|
Article Excerpt
The corporate landscape continues to undergo considerable change with ongoing developments such as escalating globalization, greater competition, increased use of information technology, new regulations aimed at corporate governance, and more. These changes have redefined the role of accountants as corporate decision makers, business consultants, and analysts. Some have even described the role of accountants as being managers, corporate executives, or business partners. (1) To better prepare accounting graduates to fill these and other emerging roles, eliciting the views of those involved in the operation of today's business activities is essential. While accounting faculty generally tend to emphasize traditional accounting topics or those that are not necessarily important to practitioners, a closer look at contemporary business issues and their relationship to accounting is a critical step in curriculum development. (2)
This article presents the results of a survey of accounting practitioners regarding the topics that they feel are most important and relevant for accountants in their companies. The primary focus of this study is on the knowledge, skills, and abilities that companies expect from management accountants. The investigation is divided into two sets of topical coverage--entry-level positions and senior-level positions. The results can help accounting educators design new courses or revise their current cost/managerial accounting course contents in order to better prepare students for a more practice-oriented accounting career. In addition to accounting educators, professional organizations can also use the results of this study to identify subject areas that should be included in professional examinations.
The following sections include a brief look at prior studies, discussion of the research methodology and results, and an analysis that compares the practitioners' attitudes based on their membership in either the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA[R]) or American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which includes the importance of the topics to an entry-level vs. senior-level position.
PRIOR STUDIES
During the 1990s, the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) announced that developments in the work environment, including the widespread use of communication and presentation tools in business, had changed the role of accountants from providers of accounting information to communicators, consultants, and decision makers. Individuals entering the profession were expected to display effective problem-solving, communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills, and they were expected to demonstrate the ability to effectively control and manage multidimensional and multistep projects throughout their career.
In response to these challenges, IMA launched a series of research projects to examine the changes in management accounting and financial management and determine the skills necessary for a successful career in the newly redefined profession. The results, though very general, identified work activities of corporate accountants along with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a successful career in corporate accounting. (3) Results of the research efforts, published in 1994, 1996, and 1999, conclude that corporate accountants perform a wide variety of activities--many of which depend on their role in the organization, position in the firm, years of experience, and company size. Some of these activities are within the realm of traditional management accounting jobs, while others relate to corporate accounting work, including financial reporting, tax accounting, and verification of recorded data. According to The Practice Analysis of Management Accounting, from 1996, the top two work activities corporate accountants perform most frequently are "managing the accounting/finance function" and "accounting systems and financial reporting." (4)
The most recent IMA practice analysis, 1999's Counting More, Counting Less: Transformations in the Management Accounting Profession, concludes that we should expect major changes in the activities of management accountants. The most significant changes include:
* Less reporting of information and more planning and analysis,...
|
