ACCOUNTING EDUCATION IN THE HISTORY OF TURKISH REPUBLIC*

JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL ANALYZE SPECIAL ISSUE PUBLISHED BY ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS FOR 17TH WORLD CONGRESS OF ACCOUNTANTS, 13-16 NOVEMBER 2006 ACCOUNTING EDUCATION IN THE HISTORY OF TURKISH REPUBLIC* Ümit GÜCENME, Professor Uludag University Faculty of Economics and Business Administration Aylin POROY ARSOY,PhD Uludag University Faculty of Economics and Business Administration 2. Accounting Practices and Accounting Education from 1923 to 1950 ABSTRACT Accounting applications which began during the Ottomans have come into step with modern systems after passing through several stages. The developments in the world affected the Turkish education for both students and accountants. Keywords: Turkish Accounting education, developments 1. Introduction Turkey introduced the double-entry system in the last quarter of the 19 th century and this system took its place in education during the Republic period. During the Republic period, education had been given by Commercial Secondary Schools, Commercial High Schools and Colleges, Commercial Sciences Academies and Faculties. More recently education became continuous through the education of accountants by the professional chambers. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the development of education from the establishment of the Turkish Republic (1923) till today. The regulations effecting practices and the development of the profession are also tied up with the historical development of education hence these matters are also included in the study. During the years after the First and Second World Wars, new theories were developed in order to solve the economic and financial problems of all countries. The results, which were reached by determinations and experiences, positively contributed to the improvement of the economic, finance and business administration sciences. In parallel with these developments, the role and importance of the science were understood and became an integral part of the economic, finance and business administration sciences. The 1949 tax reform was the biggest tax reform of the Republic period and it was made through the three vital laws which molded by affecting bookkeeping and preparation of balance sheets and income Statements: Income Tax law (ITL), Corporation Tax law (CTL) and Tax Procedural Law (TPL). This tax reform was the beginning of the tax approach in Turkey. The Income Tax and Corporation Tax which were put into effect in order to increase the income of the State and maintain the taxation laws are based on declaration. The Tax Procedural Law influenced applications both in contents and form by affecting the documents, recording system and financial Statements in. Since is used as a means of determination of the taxable trade income and corporation income, there has been a need for *This study is prepared for 17 th World Congress of Accountants which was held Nowember 13-16, in Istanbul 1

extra regulations relating to as well as those legal regulations. However, instead of improving the regulations in the system, the State tended to study taxation in detail, therefore the number of inspectors, experts, income controllers and tax inspectors increased. Accounting science, except for governmental, was not known and taught until the Tanzimat Period. During the Tanzimat Period, education was begun; firstly bookkeeping courses were given in the secondary schools and later education took its place in the universities. A Commercial School was established in Istanbul and an Accounting Science course was introduced in order to give education compatible with western methods. Although the education was developing, was not applied to the records of commercial transactions; these transactions were recorded in handbooks, calendars and even on cigarette packets. This situation continued until the first years of the Republic period. During the Republic period, Commercial Secondary Schools and High Schools were established in order to meet the needs which were raised by the establishment of Public Economic Enterprises, the increase of national banks and the expansion of the business world. 1 The first legislation concerning higher education was enacted in 1924 following the establishment of the Republic and Istanbul University was founded through this legislation. Later in 1933 a High Commercial School connected with the Ministry of Economy was founded; in 1936 Istanbul University Faculty of Economics (and after forty years Faculty of Business Administration) were founded. Through the university reform, the basis of university management was generated which continued during the century. Administrative and financial autonomy was given to the universities by the 1949 university reforms. In 1946 there were three universities in Turkey; Istanbul University, Istanbul Technical University and Ankara University. 2 In 1950 there were three educational institutions having education in their curriculums; Higher Economy and Commercial School in Istanbul, Istanbul University Faculty of 1 Sayar Nihat, Türkiye İkinci Muhasebe Kongresi Münasebetiyle, (For the Second Turkish Accounting Congress), Muhasebe Mecmuası, Yıl:1,Sayı:1, Işıl Matbaası, İstanbul,1958,p.5-6 2 Güvemli Oktay, Türk Devletleri Muhasebe Tarihi, Cumhuriyet Dönemi XX.yüzyıl, (Turkish States Accounting History) 4.cilt, Avcıol Basım-yayın İstanbul 2001,p.385-387 Economics, Higher Economy and Commercial School in Izmir, and Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences. 3 3. The Developments Affecting Accounting Education from 1950 till Today Economic conditions delayed the organization of the accountancy profession in Turkey. The legislation studies of the accountancy profession were began in the 1950s; however, this process wasn t completed by the profession s laws until 1989. Because, during the initial years of the Turkish Republic, governmental administration was dominated the economy, there was no need to give public information about the enterprises managed by the State. In public enterprises, information was used in order to make economical plans and limited managerial decisions and the presentation of financial Statements of these enterprises to the public was not needed. In these years national concepts and principles were not determined and a uniform system of accounts was not generated and the comprehension of the public information duty of was not adopted. For an independent audit was not required and in this period limited systems which produce internal information were used. In the second half of the 20 th century, private sector enterprises as well as public enterprises began to flourish due to economic developments in Turkey. However, in first years of the improvement of the spirit of private enterprise, the enterprises were established as family companies and the financial information was prepared internally. In 1979 the number of the joint stock companies which prepared and presented readable, understandable and analyzable financial reports did not exceed 100. This number reflected the law rate of 1% of the 10,300 joint stock companies in this year. There were also no balance sheet and profitloss statements concerning Public Economic Enterprises which were established by the governmental capital and which generated 10% of the national income, 40% of industrial added value and 40% of industrial labor force. 4 The requirement of reliable financial information which also informs the public was realized by the industrialization and external development process in Turkey. The reasons, such as the investments of multinational companies in Turkey, the improvement of international trade, international financial opportunities, caused the requirement of audit in Turkey. 3 Güvemli, p.389 4 Aysan Mustafa, XIII. Türkiye Muhasebe Kongresi Açılış Konuşması, (XIII. Turkish Accounting Congress Opening Speech) 1980. 2

