Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/63810
Edge The future of accounting may lie in educators' efforts to transform the profession from one based in tradition to one that connects to the needs of business. by W. Steve Albrecht Accounting Education onthe Last year, my colleague Robert Sack of the University of Virginia and I concluded that if we were to open a new business school today, we would not include a separate accounting program—at least, not in the way such programs are structured today. Our conclusion was based on our research indicating that accounting programs, as they are tra- ditionally taught, have become anachronisms. Our study showed that students no longer perceive however, it is necessary to understand changes that have taken place in the business world and how those changes have affected business education. accounting degrees to be as valuable as other business degrees, and that many practicing accountants and account- ing educators would not pursue a degree in accounting if they had their education to do over again. Perhaps most tellingly, many in the profession say that accounting, as it is currently structured, is "broken." It has become outdated and irrele- vant to today's businesses. It may be difficult to see a future for a discipline that is the target for so much criticism, but the future for accounting education is still promising. Before we can determine whether or not accounting has a place in management education, alization. Faster methods of transportation and technologi- cal progress have transformed the world into one giant mar- ketplace. Consumers now can buy products from foreign BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2002 A New World In recent years, at least three major developments have dra- matically changed the business environment for which we prepare our graduates. Not surprisingly, technology is at the forefront of these developments, especially in terms of mak- ing information preparation and dissemination easy and inex- pensive. High-speed digital data transmission, hardware that produces information quickly and easily, and software that makes preparation and communication easy and widely avail- able have reduced or eliminated the constraints of time and space for today's business world. The second development has been the shift toward glob- 41