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for the future better than any other discipline can. processes and vision. 4. They communicate the vision, processes, and risks effec- 3. They assess and mitigate risks that inhibit the success of stand how financial information can be used to prevent, detect, and investigate fraud, for example. Litigation support and personal financial planning courses may also help to cre- ate an improved, more relevant accounting curriculum. In addition, courses that help students understand how to deal with business risks, focus on corporate governance and due diligence, and delve into the analysis of financial information in mergers and acquisitions as these topics relate to account- ing also are necessary. The skills and knowledge generated from such studies could convert accounting from an infor- mation generating profession to one that uses information to solve problems and carry an organization's vision to fruition. ingful if it can provide financial information, measurement, and analysis skills that add value to each of these functions. Well-trained accountants will provide tremendous value to organizations as key members of decision and support teams. However, accountants who focus only on prepara- tion soon will find that their skills will no longer be needed. Courses in fraud examination may help students under- tively to vested stakeholders and other interested parties. Going forward, accounting education can only be mean- waste students' time. Similarly, faculty development efforts will help educators develop the new skills and knowledge that they must have to keep pace with the accelerating speed of business. Schools that fail to transformtheir curricula will find them- selves at the points I described at the beginning of this arti- cle—eliminating their accounting programs as demand ebbs and disappears. Isolated, preparation-oriented, and memo- rization-based accounting programs will not and should not survive in the future of management education. Working with a New Set of Tools Because their roles have changed so dramatically, future accountants will need a new set of tools. Skills in analytical and critical thinking, technology, communication, and team- work are essential to moving the profession into a new era. Accounting education has a bright and an even increasingly important role in business schools and business in general if it is taught with that role in mind. Schools with successful accounting programs will use inno- efforts of organizations such as AACSB International and the faculty development efforts of the American Accounting Association and others are more important than ever. Accreditation will provide benchmark and peer review assistance to help schools adjust their curricula and pedagogy to suit the new environment they inhabit and to distinguish value-added programs from those that simply vative pedagogies and case analysis to involve students in active rather than passive learning. Successful programs will work closely with other business school disciplines, such as marketing, finance, and information systems, to help students understand how their financial analysis, planning, and inter- pretation skills will apply to all aspects of business. In this new environment, the accounting accreditation had no future. Rather, it will be because we didn't seize the opportunities that were available to us and adapt our programs to the rapidly changing and evolving business environment. ■ z Steve Albrecht is the associate dean and the Andersen LLP Alumni Professor of Accounting at Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management in Provo, Utah. BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2002 45 curricula; if we focus on interpretation, analysis, planning, and decision making; and if we modify our learning envi- ronments from passive to active, accounting education has a bright future. Accounting education can prepare students to think critically, assess risk, interpret financial information, and plan for the future better than any other discipline can. If we fail, it will not be because accounting education Accounting's Last Chance In the final analysis, whether or not accounting education has a future depends on how proactive accounting educators and business school administrators are. If we are content to teach low value-chain activities, our students will gradually decline in number and be replaced by low-level, technically trained professionals. On the other hand, if we are proactive in revising our