The accountancy profession and audit functions which appeared by the force of economic conditions were imported from abroad for many years. Until 1987 when the first legislation concerning audits was enacted, audit services were performed by foreign audit firms and compatible with their national standards. Until then the cultural factors, such as the lack of generally accepted principles in Turkey, limited educational services to meet the need for expert auditors, not giving the required importance to, geographical untidiness, limited communication opportunities, and not being interested in audits, caused the soft application of audit standards. 5 The historical process of the developments affecting practices and education in Turkey can be summarized under these titles. 3.1. The Determination of Accounting Concepts and Principles Accounting concepts and principles first were regulated in 1984 by the Communiqué of Capital Market Board and this communiqué was replaced by another Communiqué of Capital Market Board in 1989. However, only publicly held companies were required to follow these communiqués. After these communiqués, the Ministry of Finance published Communiqué on the Application of Accounting System establishing the concepts, principles and a uniform system of accounts. This communiqué is required for all companies that keep their records according to the balance sheet basis. The concepts and principles are also held in the Communiqué XI/25 Accounting Standards in Capital Market dated October, 15th, 2003 issued by the Capital Market Board and required for publicly held companies and also in Turkish Accounting Standards issued by the Turkish Accounting Standards Board. 3.2. Uniformity in Accounting Applications The first regulation about a uniform system of accounts in Turkey was the preparation of uniform system of accounts for public economic enterprises. Later there were studies for banks and companies following Capital Market Law. The Uniform System of Accounts, which was generated by the Ministry of Finance in order to form a national account system, has been serving to provide uniformity in terminology. 5 Güredin Ersin, Türkiye de Muhasebe Uygulamalarının Gelişimi XIV. Türkiye Muhasebe Kongresi,(The Developments of Accounting Practices in Turkey, XIV. Turkish Accounting Congress), 30 Eylül-2 Ekim, İzmir, 1987. In Turkey the first study concerning the uniformity of was the development of a uniform system of accounts for public economic enterprises in 1964. This uniform system of accounts had been effective since 1972 and it was applied by the public economic enterprises. However this communiqué was abolished by Communiqué on the Application of Accounting System of the Ministry of Finance. A uniform system of accounts for banks was prepared by the Union of Banks in 1986 to meet the requirement of the application of transparent banking. However in 2002 Accounting Application Communiqué was issued by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency in order to provide comparability with international standards. 6 In Turkey a separate system of accounts for publicly held companies does not exist. These companies are required to follow the uniform system of accounts of the Ministry of Finance. However they were required to prepare their interim and term-end financial Statements till 2005 based on the formats which were Stated in the Communiqué XI/1 Principles Regarding Financial Statements and Reports in Capital Market issued by the Capital Market Board and dated January 29 th, 1989. After 2005 they have begun to be required to prepare their financial Statements according to Communiqué XI/25 which is compatible with international financial reporting standards. Accounting principles and standards were determined through the Communiqué XI/1 for the first time in Turkey. Also the principles regarding the preparation and presentation of financial Statements and reports of companies following Capital Market Board and intermediary institutions were determined in Communiqué XI/1. On the other hand, by the Communiqué XII/1 dated February, 18 th, 1992, disclosures and independent audit responsibilities of the companies following Capital Market Law were regulated. Because of the features of the activities performed by organizations that play an intermediary role in the capital market, the Communiqué XI/7 Uniform System of Accounts for Intermediary Institutions dated December, 31 st, 1992 was regulated by the Capital Market Board and some revisions were made with Communiqué XI/18. The intermediary institutions are also required to follow the uniform system of accounts which is regulated in Communiqué XI/1. Through Communiqué XI/6 Principles Regarding Financial Statements and Reports of Mutual 6 Communiqué on the Application of Accounting System dated December, 26 th, 1992 and numbered 24793 Official Gazette 3

