and finance disciplines, such investigation is timely and relevant. In the context of student engagement with their community of academic practice and their intrinsic motivation related to individual competence and autonomy, situational adjustments are inevitable and explain some differences between students’ perceptions and supervisors’ expectations. Our findings demonstrate that, despite general satisfaction with the PhD supervision process, students articulated concerns regarding constructive feedback and pastoral care provided by their supervisors, as well as guidance regarding data analysis/statistics.     

Accounting activism and Bourdieu's ‘collective intellectual’ – Reflections on the ICL Case

The aim of this paper is to reflect upon the practice of accounting academics as ‘collective intellectuals’ – inspired by the actions and conception of Pierre Bourdieu. While accounting researchers have drawn upon Bourdieu's theoretical contributions on habitus, field and capital, little attention has been paid to his later, more critical ideas and practice of intervention post 1995. As a result, accounting research has yet to discover Bourdieu's work on the ‘collective intellectual’ and, thus, consider its contribution to our understanding of how accounting academics can participate in a form of activism against neoliberalism that would not be in contradiction with professional norms of rigorous research. Rather, activism could enhance academic research.Central to this paper is a reflection on a case of intervention involving a diverse collection of academics and activists who came together to launch a coordinated response to a large-scale industrial disaster in Scotland in 2004. The collective in question took various interventionary steps to campaign for a Public Inquiry into the disaster and seek justice and accountability for workers past and present. These steps are analysed with respect to the methods adopted and the work and practice of Bourdieu's collective intellectual.     

On the intellectual roots of critical accounting: A personal appreciation of Tony Lowe (1928–2014)

Tony Lowe's publications are important contributions to the intellectual beginnings of critical accounting and a fitting memorial to his recent death. This, perhaps idiosyncratic, appreciation of these publications starts by discussing Tony's conceptualization of management control as a system, his experience in conducting empirical research in management control, his commitment to the practice of being an engaged and progressive academic, and finally his work with others on regulation.     

Critical accounting as an epistemic community: Hegemony,resistance and identity

In this paper I discuss the School of Accounting and Finance's epistemic community, which has been a result of the vision of Professor Michael Gaffikin. The distinguishing feature of this epistemic community is the critique of accounting which rejects positivist ideologies and its claims to objective knowledge. As a member of this epistemic community, I present a critical reflexive ethnography and question the role of identity of the self and of the epistemic community. I consider the importance of resistance, particularly in the light of national research evaluation ‘initiatives’. I conclude that hegemony, or the potential of hegemony, is a necessary condition for the epistemic community to sustain its identity.     

AE Briefings — Statement of Intent

This paper seeks to address the perceived failure of university teaching to foster critical understanding of audit practice and to identify a potential remedy. It contributes to the debate (Maltby, 2001, “Second thoughts about ‘Cases in Auditing’,” Accounting Education: an international journal, 10(4), 421–428) by investigating the double-faceted nature of auditing: as a sub-set of the academic discipline of accounting and as professional practice. Although case studies are helpful for students of auditing, they tend to be artificial, or at best, retrospective. This paper introduces a different type of case study for audit education using corporate failure stories from the media as an example, proposing and explaining the notion of the ‘living case’ in order to foster critical appraisal of audit practice. It contributes to the literature on audit education by describing how this different type of case can address both the technical activities and the social practice of audit through Kolb's (1984, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall) experiential learning theory and thus concludes that there is a place for the practical nature of auditing in academic study, in order to fully appreciate the social aspects.     

UK PhD assessment in accounting and finance: social capital in action

Assessment lies at the centre of PhD degree quality standards, with quality assurance relying on independent external examiners. This study investigates the role of the viva and the selection of external examiners from within the accounting and finance discipline across UK institutions. A questionnaire survey and follow-up interviews with academics (299 respondents; 49 interviews) and recent PhD graduates (73 respondents; 18 interviews) were undertaken. Findings identify multiple viva roles including verification; academic career development; and assessment. External examiner selection is outcome-driven, and the independence of examiners is questionable when secured using the social capital existing between an examiner and supervisor. Supervisors and examiners jointly gate-keep the academic community within cliques, although at the viva stage new entrants are rarely excluded. The PhD assessment process offers the opportunity for rogue cliques to develop, driven by favourable outcomes in terms of personal benefits and costs, allowing new entrants of insufficient quality.     

