Asian Review of Accounting

Public sector accounting education in Australian universities: Obstacles and

opportunities
Nick Sciulli Robert Sims

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ARA
16,3

Public sector accounting

education in Australian
universities

246

Obstacles and opportunities

Nick Sciulli and Robert Sims

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Centre for International Corporate Governance Research (CICGR),

Faculty of Business and Law,
Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose In Australia, the public sector represents a significant component of the Australian
economy and is a major employer across all states and territories. A constant stream of public sector
management reforms has occurred over the last decade. These reforms include accrual accounting and
budgeting, whole of government reporting, privatisation and contracting out to name a few. This would
suggest that accounting graduates applying for positions at government agencies would benefit from
some knowledge of these significant reforms. This paper aims to examine the perceptions of accounting
academics as to barriers to public sector accounting (PSA) education in Australia and identify strategies
for making the accounting curriculum more public sector inclusive.
Design/methodology/approach Two data collection methods were employed in order to attain
a comprehensive picture of the state of PSA education in Australia. Telephone interviews were undertaken
with accounting academics across a carefully selected range of universities. This selection ensured
representation across the core accounting units to gain an indication of the extent of public sector coverage
in the core accounting subjects. In-depth face-to-face interviews were then conducted at five universities
across five states of Australia to probe further issues that emanated from the telephone interviews.
Findings The findings suggest that in general, there is very limited teaching of PSA in Australian
universities accounting degree programs. Of the universities studied where issues regarding the
public sector are emphasised, this is mainly due to a few academics who have a research interest in the
public sector and so extend this interest into their teaching and the curriculum.
Research limitations/implications There are a number of strategies identified to achieve
greater coverage of PSA in the curriculum. However, the findings suggest that unless the professional
accounting bodies require PSA to be included in courses as part of the accreditation process, then it
will be difficult to achieve significant improvement in the nature and extent of public sector exposure.
Most interviewees argued that a key factor in increasing public sector coverage would be ensuring that
the textbook writers for the core accounting units included more PSA examples.
Originality/value The public sector in general, and PSA education is a neglected area of research.
This study is significant as it highlights that although major public sector reforms have occurred in
Australia and worldwide, this has had little impact on the accounting curriculum taught to students.
Keywords Public sector organizations, Accounting education, Australia, Universities
Paper type Research paper

Asian Review of Accounting

Vol. 16 No. 3, 2008
pp. 246-262
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1321-7348
DOI 10.1108/13217340810906690

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by CPA Australia Board
Public Sector Committee to undertake this project, and secretarial support provided by the Public
Sector Research Unit Victoria University. The authors wish to thank their research assistant
Josephine Simone for her valuable contribution.

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Introduction
The purpose of this study is to identify the major barriers inhibiting the teaching of public
sector accounting (PSA) in Australian universities. A secondary purpose was to identify
strategies that could be implemented to help overcome these barriers. To achieve these
aims, a range of universities was contacted to complete a telephone questionnaire.
In addition, a number of site visits were conducted in order to complete in-depth interviews
(IDIs) with key participants.
The motivations for this project are numerous. In an era within the public sector that
has included such reforms as value-for-money, accrual-based budgeting, activity-based
costing, outsourcing and contracting out of services, corporatisation and/or
privatisation and public private partnerships to name a few, the increasing
importance of accounting and accountability information to the organisation and
management of public sector organisations is critical (Dewing and Russell, 1998).
Further, contact with CPA Australia has confirmed that 11,125 CPAs are currently
employed in the public sector, from its total membership of 118,000. This represents
9.4 per cent of the total membership. In addition, few research studies have been
undertaken measuring the extent of PSA education in Australian universities, with the
exception of the study conducted by Sims et al. (1997). In that report respondents
felt that there were still significant differences in accounting practices between
private and public sectors. However, the study concluded that apart from pockets of
activity in a few universities, most accounting graduates in Australia received very
limited exposure to PSA. It is timely to re-visit this issue given the number and
impact of public sector management reforms which have been implemented
in Australia and internationally, most notably in the UK, the USA and
New Zealand (NZ).
The public sector can be broadly defined as including local, state and federal
government departments and agencies. Its size and importance can be measured in
various ways. The 2005-2006 annual budget (Australian Government, 2005) confirmed
that the total public sector constitutes a significant portion of the Australian economy
(over 20 per cent of domestic final demand). In terms of employees, as at May 2005, there
were a total of 1,599,000 public sector employees across the three tiers of government
accounting for approximately 16 per cent of all wage and salary earners in Australia
(Australian Government, 2005).
Accounting education and public sector reforms
The public sector has undergone and continues to undergo significant reforms. Many of
these reforms affect the type and quality of information required by managers and
external users.
Over the last two decades there has been widespread interest in the management of
the public sector both in Australia and overseas (Davis et al., 1988; Zifcak, 1994;
Homeshaw, 1995; OFaircheallaigh et al., 1999; Steane and Walker, 2000; Klumpes, 2001;
McDonald et al., 2005). Faced with a number of issues including changing community
perceptions, the need to limit budget spending, and globalisation, the public sector in
Australia has undergone a period of intense change. Public sector managers have come
under pressure to increase efficiency, effectiveness and provide value for money in
public sector activities. In response, public sector organisations have adopted private
sector management techniques (Funnell and Cooper, 1998; Potter, 2002).

