The Case Against Technical Specialization in Undergraduate Education: Accounting as a Case in Point of an Interdisciplinary Debate

Transcription

1 CASE AGAINST TECHNICAL SPECIALIZATION IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION 167 The Case Against Technical Specialization in Undergraduate Education: Accounting as a Case in Point of an Interdisciplinary Debate William Shafer Amy Putnam California State University, Los Angeles University Community Until recently, educators were able to cope with disciplinary knowledge growth by adding technical content to the undergraduate curriculum. However, curricula have now been diluted to the point that higher education is being criticized for providing inadequate technical training in major disciplines as well as inadequate general education. Providing further technical specialization at the undergraduate level is not the best solution to this problem; such a move will only exacerbate existing perceptions that current university graduates are not wellrounded individuals. A better approach would be to de-emphasize technical content at the undergraduate level, and provide necessary technical specialization in the form of graduate or professional education. This article examines this issue from the perspective of one discipline, accounting, as a possible model for other disciplines. There appear to be conflicting pressures for change in education at the present time. This particularly is the case for higher eduation in accounting. Leading public accounting practitioners have criticized accounting education for many years for being too narrow and too technical in focus, and have advocated a more liberal education for those entering the profession (Nelson, 1995). These perceived deficiencies led to the release of the influential "White Paper" by the large public accounting firms in 1989, and the formation of the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC) shortly thereafter. Since that time, many leading accounting programs have attempted to implement changes that broaden the knowledge base of their students and focus on developing interpersonal, communication, and critical thinking skills. Although the significance and permanence of these efforts have been questioned (Nelson,1995), the impetus for a shift to a broader education that de-emphasizes technical knowledge can be expected to continue in the foreseeable future (Albrecht, et al., 1994). On the other hand, the continuing growth of the knowledge base required for entry to the profession has led to perceived deficiencies in the technical skills of recent accounting graduates. Perhaps the best evidence of this phenomenon is the widely cited 1994 study sponsored by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the Financial Executives Institute (FEI). This study concluded that corporate employers perceive significant "preparation gaps", or differences between the expected and actual preparation of entry-level accountants, for a variety of accounting knowledge and skills areas. The intent of the IMA/FEI report may not have been to narrow the focus of accounting education. Nevertheless, the report apparently precipitated a movement toward more technical specialization in the accounting curricula of some universities. For example, a survey by Siegel and Kulesza (1996) revealed that many of the responding schools were implementing curriculum changes that would allow for increased specialization in accounting. While some schools were implementing specialization at the graduate level, others were planning to implement separate tracks in areas such as financial and managerial accounting for undergraduate accounting majors. In jurisdictions that have adopted the 150-hour education requirement, it is likely that any further specialization in accounting education will be implemented in the final year, (i.e., at the graduate level). However, universities in jurisdictions without a graduate education requirement (notably California and New York) will probably feel increasing pressure to implement specialization or tracks at the undergraduate

2 168 SHAFER, PUTNAM Fall 1998 level as the common body of knowledge required for entry to the profession continues to expand. Some of the changes called for by the White Paper and supported by the AECC may not appear to be incompatible with further technical specialization in accounting (e.g., it may be possible to teach communication and interpersonal skills within the context of specialized accounting courses). However, the adoption of a true liberal learning focus and the current trend toward further technical specialization in accounting curricula are each representative of a fundamentally different school of thought regarding the role and objectives of higher education. As observed by Honigberg (1994), this conflict may be viewed as a case in point for the liberal vs. vocational debate that has existed in higher education for centuries. In accounting education, the supporters of vocational training (primarily accounting professors) have successfully pushed their agenda throughout most of this century (Nelson, 1995). Further technical specialization in accounting will simply perpetuate this trend. However, this paper will argue that increased specialization in accounting curricula is not in the best interest of the profession. Such a move will make accounting education even more narrow and technical than it already is, which in the long run is likely to exacerbate the perceived shortcomings of current accounting graduates. It will also encourage fragmentation of the profession and the loss of professional identity. Finally, there are a number of practical obstacles to increased specialization. The Perceived Need for Specialization The perceived need for further specialization in accounting education is a direct result of the continuing accumulation of knowledge in the field. One can easily discern this trend if it is placed in historical perspective. Prior to 1900, no American university offered a major in accounting. In fact, the first university accounting course in the U.S. was taught at the University of Pennsylvania s Wharton School in 1883 (Langenderfer, 1987). The ensuing century witnessed a tremendous expansion in the knowledge base required for professional accounting practice, due to such factors as the passage of securities and income tax legislation, advancements in technology, and the increasing complexity of business and financial transactions. As a result, many educators and practitioners now feel that it is no longer feasible to adequately prepare students for practice in diverse areas such as auditing, taxation, and managerial accounting. Thus, accounting educators are now facing the question, Have we reached a point in the evolution of accounting knowledge that justifies the further subdivision of accounting programs? It could easily be argued that, just as knowledge development led to the division of business schools into functional specializations such as finance, management, and accounting, the continuing accumulation of accounting knowledge will soon require separate degrees in accounting subdisciplines such as managerial accounting, taxation, and auditing. Providing separate tracks in financial and managerial accounting is definitely a move in this direction. Vocational Versus Liberal Undergraduate Curricula Some accounting educators may feel pressure for increased technical specialization at the present time. However, any movement toward further specialization in accounting education should be recognized as the continuation of a controversial trend that has persisted throughout this century: the displacement of liberal learning in university education by vocational training. This movement has already resulted in extensive criticism of university

