Accounting degrees and professional qualifications Ronnie Patton

Transcription

1 Accounting degrees and professional qualifications Ronnie Patton 29 November 2010

2 Background UK Academic standards are defined by Quality Assurance Agency ( Professional standards are set by professional bodies Typically, students have two objectives: obtain an academic qualification minimise time to obtain professional qualification Highly competitive market

3 Market NI population 1.7m Two universities in NI Easy journey to GB 5 active professional bodies Total number of students set by government

4 Academic / Professional??? Academic = why? Professional = how? (with why? an implied source of authority)

5 What should a degree deliver? Meet QAA benchmarks Develop graduate skills some relate to employment some are aligned with professional skills Obtain professional body exemptions Challenge and develop students An enjoyable experience Employment opportunities

6 What do graduates do? Vast majority professional exams Of those, a high proportion work in an accounting role Still quite practice biased Although this is changing Degree is seen as launch pad for career

7 What do we try to achieve When developing a degree, we have two key goals: Professional accreditation Satisfy validation process (every 5 years) Validation is an internal university process, but involves all stakeholders

8 Who are the key stakeholders? Students Employers Community Professional bodies Academia NB - all are involved in the validation process and on-going quality management

9 How are stakeholders involved? Students Listening Staff student consultative committee meeting each semester Consultation as part of re-validation National Student Survey ranked 5 th in UK

10 How are stakeholders involved? Employers Employers Liaison Committee 3/4 meetings per year Involvement in business community Professional bodies Chamber of Commerce Informal contacts More focused discussions at time of revalidation

11 How are stakeholders involved? Community University is publicly funded Formal community input is via: Government department QAA Competition students will only apply if they perceive that the university has a strong reputation

12 How are stakeholders involved? Professional bodies We work with the 3 largest bodies ACCA, CIMA, CAI also deliver courses for their qualifications They review courses regularly to ensure standards are maintained and to grant exemptions (will be considered later)

13 How are stakeholders involved? Academia Validation External examiners Main roles to guard academic standards to ensure compliance with university regulations to monitor standards to ensure comparability

14 Exemptions Based on prior achievement, students will be deemed to have met the standards for specific papers in the professional exam scheme. Students wish to obtain maximum exemptions as a result of their studies eg ACCA policy - maximum of 9 (from 14 papers): Accounting degree obtains these

15 How are exemptions obtained? Standards must be capable of being verified Different approaches eg: ICAEW self assessment ACCA review of programme / 80% rule

16 What do we seek to achieve? This is influenced by: academic benchmarks (QAA) exemption requirements University regulations experience / expertise of staff and ultimately expressed in: Course specification Individual module specifications

17 What do our stakeholders expect? Standards rigorous fair Skills relevant flexible future-proofed

18 How do we develop relationships? Ongoing contact with stakeholders: Structured approaches eg Employers Liaison Committee Site visits Transparency revalidation Visibility recruitment Standards Professionalism Involvement Institutional support

19 What are the problems Time!! Conflicting goals Academic vs professional Different emphases by different bodies Audit / Management accounting / Strategy

20 What are the benefits? Professionalism Relevant courses high demand for places Lifelong learning Continuing professional development Achievement Graduates in senior positions

21 What does UK degree look like? Accounting 3 years of full-time study 1 year placement (optional) Building blocks (see next slide) Emphasis on: skills in year 1 career planning in year 2 Modules in years 1 & 2 are compulsory Final year includes some options

22 Building blocks No surprises! Key areas: Financial accounting Management accounting Financial management Tax Audit Strategy

23 What does a UK degree look like? Non accounting Business Studies / Human Resource / Marketing: include financial accounting, costing, accounting for managers Objective is to create financially literate managers

24 Opportunities for collaboration Transfer of students into later stages of degrees Would require liaison to ensure introductory study equips students for UK course Collaboration on research Teaching and learning practices Business practices

25 Thank you Questions / Comments...?