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These developments in the public sector have been referred to as the new public sector
or the new public management (Hood, 1991, 1995; Mathews, 1997; Mok, 1999; Schedler
and Mastronardi, 2005).
Accountants in their primary role of providing predominantly financial information to
decision makers are now required to work in an environment of constant change. At the
same time, the past studies referred to above confirm that few accounting graduates
received more than scant coverage of PSA issues in their formal university education. This
again raises the question of whether universities are producing appropriately educated
accounting graduates able to serve the public sector.
The changing nature of the commercial environment has subjected accounting
education in general, to much scrutiny in terms of its practicality in adequately preparing
students for todays business world. Accounting educators must be aware of what
industries and sectors their graduates will ultimately service in the future and the skills
required by graduates (Mohamed and Lashine, 2003; Gammie et al., 2002).
Richardson (1999) highlighted the fact that universities are under pressure from
constrained levels of funding as well as being under pressure to meet employer needs.
Though courses and subjects had been developed which are more specialised, it is
imperative that they meet the requirements of the targeted industry. After examining the
perceptions of senior accountants in the Australian industry, Richardson (1999) concluded
that university graduates were under-prepared in a number of important management
accounting roles, based on the perceived requirements of management and public
accounting positions.
Arguing further the case for accounting programs to remain relevant, Rebele (2002)
suggested that accounting courses need to monitor and respond to changes in their
environment just as businesses do. This process allows universities to respond to new
opportunities and maintain competitive advantages. However, this notion does not
seem to have been applied to general accounting education let alone PSA education.
Parker (2005) noted that accounting and auditing teaching in Australian and NZ
universities is largely textbook driven, with a predominantly quantitative, calculative,
and professional accounting association accreditation orientation.
At the same time, the nature and volume of public sector reforms, appears to have
had little effect on an accounting curriculum with a predominantly corporate business
focus. In fact, a study by Mathews (2004) that undertook a web site analysis of the 39
academic institutions in Australia, found much uniformity in programs, but no PSA
subject in the composition of accounting majors. Mathews (2004) also raises the
question of accounting education uniformity and commonality as a result of the
influence of the accreditation process.
Developing an awareness of public sector issues may need to be initiated by academic
research. Macve (1992) raises the point that there have been major restructurings of
public sector organisations such as schools, hospitals and universities under the
auspices of improved financial management and accountability. Yet, there does not
appear to have been a commensurate increase in the level of academic research to
investigate whether and to what extent these government objectives have been met.
Moreover, an interdisciplinary approach may need to be examined to establish whether
development of public sector curriculum is best served by including academics from
other disciplines in addition to accounting academics.

