The Conformity of University Accounting Education Curriculum to the Needs of the Labor Market in Romania

This study represents empirical research that aims to investigate how the labor market for the financial-accounting segment in Romania requires professional and personal skills developed within the accounting education curriculum in the Romanian universities of this profile, or these produce young practitioners inappropriate from the curricular point of view to the employers＇ demands. The study develops a statistical analysis of frequencies, aiming to find an importance stratification of the professional and personal characteristics in the employers＇ demands. The study groups the job advertisements into three categories： for financial accounting, managerial accounting and audit, and seeks to identify specific curriculum descriptors for these categories of professional development. At the same time, the study does a frequency analysis of curriculum descriptors and job execution, comparatively to the management jobs, attempting to do a hierarchy of professional and personal skills, depending on the wording of notices by employers. The conclusions of the report attempts to be a synthesis of the study assumptions results that lead to the idea that the curricular programs of the universities of this profile, though responding in terms of theoretical knowledge, should be extended in practice, but particularly in the personal skills development, which are defining in a competitive selection process.

Accounting Education Changes in USA and Its Implications to PRC

The internationalization of accounting education in PRC as one of the most important parts of Chinese accounting internationalization has been Americanized to some extent since 1980s. As the representative of the world＇s most advanced education system, the USA accounting education is worth learning, but had been suffering from a crisis in the past 20 years. To better understand this crisis and draw some lessons from it, we have to review the 100-year history of the US＇ accounting education, identify key initiatives taken to struggle out, and conclude that this accounting education crisis in USA is due to its congenital professional examination orientation and about 40 years of deviation of accounting education from accounting practice. This paper is ended with some policy recommendations on the future development of accounting education in PRC including establishing university board of trustees and re-engineering accounting programs.

Research on Novel Paradigm of Contemporary Accounting Education based on Project Teaching Method and Feedback Teaching Mode

In this paper, we conduct analysis on the novel paradigm of the contemporary accounting education based on project teaching method and feedback teaching mode. Along with the deepening of the reform and opening up and further deepening of market economic system reform, especially after the world trade organization （WTO）. In our country made claim for the higher update accounting education career. How to further deepen the reform of the accounting education, further improve the quality of education is the current university education work is facing the urgent task. To deal with the challenges, we propose the novel paradigm and innovative methodology for the task based on the project teaching method and feedback teaching mode. We theoretically analyze the feasibility of the method and will verify the effectiveness in the further research.

A Comparison of Libyan and Australian Students＇ Perceptions of Empowerment in Accounting Courses

The concept of empowerment was introduced into the accounting education research by Zraa, Imran, Kavanagh, and Morgan （2011）. The authors＇ purpose is to compare Libyan and Australian students＇ perceptions of empowerment in accounting courses and to investigate their relationships with classroom instruction. This study involves a survey of 409 students, who are studying the first-year business degree at institutions in Libya and Australia. Observations and interviews are also conducted. Data are analyzed using reliability tests, factor analysis, t-tests, and correlations. The results indicate that Australian students are more empowered than Libyan students. In addition, the result reveals that classroom instruction methods influence students＇ empowerment.

Ethical Awareness： Do We Need to Teach Accounting Ethics？ The Case of Bahrain

Based on the premise that ethics education leads to creation of the required （acceptable level of） ethical awareness, the general streamline of accounting ethics literature is strongly in favor of teaching adequate, efficient, and effective accounting ethics. This paper takes the position that this premise must be checked in an educational setting in which accounting ethics education lacks the characteristics of being adequate, efficient, and effective. Accordingly, a questionnaire with two parts was distributed to accounting students about to graduate from the University of Bahrain （UoB）. The first part is an exploratory investigation consisting of 21 variables/questions. The second part is an experimental investigation consisting of 13 hypothetical accounting cases representing various ethics violations. The general tendency by an accounting student based on the two parts indicates that he/she holds an acceptable level of ethical awareness, despite the fact that accounting education programs lack an adequate, efficient, and effective approach to teaching accounting ethics.

Challenging Stereotypes： International Accounting Students in Australia

Students come to Australia for many and varied reasons, including the possibility of immigrating to Australia on completion of studies. Some programs of study are given higher priority for immigration than others and are thus popular among those hoping to immigrate. The master of professional accounting （MPA） is perhaps the most well-known of these programs, as the majority of its students are allegedly more interested in gaining permanent residency than becoming practicing accountants. Concerns over the quality of this program, its graduates, and its impact on the reputation of Australian higher education have been expressed in the media and in scholarly journals resulting in a stereotype of international postgraduate students as being motivated by immigration and without interest in accounting or engagement in learning. However, little has been done to investigate the experiences and perceptions of the students themselves. The objective of this paper is to more closely examine the motivations and learning behaviors of MPA students in order to test the accuracy of the stereotype. A population of postgraduate accounting students from an Australian university was invited to respond to an anonymous questionnaire survey adapted from the Australian Universities Survey of Student Engagement （AUSSE） to gain an insight into student engagement with learning. The results of this paper demonstrate that motivation is not relevant to learning engagement. The authors find a cohort of students spending many hours in study and facing barriers to learning because of poor English skills. Such findings do not accord with the stereotypical portrayal of international MPA students but lead to questions about the institutional motivations, the nature of accounting education, and English language entry standards and language support.