The decline of the professionally-qualified accounting academic: Recruitment into the accounting academic community

The profile of the accounting academic has changed in recent years. The earliest academics were often recruited from the accountancy profession. Now the typical accounting academic recruit has a profile similar to the rest of the university, with the PhD being the qualification of choice. The reasons for this trend are examined using a cultural and institutional logics framework. The recruitment context and the institutional changes impacting on recruitment in accounting in academia are explored through the views of heads of department who have knowledge of both their institution’s recruitment policies and of the requirements of their discipline. As the research assessment process appears to be a driver of changing recruitment patterns, recruitment is considered in contrasting contexts: Scotland, where periodic research assessment takes place in both old and new universities, and the Republic of Ireland which does not have such a process. Despite differences in the views expressed by heads in these different contexts and differences in their research environments, the trend in all sectors is towards the recruitment (Scotland) or development (Republic of Ireland) of PhD holders rather than professionally qualified staff. The consequences for the nature of the discipline are discussed.     

Students’ perceptions of their first accounting class: implications for instructors

The purpose of this action research study is to learn directly from undergraduate students, through focus groups, about their experiences in their first accounting class, especially about the students’ knowledge and practice of critical thinking and about which classroom experiences engaged their attention and enhanced learning. The findings show that students want to understand how the first accounting course connects to the business world and to their other classes. Participants were unsure about when and how they practiced critical thinking; for improved learning outcomes, instructors need to keep critical thinking front and center. Students also need instruction in how to study accounting and how to utilize effectively the resources provided in their textbooks and as supplemental tools (e.g. integrated accounting software). Accounting professors must adapt their teaching methods to help students to meet professional demands, such as critical thinking skills and ability to handle a complex global business environment.     

Research in accounting: Student perspectives

Academicians and practitioners often lament the minimal and/or slow impact of accounting research on practice. One potential cause for this may be the limited course coverage in the accounting curriculum regarding the role of research, current research issues and findings, and the influence of past prominent writers on contemporary thought. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of student awareness concerning these issues. Questionnaires were sent to a random, national sample of 30 universities with Beta Alpha Psi chapters. Eighteen universities chose to participate, yielding 184 student responses. Students perceived a strong need for accounting research and believed that a significant amount was being performed. However, there was confusion as to which key parties (FASB, SEC, etc.) were the predominant forces in conducting research. In particular, the unique role and level of academic research was not recognized. Finally, students felt that the course coverage of accounting research and the key writers was limited. These findings suggest that curriculum coverage of research in accounting needs to be reassessed and expanded if there is to be a clear understanding by those entering practice of the nature and role of research in the field.     

Observations on corporate financial reporting in the name of politics

The paper argues a need to redraw the boundaries between politics, and academic and professional work in the corporate financial reporting field. The argument is pressed on grounds of intellectual honesty, in view of the under-determination by facts that can characterise social scientific theories, including accounting theories, that seek to legitimate or to change practice. An altered understanding of intellectual honesty is required of scholars and practitioners, one which seeks to maximise public awareness of the inherently disputable and questionable in the truth-claims of practices acting upon their welfares.     

Carl L. Nelson: The Interrogator (1910–2007)

During the 1940s–1970s, Carl Nelson was an imposing figure, literally and figuratively, in American academic accounting. With high expectations for his students, he taught several generations of accountants, practitioners, and professors. He made accounting exciting and provocative by encouraging his students to critique GAAP, to explore alternatives to conventional accounting wisdom, and to search for substance in transactions regardless of form. He urged his students to question every thing, regardless of who said or wrote it. As a classroom professor and a reviewer of academic works, he was at times a harsh critic. As an advisor to students, he was generally helpful, if not gracious. Carl Nelson was most assuredly a rare breed in accounting academe. This paper examines his controversial teaching approach and considers his legacy.     

EMBAs perceived usefulness of academic research for student learning and use in practice

The process of enriching teaching by incorporating academic research is generally seen as important to delivering successful learning outcomes. Engagement with academic research in the classroom also influences practice through students who are, or will soon become, graduates and professional practitioners. However, despite having seemingly attained the status of conventional wisdom, the integration of research, teaching, and practice cannot be assumed to be axiomatic. The linkages between research and practice, and between research and teaching, are not always obvious or easily demonstrable, and there is continuing debate as to the extent to which academic research adds value to student learning or its subsequent use in practice. Additionally, relatively few studies in accounting education have investigated the nexus between research, practice, and teaching from the frame of reference of post-graduate students who are both students and practising managers.In this study, we examine the opinions and observations of students enrolled in Australian and North American Executive MBA programs to gain insights into the ways in which academic research informs student learning and practice, and ways it may be enhanced. Our findings, explicable through the lens of Rational Choice Theory, reveal similarities in perceptions between the Australian and North American Executive MBA cohorts, and suggest the need to more effectively demonstrate the value of academic research as an aid to student learning, and in informing practice. We conclude by offering suggestions as to how to decrease the cost and/or increase the benefits associated with engaging with research in the classroom.     