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There are varying views on the objective of accounting education, but the business
world has changed dramatically and there is concern that the accounting curriculum is
not keeping pace with that change. Courtis and Zaid (2002), for example, identified an
expectation gap between the employer and the graduate accountant as a consequence
of employers perceptions of a lack of practical ability among graduates.
In an Australian context, Mathews (2001) argued that accounting education ought
to move towards a graduate entry course similar to what are often known as
conversion courses in many universities. He argued that this would ensure
accounting graduates developed a more broadly based education, before commencing
specialised accounting studies. This, in turn, was thought to improve the graduates
ability to think strategically and better deal with the business complexities of the
workplace. This proposed development may help to serve the interests of public sector
organisations which, unlike their private sector counterparts, have to operate in a
complex tapestry of sometimes conflicting social, political and economic demands from
managers, bureaucrats, officials and the electorate.
In NZ, Dixon (1989a) surveyed members of the NZ Society of Accountants employed
in the NZ public sector and found that the lack of knowledge of government structure,
process and accounting in the public sector was the most frequently perceived
weakness of graduate trainees. Dixon (1989b) followed up with a survey of NZ
universities and polytechnics to examine recent trends in PSA education. The findings
of this study mirrored closely those found in the later study conducted by Sims et al.
(1997). Both studies identified a number of barriers to PSA education including low
numbers of academic staff involved in PSA, a lack of student interest and a lack of
qualified and or interested staff. These two studies confirm that formal PSA education
in Australian universities has been stagnating for a very long time despite major
public sector reforms being actively adopted by successive governments.
In commenting on the state of professional accounting education in the UK, Sikka
et al. (2007, p. 15) make the notable comment that:
Perhaps, under the control of professional accountancy bodies, accounting education is
destined to remain a decontextualized technical process.

While this comment was aimed at issues around corporate governance and ethics
rather than the public sector per se, it provides some support for the importance of
context in the teaching of accounting. The public sector context has important
structural and organisational differences, including the constraints imposed by
operating in an environment restricted by constitutional and legislative budgetary and
accountability frameworks, still very different from corporate structures. The question
then is to what extent should accounting graduates who may be entering the public
sector need to be more exposed to the public sector context while studying accounting
at university.
Previous research provides many insights into the deficiencies of accounting
education as well as various suggestions on how accounting education can be
improved within university curriculum. However, as suggested earlier, there has been
a dearth of research focussing on PSA education. This project seeks to address this
deficiency. It was commissioned by CPA Australia Board Public Sector Committee,
to examine the extent to which PSA is taught within universities, to identify barriers to

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PSA education and to suggest courses of actions to improve the coverage of public
sector education.
Method
Data collection and recording
Two data collection methods were employed in order to attain a comprehensive picture
of the state of PSA education in Australia:
(1) Telephone interviews were undertaken with accounting academics across
a carefully selected range of universities. This selection ensured representation
across the core accounting units to gain an indication of the extent of public
sector coverage in the core accounting subjects.
(2) In-depth face-to-face interviews were then conducted at five universities across
five states of Australia to probe further issues that emanated from the telephone
interviews.
Telephone interviews
The main aim of the telephone interviews was to obtain the perceptions of accounting
academics in relation to PSA education in the core subjects for which they were
responsible at their university. Telephone interviewees were chosen to ensure
a sufficiently high-response rate which was cost-effective and data were collected in
a relatively short time. A smaller number of in-depth face-to-face interviews were then
used to gain a deeper understanding of the relevant issues. The telephone interview
protocol was drafted with a mixture of fixed and open-ended response questions[1].
These questions sought to determine the following:
.
Whether core accounting subjects incorporated PSA and if so, how and to what
extent?
.
The perceived barriers to including more PSA content in core accounting
subjects.
.
Whether there is a need for PSA education, and if so, what could be done to
encourage universities to include public sector content in the accounting
curriculum?
The following universities were chosen on the basis of obtaining a suitable geographical
spread across Australia as well as a distribution across universities that have had a long
research history and those newer universities which formerly were teaching intensive
rather than research-oriented. The universities which participated in the telephone
interviews were as follows:
(1) University of Melbourne.
(2) The University of Tasmania.
(3) Curtin University.
(4) University of the Sunshine Coast.
(5) Deakin University.
(6) University of Sydney.
(7) The University of Adelaide.

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(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)

The University of Queensland.

The University of Western Sydney.
University of South Australia.
Australia National University.
University of Western Australia.