3 CASE AGAINST TECHNICAL SPECIALIZATION IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION 169 education in general and accounting education in particular. Thus, caution should be exercised before continuing in this direction. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries witnessed the rise of disciplinary specialization in American universities (Nucci and Pascarella, 1987). It was during this time that universities began to emphasize discipline-specific technical or vocational training in place of a more liberal education. This movement was the result of the dramatic expansion of disciplinary knowledge that has continued throughout the century; however, implicit in this movement was the abdication of responsibility by universities for the development of the whole person. As observed by May (1980, p. 209), The liberal arts college of the nineteenth and early twentieth century tended to define its responsibility as the cultivation of the well-rounded person... Subsequently, the twentieth-century university accepted as its ideal the training of the technically proficient person... Accounting education has been swept along by this movement, first with the advent of courses in accounting, then undergraduate and graduate accounting degrees, and now further specialization or "tracks" at some universities. The development of technical proficiency in professional disciplines such as accounting is certainly important. However, there is ample evidence that the focus on vocational training in accounting programs has resulted in a great deal of dissatisfaction among employers. As observed by Nelson (1995), accounting practitioners have supported liberal education since the inception of university accounting programs around the turn of the century. However, pressure to add technical content to the curriculum due to the expansion of the body of accounting knowledge perpetuated an increasing focus on vocational training. For many years employers remained relatively content with the quality of accounting graduates, since accounting tended to attract the "best and brightest" students. But with the recent decline in the quality of applicants to accounting programs, the effects of an inadequate liberal education became more apparent (Nelson, 1995). These developments culminated in 1989, with the release of the White Paper by the largest public accounting firms, which strongly criticized accounting programs for failing to develop well-rounded individuals who possess critical thinking skills (Arthur Andersen, et al., 1989). Since the release of the White Paper, many university accounting programs have made significant curriculum revision efforts, most of which have involved de-emphasizing technical accounting content and focusing more on developing students" critical thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills (Nelson, 1995). However, the feasibility of teaching this broader skill set within the context of accounting classes remains unproven, and many practitioners feel that current deficiencies in skills such as critical thinking and communications can be best remedied by requiring fewer technical courses in accounting and business and more courses in the liberal arts (Nelson, 1995). A focus on liberal learning in accounting education may provide other benefits as well. For example, Ponemon and Glazer (1990) found that students in liberal arts programs tend to score higher than students in traditional accounting programs on standardized measures of moral development, which suggests that a more traditional university education could improve the ethical standards of those entering the accounting profession. According to the traditional viewpoint, one of the primary goals of university education is the moral development of students (Sloan, 1980; McNeel, 1994). However, as noted by Nucci and Pascarella (1987), disciplinary specialization has led to a reduction of concern with questions of human values and morality in university education. The need for more emphasis on ethics in accounting