In our ivory towers? The research-practice gap in management accounting

This study reports on an investigation of 64 senior management accounting academics from 55 universities in 14 countries about the extent to which academic management accounting research does, and should inform practice. Drawing on the diffusion of innovations theory as a point of departure, and based on evidence obtained from a questionnaire survey and subsequent interviews, our findings reveal the prevalence of two broad schools of thought. One school, represented by the majority of senior academics, holds that there is a significant and widening ‘gap’ between academic research and the practice of management accounting, and that this gap is of considerable concern. In contrast, the other school holds that a divide between academic management accounting research and practice is appropriate, and that efforts to bridge this divide are unnecessary, untenable or irrelevant. From this empirical evidence, we advance a conceptual framework distinguishing between the ‘type’ of academic research undertaken, and the ‘users’ of academic research, and on the basis of this framework, contend that framing the relationship between academic research and practice as a ‘gap’ is potentially an oversimplification, and directs attention away from the broader but fundamental question of the role and societal relevance of academic research in management accounting.     

The role and impact of professional accountancy associations on accounting education research: An international study

This paper explores the relative influence of the accounting academy and accountancy professional associations in the debate concerning the profile and quality of accounting education research. This research analyses 13 semi-structured interviews undertaken with members of key accounting professional associations in Australia, New Zealand (ANZ) and the United Kingdom and Ireland (UKI). The paper makes a theoretical contribution by the novel application of the institutional logics theory to the literature concerning professional accounting associations (PAAs) demonstrating the dominant commercial logic of the education function and the more traditional fiduciary logic of the technical function. The research finds that the primary stakeholders in the professional accounting curriculum development model are the PAAs and employers, whilst the accounting academy is relatively absent. The relative independence of the education and research and technical functions within PAAs is also identified: academic research and technical activity has little influence on professional education and vice versa. However, PAAs’ funding of academic research is common across all four countries for brand recognition and in some instances to influence policy rather than informing the professional curriculum.     

Managerial discourse and the link between theory and practice: From ROI to value-based management

Building on Thrift's (2005) concept of the cultural circuit of capitalism using critical discourse analysis, the paper investigates the influence of management accounting concepts on practice. The paper proposes that the way that academic theories in management accounting affect practice depends on the origin of the early texts, the extent to which the texts become discourses and the relative institutional support for the discourse. The approach is illustrated by focusing on three particular management accounting concepts: return on investment (ROI), value-based management (VBM) and strategic management accounting (SMA) and empirically contextualised through the case history of GEC/Marconi. The paper explains that, whilst ROI and VBM have, to varying degrees, become part of managerial discourse, SMA has remained a loose collection of academic texts and has had a negligible impact on managerial discourse and practice.     

The ‘Jim Factor’—My Experience as a First-Time Accounting Tutor

Sandy Burton was a seasoned academic who played a major role in shaping American accounting regulation in the latter part of the twentieth century. A vocal reformer, he became a vigorous SEC Chief Accountant and thereafter New York City Deputy Mayor. He was a critic of accounting practice as well as academe, preaching the gospel of reform in writings and speeches. Contending that accounting was too narrowly focused, he called upon the accounting community to reinvent itself. He was profoundly dissatisfied with the nature of academic accounting research because it had been irrelevant to practice. Burton earned considerable respect for attempting to bridge the gap between accounting practice and academe.     

Academic practices of virtual learning by interaction

The way that the academic practice in higher education universities responds to the influence of computer networks and technology will be central to the definition of their future role. The traditional metaphor of university as self-contained village is challenged as knowledge becomes widely available on the Internet and teacher-student and student-student dialogues are not bound by spatial boundaries. The paper presents four metaphoric spaces that virtual dialogues can take place in. Each of these appears to fail the criteria of creating space where knowledge that a particular individual has can be shared, recreated, and amplified through interactions with others in academic contexts. We consider the effect of three driving forces that could create alternative teacher and student roles and dialogues between them. A technology-driven shaping of virtual learning may result in auto-responsive ‘robosapiens’, a relativist societal-driven shaping of virtual learning may result in socially isolated ‘nerds’. An environment in which technology is shaped by ethical evaluation with respect to higher level (e.g. meta-conceptual) learning is desired to raise the standards of intellectual and technological talents. Such an environment is considerably different from the norms of present-day universities and the every-day roles of teachers and students.