For each of the 12 universities, the subject coordinators for the following core
accounting subjects were contacted to carry out a telephone interview:
.
introductory accounting;
.
management accounting (introductory level);
.
financial accounting (introductory level);
.
auditing; and
.
accounting theory or advanced financial accounting or equivalent.
The above subjects consist of a mix of first, second and third year core accounting
subjects to ensure coverage across the core accounting discipline areas most likely to
contain some reference to PSA. The interview protocol also included a question about
whether the interviewee was aware of any other subject where a lecturer may be
incorporating any material or examples relating to the public sector. No examples were
identified, and to the extent that staff could be relied upon to be aware of what subject
matter is taught by their fellow colleagues, then, this confirms the appropriateness of
the subjects chosen to investigate.
Contact details about each subject coordinator were obtained from each universitys
web site or where necessary by direct contact with the university. Out of an interview
sample of 60 (12 universities by five core accounting subjects), 42 interviews were
carried out, resulting in a response rate of 70 per cent.
In-depth face-to-face interviews
The face-to-face interviews were conducted to probe further the issues raised within
the telephone interviews. The interviews were also undertaken to test for any
inconsistency with the perceptions obtained from the telephone interviews. The
in-depth face-to-face interviews consisted of structured and unstructured (open-ended)
questions, to allow respondents to describe the underlying foundation in their
discipline of accounting, as well as providing a broader insight into the philosophy of
accounting education at their respective university. The open-ended questions allowed
the respondent to expand upon what they considered were the important issues in PSA
education and problems still to be resolved, rather than be constrained by
pre-determined questions. The respondent in this way is analogous to an informant[2].
Five universities were selected to carry out the IDIs. They were:
(1) Griffith University.
(2) Curtin University.
(3) The University of South Australia.
(4) The University of Western Sydney.
(5) The Australian National University.

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These universities were selected on the following basis:

.
Three universities were chosen because they currently offered a specialist
(usually an elective) PSA subject. The subject coordinator for the subject was
interviewed in this instance to gain the perceptions of someone who could be
reasonably presumed to have at least some background or interest in the public
sector.
.
Two universities were chosen which do not offer a specialist PSA subject where
it was less likely that the interviewees would have a public sector background or
interest. A head of school and a senior lecturer were interviewed in this instance
in each case, who could reasonably be regarded as expert witnesses to what was
happening in each respective accounting school.
Four of the five interviewees agreed to have the interview tape-recorded. In addition,
notes were taken directly on to a lap top computer at all five interviews. The interviews
ranged in duration from one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half hours.
Data analysis
A combination of quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were used for this
project. The telephone interviews provided quantitative data about perceived barriers to
including PSA, how PSA ought to be taught and what could be done to encourage more
PSA in the curriculum. The face-to-face interviews produced only qualitative data.
Quantitative data were analysed using basic descriptive statistics as displayed in
Table I and Figures 1 and 2 which are discussed in the results section of this paper. It
was not necessary to go beyond simple analysis of frequencies to gain an
understanding of the extent of public sector education and identify barriers and actions
to improve PSA coverage.
The processes for analysing qualitative data were necessarily more complicated.
Qualitative data were extracted from the transcripts of the face-to-face IDIs and
grouped and analysed using a combination of data organisation and theme
development. The first step was to make interim summaries of each interview and do
some preliminary coding to identify common themes. First level coding was used to
attach labels to words or groups of words, and second level coding, also known as
Response
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6

Table I.
(TI) Barriers to
incorporating PSA

1.7
1.8

Full curriculum/timing issue

Lecturers interest in, experience and perceived
relevance of the public sector
Belief that accounting concepts can be applied across
the board
Lack of suitable public sector resources
Teaching focus is on the private sector and or
publicly listed companies
Curriculum driven by the accounting
standards/professional accreditation
Student interest
None/no views
Total

Number

Per cent

15

22

12

18

11
9

16
13

12

5
4
4
68

7
6
6
100

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Figure 1.

