Accounting academics’ perceptions of the effect of accreditation on UK accounting degrees

ABSTRACT

Students graduating from undergraduate accounting degree programmes in the UK are eligible for and attracted by accreditation available from professional accountancy body (PAB) examinations. The study reviews factual information available from PAB websites to confirm that virtually all accounting degrees in the UK have accreditation, and many are accredited with two or more PABs. By interviewing 18 accounting academics from a cross section of UK universities, this study verifies the factual information and confirms views expressed in the literature regarding the constraining nature of accreditation on UK accounting degrees. The interviewees confirmed that accreditation is seen as essential for student recruitment to degree programmes and that it leads to degree programmes imitating professional syllabi and examinations, resulting in technical content and didactic methods, which in turns crowds out broader educational activity. While providing a consistent structure and approach to university accounting education in the UK, the consensus view is that accreditation constrains degree programmes leading to a missed opportunity to provide a wider liberal education. It is also found that the legitimacy of awarding exemptions to students with less than good honours should be questioned.

KEYWORDS:

• Accounting education
• accreditation
• professional accountancy bodies
• liberal education
• UK accounting degrees

Acknowledgements

The project received a bursary and support, through workshops and mentoring from the British Accounting and Finance Association Special Interest Group (BAFA SIG) for Accounting Education.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. There are seven professional accountancy bodies (PABs) in the UK: the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS), Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) – which operates in North Ireland a part of the UK, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), and the Chartered, Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Association of International Accountants.

2. Secondary school is a term used in the UK for educational provision for pupils aged 11–18 years.

3. In the USA and Australia for example an accounting degree is a mandatory requirement prior to taking professional body examinations.

4. The system of accreditation in the UK operates by universities applying for subject-by-subject exemptions from PAB professional examinations for students that pass the university module that has qualified for the exemption.

5. QAA, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (2015a) in the UK sets benchmarks for degrees across the sector. The relevant benchmark statement for accounting degrees is the benchmark statement for accounting (QAA, 2015b).

6. This historic split results from when polytechnics, specialising in vocational subjects, were granted university status in 1992. Subsequently, they are often referred to as post-1992 ‘teaching’ universities. Pre-1992 universities, in contrast, are known as ‘research’ universities.