4 170 SHAFER, PUTNAM Fall 1998 programs has already received a great deal of attention in recent years (e.g., Loeb, 1988), but there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness of ethics interventions in accounting classes (Ponemon, 1993). At a time when the ethical standards of accounting professionals seem to be coming under increased scrutiny (e.g., Public Oversight Board, 1994; Schuetze, 1994), other strategies, such as the adoption of a liberal learning focus, should be carefully considered. Fragmentation of the Profession To implement specialization at the undergraduate level, it seems that accounting educators have two basic options: (1) increase the number of business and accounting courses at the expense of general education requirements, or (2) reduce the current level of training in business or accounting subdisciplines and require more specialized accounting courses. Neither of these options is compatible with the current impetus to reduce technical content in accounting programs in favor of liberal learning. The second option seems to be the most likely course for most institutions, since general education requirements are usually not under the control of accounting or business schools. However, if this option is adopted, it could result in the fragmentation of the accounting profession and the loss of professional identity, with separate "professions" being created in areas such as managerial accounting, public accounting, and internal auditing. Of course, there is already a great deal of specialization in accounting practice, as there is in all professions. One indication of the growth of specialization in accounting is the proliferation of specialty certifications during the past few decades. However, the number of accountants possessing such certifications remains relatively small. 1 Furthermore, the majority of accountants who hold specialty certifications first obtained their CPA license. Thus, the profession has clearly followed a model of acquiring general expertise followed by progressively more specialized training and certification. This type of model is logical and should continue to be followed in accounting education. As Flesher and Flesher (1994, p. 435) observed, given the relationships among the various components of the accounting profession, it seems reasonable to educate these individuals in as broad a manner as possible. A comparison can be made at this point to the education received in American law schools. The field of law encompasses criminal law, civil law, property law, tax law, patent law, admiralty law, and other areas. Despite the broad areas of practice, all lawyers receive the same initial degree... There are indications that accounting has already suffered a loss of professional identity. For example, Bailey (1995) suggested that accounting educators are no longer instilling the traditional values and culture of the profession in their students. Recent empirical work by Douglas, et al. (1994) also found that accounting students lack ideological identification with the profession. Fragmentation of the profession through undergraduate specialization would risk the further loss of professional identity. Practical Obstacles There are also practical difficulties in offering increased specialization in undergraduate accounting programs. For example, it will probably be difficult to attract quality students to specialized programs if such programs do not adequately prepare prospective accountants to be CPAs. The CPA license remains the most visible and attractive feature of the accounting profession. Furthermore, the importance of possessing a CPA license for success in industry

5 CASE AGAINST TECHNICAL SPECIALIZATION IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION 171 and government has increased significantly over the past two decades. In 1974, 60 percent of the AICPA members were employed in public accounting, while business, education, and government collectively accounted for the remaining 40 percent. By 1995, this situation had reversed - AICPA members in non-public accounting pursuits comprised approximately 60 percent of the total membership. 2 The continuation of this trend will make possession of the CPA license increasingly important for success in industry and government. Thus, in the foreseeable future it will probably be difficult to attract quality students to specialized programs that de-emphasize the common body of knowledge required to be a CPA. Limited empirical evidence supports this contention. For example, Fletcher, et al. (1995) reported that one university had found little demand for its separate track in management accounting. Commitment to a specialization at the undergraduate level will also unnecessarily limit student options. As noted by Flesher and Flesher (1994, p. 434), If students had to select a career field from external auditing, taxation, management consulting services, managerial accounting, internal auditing, governmental accounting or personal financial planning - all subfields of accountancy - they would be doing so without knowledge of any of those professions, and would be limited in their future career moves across boundaries. An Alternative Solution A desirable alternative to undergraduate specialization would be a requirement of professional education for accountants similar to that required for the older professions of medicine and law (cf. Flesher and Flesher, 1994). For many years, accounting educators were able to cope with knowledge growth by adding technical content to the undergraduate curriculum. However, curricula have now been diluted to the point that accounting education is being criticized for providing inadequate technical training in accounting subdisciplines (IMA, 1994), as well as inadequate liberal learning (Arthur Andersen, et al. 1989). Providing increasingly narrow vocational training for undergraduate accounting majors is clearly not the best solution to this problem; such a move will only exacerbate existing perceptions that accounting graduates are not well-rounded individuals. The profession would be better served by the deemphasis of technical content at the undergraduate level, in conjunction with a requirement of two to three years of professional education. Such training should emphasize the traditional values and culture of the accounting profession, such as integrity and objectivity, and should also provide for technical specialization in areas such as taxation or managerial accounting. Of course, this is not a new argument: accountants have been advocating professional education for more than a century without success (Langenderfer, 1987; Van Wyhe, 1994). However, it is becoming much easier to justify a requirement of graduate training as the accounting knowledge base expands, and there are positive indications that the profession is moving in this direction. For example, most jurisdictions have now passed the 150-hour education requirement, which will effectively require graduate education for entry to the profession. In addition, more than 40 universities have now established separate schools of accountancy. Thus, the trend is clearly toward a graduate professional education in accounting. Until the profession achieves this long-sought goal, any further movement toward vocational training in undergraduate education should be avoided.

6 172 SHAFER, PUTNAM Fall 1998 Notes 1. For example, there were fewer than 20,000 Certified Management Accountants in 1995, compared to over 320,000 AICPA members. 2. These figures are based on information reported in the AICPA Annual Reports.

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