Figure 2.

pattern coding, was used to group the initial codes into a smaller number of themes or
patterns. This form of coding is analogous to factor or cluster analysis of quantitative
data. To validate the coding rules, a research assistant was asked to fill in a number of
the coding sheets after reviewing an IDI transcript. It was found that there were no
significant problems in understanding and filling in the coding sheets and that
identical PSA issues were noted by the assistant.
The themes derived from this process were used to design matrices to assist in
further analysis of the data, as suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994, p. 240):
[. . .] matrix construction is a creative yet systematic task that furthers your understanding of
the substance and meaning of your database, even before you begin entering information.
Thus, the issue is not whether you are building a correct matrix, but whether it is a helpful
one that will give you reasonable answers to the questions you are asking.

Thus, various themes emerging from the data were listed across the top of the matrix
and the names of the interviewees were then listed vertically along the left hand side of
the matrix and the interviewee responses coded into the body of the matrix.

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Since the central research question was on the barriers to teaching PSA, much of the
analysis is based on developing themes and categorising barriers as they emerged
from the data, rather than applying pre-determined themes. That is, an
analyst-constructed typology was developed whereby patterns, categories and
themes were created from the data.
The initial data collection matrices prepared had to still allow for some flexibility to
enable the inclusion of new and interesting data which may not have been predicted
from the first cut using the interview summaries. This flexibility had to be allowed to
ensure new themes and barriers could be meaningfully added as they emerged.
Findings
Barriers to teaching public sector accounting. Based on the telephone interviews, the
main barriers to incorporating PSA in the curriculum are shown in Table I (TI).
Full curriculum/timing issue. The largest barrier (22 per cent) to incorporating PSA in
the curriculum was the perception that there is already too much material that needs to be
covered during the semester. This finding was consistent with the Sims et al. (1997) study
which identified the volume of content specified by the professional bodies to be the
greatest barrier to PSA education. These views indicate that incorporating the
requirement to teach further content such as PSA within the standard curriculum will
likely be at the expense of teaching other material. A professor of accounting emphasised:
We cannot cover everything in three years.
There is no room in the current curriculum. More content will not necessarily improve
outcomes (IDI).

This was the predominant theme emerging from the interviews with academics. It was
also suggested that the newer universities had reduced their weekly instruction from four
hours per week to three hours and, moreover, the teaching semester has reduced from 16 to
12 weeks. This transition occurred during the Dawkins era of higher education reforms.
This has had an enormous impact on the quantity and depth of instruction of accounting
theory and practice. One respondent stated that there is the additional expectation of what
employers want from graduates in terms of technical and soft skills and this raises the
need to balance the professions expectations with employers expectations.
The availability of double majors has proved popular amongst students and in this
course structure there is rarely scope for students to choose electives, one of which
could conceivably be PSA.
A related issue is work load pressure. Comments from academic staff centred around the
fact that there was little incentive in developing a PSA elective, as few staff had the time to
develop such a subject. It required more effort to update the subject, produce materials and
keep abreast of changes compared to the core accounting subjects, where there was a much
larger range of contemporary textbooks and resources.
Lecturers interest in, experience and perceived relevance of the public sector. In total,
18 per cent of respondents suggested that the lecturers teaching and/or work
experience or specific research interest had some influence on the teaching of PSA
content. Only one respondent used the example of how she developed case studies for
her teaching that were based on her previous experience of working in the banking
sector. No other examples were provided from the sample surveyed. This suggests that
the current pool of Australian accounting academics is drawn substantially from the

private sector or directly from their undergraduate/post-graduate studies. For example,

honours students taking up tutoring positions. According to one senior lecturer:
The main barrier is the academic mindset because they have never encountered anything of
the public sector and do not see it as necessary. It remains a poor third cousin and still
a stigma associated with public sector accounting and the public sector generally.
Students feel there is a stigma attached to the public service [. . .] especially if they did not get
a job with the Big Four or in the commercial sector (IDI).

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Across the Australian university sector, there appears to be small pockets of academics
with a strong interest in teaching and researching issues regarding the public sector,
but this represents a very small minority. As one professor lamented:
There is a complete lack of academics who can teach in the area (IDI).

A head of school from a different university corroborated this comment:

There is a lack of expertise and/or interest in public sector accounting among academics
generally. Very few lecturers with the expertise in this school around 20% only. (I have a)
belief in academic freedom and am not prepared to force all individual staff to include public
sector content in their subjects (IDI).