Students＇ Motivation to Study Accounting Subjects： Difference Between Japan and Indonesia

This study investigates the differences between Japanese and Indonesian students＇ motivation to study accounting subjects. In addition, it examines the factors that can significantly influence students＇ motivation to study accounting subjects. Needless to say, the expansion of International Financial Reporting Standards （IFRS） depends on the quality of education in higher academic institutions. For several academic institutions, it is clear that the topic of students＇ motivation is still a meaningful concern, because the improvement of students＇ motivation and ability would enhance these institutions＇ academic performance in a competitive environment. In this study, the authors developed the theoretical model for students＇ motivation to study accounting subjects. This research showed that self-efficacy, accounting self-concept, mastery goals＇ perception, performance goals＇ perception, and social goals＇ perception had a significant influence on students＇ motivation to study accounting subjects. Furthermore, nationality had an impact on students＇ motivation. Japanese students are more motivated to study accounting subjects than Indonesian students. Another result clarified that goals＇ perception influences the relationship among self-efficacy, accounting self-concept, and students＇ motivation.

Harmonization in auditing profession

The globalization process is affecting a lot the economical environment and in many spheres has characterized the last decade of the twentieth century; accounting and auditing as information tools of the real economy are no exception. This paper introduces the analysis of the ongoing process of harmonization of the qualification to audit at a global level. The aim of the paper is to throw light on the processes of harmonizing auditing and accounting on a global basis, an issue that is of considerable debate at the current time both in the accountancy profession and in academia. The paper is structured is several chapters. In the first chapter entitled ＂Process of globalization and accounting evolution＂ the authors are presenting the steps in the main harmonization process and its major players during the last decades. The engine of internationalization seems to be the Anglo-Saxon accounting systems where the globalization issue was always very important. In the second chapter ＂Literature review＂ the authors are presenting some articles linked with the subject of our paper. In the third chapter ＂Harmonization of the qualification to audit＂ the authors are presenting need of ＂global qualification＂ in accounting and audit profession. In the fourth chapter ＂The field of global accountancy education＂, the authors are presenting the history of the adopting by the international organizations sustainable global education curricula in the field of accounting and audition profession. There the authors are underlying the role of Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting International, which is considered to develop a ＂model curriculum＂ for a global accountancy qualification. Also is presented the IFAC＇s Education Committee＇s results and also the ACCA program in educational field. The chapter ＂Forces which are ruling the regulation process＂ is presented the IASC/IASB and the European directives in harmonization process. On the chapter ＂Global accountancy education＂ the authors are presenting the threats of using the need of ＂international qualification in audit＂ by developed countries as a tool of exploitation, using it as ＂cultural capital＂ for sale to developing countries （See the ACCA mechanism）. Also the authors are presenting the IFAC role on building up international accounting curricula, which can be implemented through its members all over the world. The conclusions are trying to emphasize the steps which the accounting education needs to be followed in Romania due to the international evolutions.

The Impact of Cooperative Leaming and Empowerment on the Performance of First-Year Accounting Students

Empowerment in learning has been a topic of discussion for the last two decades. Empowered learners are not only believed to achieve greater content learning but are also thought to better demonstrate competencies such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving. These competencies are becoming increasingly important as the role of professional accountants evolves and diversifies. This paper examines first-year accounting students＇ perceptions of empowerment based on two different learning styles： cooperative learning and traditional classroom instruction. A quantitative research design was used to survey 279 first-year business degree students studying at institutions in Libya. The results indicated that students who attended cooperative learning classes were more empowered in terms of the impact they believed they could have on class discussions and the meaningfulness they attributed to the tasks being discussed. In addition, students taught by cooperative learning methods recorded significantly higher end of term exam results than those students who received traditional classroom instruction. In conclusion, this research indicates that the teaching method used in classroom instruction may impact an accounting student＇s levels of empowerment and subsequently their critical thinking, problem solving, writing skills, and technical accounting competencies.

A citation analysis measuring the impact of Albrecht ＆ Sack （2000）

This educational note measures the impact of the Albrecht ＆ Sack （2000） monograph in accounting education literature from its publication date at the end of 2000. Impact refers to the number of times Albrecht ＆ Sack （2000） has been cited and referenced in the three leading US Accounting education journals, being Advances in Accounting Education, Issues in Accounting Education, and the Journal of Accounting Education. This educational note found that since 2001, and until 2007, ＂Albrecht ＆ Sack （2000）＂ has been cited in 29.3% of research papers, and the most cited chapter was Chapter 5-＂Improving accounting education＂. While Albrecht ＆ Sack （2000） has been widely cited, the impact in terms of policy changes, and changes to the accounting curriculum has yet to be eventuated. Indeed it may still be too early to examine impact beyond pure citation.