The strategic transformation of accounting into a learned profession

Abstract

The skills gap in the accounting profession is not a new issue. More than 30 years of research and studies all point to an ever-increasing disparity between what accountants do and what the mainstream accounting curriculum teaches. Technology and businesses are changing and evolving rapidly, as are the expectations for accountants. Advances in the areas of automation and machine learning, artificial intelligence, data analytics and blockchain are examples of current technology disruptions in the accounting industry. The competencies and skills needed today for the accounting profession in the broad sense are not being taught by most universities. The purpose of this paper is to explore what these competencies and skills are, and why accounting curricula needs a strategic transformation into higher education for a learned profession.