Belief that accounting concepts can be applied across the board. With the volume of
content that needs to be covered during the semester, the teaching focus appears to be
on core accounting principles and common elements that would apply across the public
and private sectors. About 16 per cent of respondents suggested that the concepts that
were taught would apply to both the private and public sectors. As stated succinctly by
an accounting subject coordinator:
The principles (regarding the private and public sectors) are the same (IDI).

However, this remains a contentious issue mong accounting academics. A number of

comments reflected that the important differences in context needed to be understood,
with one accounting professor suggesting that:
The AASB (Australian Accounting Standards Board) is dominated by corporates; they do not
understand how the government differs from the private sector (IDI).

This is consistent with the current accounting regulatory framework which has now
discarded the concept of having two regimes of accounting standards, one issued for
the private sector and PSA standards which were issued by the Public Sector
Accounting Standards Board.
It was also noted by a senior lecturer who had an interest in the public sector that
even though the internationalisation of accounting standards had narrowed the
differences between the two sectors, there was still a need to point out some continuing
major differences such as:
Public sector auditing the public sector audit process and compliance role of the Australian
National Audit Office and State audit offices. There are also implications for
purchaser/provider delivery methods and other business arrangements which provide
challenges for auditing and auditors (IDI).

Lack of suitable public sector resources. The interviewees repeatedly raised the
availability of PSA resources as an important issue. Many respondents saw the lack of

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PSA content within the mainstream accounting textbooks as a significant problem.

Eight of the nine respondents to this issue (89 per cent) believed that the mainstream
accounting textbooks needed to be improved in relation to PSA content. As many
accounting academics often follow the textbooks closely throughout the semester, this
was viewed as a significant issue in the teaching of PSA. To improve the textbooks,
one respondent recommended that PSA content be integrated into the existing
textbooks and not tagged on by merely adding another chapter.
Teaching focus is on the private sector. In teaching these core principles and
common elements, 12 per cent of respondents suggested that the accounting
curriculum focused on the private sector rather than the public sector. One professor of
accounting stated that:
When I taught I mentioned the public sector, but it was difficult to bring up examples because
the students had no background knowledge, and;
All subjects are bombarded with the private sector, for example, law, management and
accounting, so students do not know anything about the public sector (IDI).

This is linked to the perception from many academics that most accounting concepts can
be applied across the board. The logic for this is based on the view that general
accounting knowledge is the same for the public and private sector. Academics then aim
to cover the key accounting standards whilst ignoring public sector specific accounting
standards such as AAS 27 Financial Reporting by Local Governments, AAS 29 Financial
Reporting by Government Departments and AAS 31 Financial Reporting by
Governments. This may also be partially a reflection of the relatively small numbers
of academics with experience or interest in PSA, and therefore, arguably less awareness
of differences and their importance.
Moreover, accrual accounting has been the dominant basis for accounting practice in
the private sector, and, although government agencies now have to prepare reports on
accrual accounting principles, it is a relatively new concept that may again partly
explain why teaching PSA is overlooked.
Curriculum is driven by the accounting standards/professional accreditation.
Professional accreditation is a major driver of the accounting curriculum. The
standard offering of core accounting subjects is a prime example of this. As one subject
coordinator stated:
The profession dictates the content of core subjects and there is not much flexibility in the
content of core subjects.
Students are not aware of the organisational, reporting and accountability structures of the
public sector (IDI).

Several interviewees pointed out that PSA content is not required for professional
accreditation from either of the two professional bodies, and suggested that if the
profession wanted to ensure a minimum level of coverage, it would need to be included
in accreditation requirements.
Students interest. Students interest in PSA was raised as a potential issue.
One respondent suggested that without concerted marketing by individual lecturers,
demand for a PSA elective, would be low or non-existent. Students generally have low
awareness of employment opportunities in the public sector, unless perhaps if their

friends or relatives worked for a public sector organisation. According to a professor of

information systems:
It should be demonstrated to students (via marketing) that they can get good jobs in the
public sector (IDI).

