Kayla Nguyen

22 October 2019

Accounting and Actuarial Science

Ackerman, J. L. (2019, September). The Accounting Curriculum Needs a Complete Overhaul.

Retrieved from https://www.cpajournal.com/2019/10/22/the-accounting-curriculum-needs-a-

complete-overhaul/.

Research Assessment #4

In order to become a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA), one must pass the CPA

exam. The test consists of four four-hour sections: Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

and Regulation (REG), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), and Auditing and

Attestation (AUD). An individual must obtain a minimum score of 75 on all four of these exams

within 18 months. Accounting hopefuls study hours upon hours for this exam in order to make

the most of the hefty price that comes with each exam. Naturally, you would think that colleges

and universities that the applicants attended would have prepared them for these critical exams.

However, the accounting curriculum of most universities does not reflect what is used today.

According to a recent article in The CPA Journal, the issue with today’s accounting firms

is recruiting talent. There is a large void between the skills actively used at the firms and the

skills that schools are emphasizing in their programs. Though it is important to know the general

mechanics of the industry and the differences between basic and cost accounting, it is unrealistic

to make those topics the primary focus of their accounting education because of the outdated

notion that CPA graduates will continue their journey working for a large corporation. The most

useful classes would be in auditing and tax because these skills are what the firms expect a CPA

to be proficient in and the content in these types of classes is what most accountants use on a
daily basis. Given that active accountants in the industry are advising for a change in the

collegiate accounting teachings, I think schools should consider changing their programs. I think

this is a necessary change because the schools should be growing and adapting with accounting

industry, rather than against it.

Another issue with the collegiate curriculum is the lack of attention to the innovations in

technology. The accounting industry, as of today, is heavily dependent on computers and the use

of various programs and software; most, if not all, work is done on a computer and data is stored

and analyzed using technology. In college, however, there is not enough content covered that is

technology driven or involves computer skills. What they teach is based on ledgers and hand

written reports; historically, this is a correct way to do accounting, but it is inefficient and

impractical for the modern era. Accounting today relies on technology as it is more effective for

data storage, spreadsheets, calculating and analyzing reports, and communication. If there is no

emphasis on technology in college, then accounting majors will simply not be prepared for the

modern world, which is becoming increasingly dependent on the machines.