The lack of awareness by students is understandable given their minimal work

experiences and uncertainty regarding their future career choices. As one subject
coordinator stated:

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Undergraduates do not know what they want or need to know and therefore they are not
interested in public sector accounting (IDI).

At three of the universities visited, there was some student interest in the public sector
which was directly influenced by an accounting academic who also had an interest in
the public sector. One head of school reflected on this:
Two students are doing their PhDs on the public sector one on performance measures and one
on outsourcing of computer services. If we had not been here it would not have happened (IDI).

Two issues were raised in relation to international students. First, as public sector
content is often specific to Australia, it may not be seen as relevant to students who
will return to their home country once they have completed their degree. Second,
legalistic content coupled within the Australian context would presumably be
challenging (and less interesting) for most international students. International student
demand to learn PSA may also be influenced by the fact that the Australian public
sector only employs Australian citizens. Conversely, some international students may
be studying in Australia to obtain points to gain residency and therefore, PSA content
in that case would be relevant.
Strategies for increasing the level of PSA content
Where in the accounting degree program should PSA be taught?
Respondents were asked where in the accounting degree program should PSA be
taught. The responses are shown in Figure 1 (TI).
Figure 1 shows that respondents felt that the most appropriate way of incorporating
PSA content was via existing core accounting subjects. As a comparison, this finding
is similar to the study by Sims et al. (1997) where the majority of respondents regarded
integrating PSA in mainstream accounting subjects as the most desirable practice. In
this investigation one head of school stated that:
It would be good to incorporate some comparative public sector and private sector examples
in the mainstream curriculum (IDI).

This is consistent with the view that the accounting curriculum as it stands, has much
content to cover and therefore, some material could be changed by merely substituting
some PSA examples, thereby not increasing the overall volume of material to be presented
to students. Another academic suggested that annual reports of government agencies
should be used for comparison purposes with what is produced for the private sector.
In addition, a subject coordinator stated that the auditing area needs some public
sector material. In fact, information in the media about state and federal
auditor-generals reports would be a valuable resource that academics could tap into
for their teaching and research purposes.

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It is important to note that 29 per cent of respondents believed that PSA ought to be
taught in both the core accounting subjects and as a separate stand-alone subject. This
suggests that the volume of PSA material is too great to be covered adequately in the core
accounting units. There is arguably a basic level of public sector knowledge that perhaps
all students need to be exposed to. However, there is scope for more specialised public
sector content that may be appropriate for students seeking employment in the area of
financial management/ PSA which may need a level of specialised content that could only
be provided in an elective. Regardless of how the content is taught, one respondent
commented that all three levels of government ought to be addressed in the curriculum.
Strategies to encourage greater PSA coverage
In terms of what could be done to encourage the incorporation of public sector content in
core accounting subjects, there was a range of responses as shown in Figure 2 (TI). Note
that the responses are from those who currently do not incorporate any PSA content in
their subject, that is 33 interviewees.
The findings reveal that 29 per cent of respondents are not sure of what could be
done to encourage a greater level of PSA content.
However, of those that did have an opinion, the most popular suggestion (26 per cent)
was to include public sector coverage in textbooks for core subjects. The adequacy of
relevant public sector resources was also an issue raised by the interviewees during the
IDIs. There was agreement that there was a general lack of up-to-date Australian-based
resources that academics could access. Some pertinent comments from accounting
subject co-ordinators were:
If useful examples were provided, I would use them;
It (the public sector) needs to be in the textbooks and;
Case studies need to be small, easy to understand and incorporate key issues, rather than too
large and complicated and putting people off (IDI).

The use of case studies for accounting students was investigated by Weil et al. (2001)
who found that students believed that case studies enhanced their learning by
exposing students to real-world complexities. A professor of accounting suggested that
a small, low-cost booklet needed to be produced which would outline the differences
between local, state and federal government, with some case studies which could be
used when teaching management accounting.
One subject coordinator suggested that to encourage the teaching of PSA, it would
be desirable to appoint a lecturer at each university who has a PSA interest to provide
leadership in this area. This may lead to the natural development of
courses/subjects/research, marketing and promotion in the area.
All academics interviewed face-to-face suggested that the accreditation by the
professional bodies was a means of increasing the level of PSA. A head of school
commented:
I am critical of how the program can be accredited without knowledge of the public and
not-for-profit sectors, and,
CPA Australia and the ICAA through their accreditation process should raise the public
sector issue with universities, just as they mention internationalisation and information
technology but not the public sector (IDI).

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Beyond the university system, it was suggested by several academics that a specialist PSA
elective module be developed as part of the CPA program, specifically catering for people
already working in the public sector or those seeking employment in the public sector.
Conclusions and further research
The findings of this research report reflect an important dilemma for the teaching of
PSA and the accounting profession generally. At the crux of the dilemma is whether
there is still a need to differentiate the public and private sectors, and therefore,
demonstrate these differences through lecture illustrations or seminar discussion.
At the other end of the spectrum is the belief that accounting concepts can be applied
across both sectors negating any need to incorporate public sector examples into the
curriculum. Even if, there was general agreement that some PSA teaching was
desirable, the current level and quantity of material to be covered suggests that it
would be very difficult to replace some current accounting material with PSA material.
It could be argued that private sector management practices are not always
applicable to the public sector given that their objectives may be different. Outcomes
such as the quality of education received from government schools, the outcomes from
public hospital admissions and legal representation for disadvantaged groups are just
some of the myriad of issues that may not be the prime focus of the private sector.
However, these are significant reporting issues that confront the public sector and
private sector practices may not provide guidance as to best practice.
Students studying accounting need to be aware of the arguments for and against
adopting certain public sector management reforms so that they are in a position to
provide advice and make informed judgments as to their efficacy. Ultimately,
well-designed accounting information systems can make public sector managers
accountable for their decisions on the use of limited resources.
Therefore, three critical issues evolve from this study that identifies the main
problems regarding the teaching of PSA within Australian Universities. They are:
(1) Minimal recognition of this sector from the professional accounting bodies
through the accounting accreditation process.
(2) An accounting curriculum which is currently overloaded with material to
meet the requirements of the individual university in-house requisites, the
profession, prospective employers and other interested groups.
(3) A very small dedicated cohort of academic staff with experience in/and interest
who can carry the charge for the teaching of PSA.
In this context, it appears that the coverage of PSA in Australian university courses is
lacking and thus, little has been done to overcome this deficiency as outlined in the
previous papers by Dixon (1989a, b) and Sims et al. (1997).
It is clear that a number of strategies need to be implemented in order to minimise
the barriers to PSA education identified in this paper. The action that was thought
most likely to cause significant change in universities would be to ensure that PSA
becomes a requirement of the accreditation process of the Australian professional
accounting bodies, CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in
Australia. Given that approximately, 10 per cent of CPA Australia members work in
the public sector, this could justify a re-evaluation of the need for some public sector
material to be included in the curriculum.

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Just as the professional bodies ensure that accounting courses include an appropriate
level of information technology and have an international flavour, so too could the
professional bodies insist that some acknowledgment be given to the theory and practice of
accounting in the public sector. Most interviewees argued that a key factor in increasing
public sector coverage would be ensuring that the textbook writers for the core accounting
units included more PSA examples. There was universal agreement that this is unlikely to
happen unless the profession requires it as part of the accreditation process.
Further research could examine the needs of potential public sector employers.
A longitudinal study could explore how well the students undergraduate degree has
prepared them for employment in the public sector. This proposed study could be
undertaken at the start of their employment and one, two and three years hence.
Further research could investigate what students think about the PSA component of
the curriculum, and whether it would encourage them to choose a career in the public
sector. It would be useful to survey the students at various stages of their degree in
order to examine if and how their attitudes to PSA change over time.
From an accounting academic perspective, an investigation of the number of
published papers on PSA in highly ranked accounting journals may provide further
insights as to whether the editors view PSA research as a hot topic. Closely related to
this would be the question of whether investing the time and energy in this field would
improve career prospects and development.
Notes
1. The findings from the telephone interviews are identified as (TI).
2. Quotations used from the in-depth face-to-face interviews are characterised by IDI at the end
of the quote.
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Corresponding author
Nick Sciulli can be contacted at: nick.sciulli@vu.edu.au

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