Funds dated February, 28 th, 1990, the uniform system of accounts for mutual funds was regulated. Insurance companies in Turkey were firstly required to follow the uniform system of accounts regulated in the Communiqué which was issued in 1933. Later Communiqué of Insurance Accounting System and Uniform System of Accounts for Insurance Companies were regulated by the Turkish 7 Treasury. This system provided the compatibility with international standards and uniformity in financial Statements for the insurance sector. In Turkey the national uniform system of accounts was generated through the Communiqué on the Application of Accounting System dated December, 26 th, 1992 and issued by the Ministry of Finance. In this Communiqué concepts, disclosure of policies, financial Statement principles, preparation and presentation of financial Statements, and a uniform system of accounts were regulated. These regulations are required for all public and private sector companies that keep their records according to balance sheet basis. 3.3. The Development of the Accountancy Profession The professions and services of independent accountancy, independent accountant financial advisorship and sworn-in financial advisorship were defined in the Law No 3568, The Law of Independent Accountancy, Independent Accountant Financial Advisorship and sworn-in Financial Advisorship dated June, 1 st, 1989. Through this Law the accountancy profession finally had its legislation. According to Law 3568 the ones which are qualified to carry out accountancy as a profession are referred to as independent accountant, independent accountant financial advisor and sworn-in financial advisor. According to Law 3568, independent accountants are allowed to perform bookkeeping and prepare balance sheets, profit-loss Statement, declarations and other documents according to the generally accepted principles and related legislation. Independent accountant financial advisors perform the duties of independent accountants and also establish and improve accountancy systems and regulate the duties related to business management, accountancy, finance, and fiscal legislation and implementation thereof, or provide advisory services on these subjects. Sworn-in financial advisors perform advisor services and also carry out studies, analyses and inspections; give written views, prepare reports or similar 7 Communique on Insurance Accounting System and Insurance System of Accounts, December 30th,2004 and numbered 25686 Official Gazette documents on financial Statements and tax returns; and provide arbitration, expertise and other similar services and perform certification. Sworn-in financial advisers are not allowed to keep the books of account of a company, operate an accountancy office or be a partner of an accountancy office. 3.4. Convergence towards International Accounting Standards The translation and adoption of international standards was firstly performed by the Turkish Accounting and Auditing Standards Board (TAASB) which was founded in 1994 with the support of the Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants. TAASB issued 20 national standards and introduced them to the public. 8 However these standards were not legislated hence they did not have force of sanction. Only the standards concerning consolidation and 9 inflation were included in the communiqués of the Capital Market Board and became effective from January 1 st, 2003 for companies following Capital Market Law. Consequently the first legislation compatible with international standards was performed. Capital Market Board which was always the leader for generating an system in Turkey issued Communiqué XI/25 Accounting Standards in Capital Market 10. Communiqué XI/25 consists of the translation of international standards and became effective covering the periods ending after January, 1 st, 2005 for the companies following Capital Market Law. This communiqué was the most important step that was taken in the convergence process towards international standards. In the convergence process towards international standards, in addition to the contributions of the Capital Market Board, the Turkish Accounting Standards Board (TASB) was founded in December, 18 th, 1999 in order to remove the objection of generating Turkish standards by different institutions. TASB became active in 2002. TASB examined the revisions of international standards in 2004 and began to issue Turkish 8 Türkiye Muhasebe Standartları (Turkish Accounting Standards),,TÜRMOB Yayın No: 95, TMUDESK Seri No: 2, 2000 9 Communiqué XI/21 Consolidated Financial Statements and Accounting for Associated Companies, November, 11st, 2001 dated and 24582 numbered Official Gazette and Communiqué XI/20 Adjustment of Financial Statements in High Inflation Periods, October 28th, 2001 dated and 24597 numbered Official Gazette 10 Communiqué XI/25 Accounting Standards in Capital Markets, October 15th, 2003 dated and 25290 numbered Official Gazette 4

Accounting standards in the Official Gazette from January 2005 and by 2006 the set of Turkish Accounting Standards is almost completed. 3.5. Independent Accounting Audit and Audit Standards In Turkey the only legal audits by the State had been of joint-stock companies until the regulations concerning the independent audit and organization of the profession were introduced. The regulations regarding this audit were included in the Turkish Trade Law and the Administrative Law for the Audit of Joint-stock Companies and for the Inspection Committee dated 1972. According to this regulation the task of audit was to be performed by the auditor of the Ministry of Trade. An audit board stated in the Turkish Trade Law (TTL) was also an audit committee. Since there were no decrees in TTL concerning the professional expertise of people who would participate in the audit committee within the structure of joint-stock companies, and since it was not possible for a committee being a part of the company to be independent, it is hard to refer to such an audit as neutral. The starting date of the legal regulations concerning independent audits was 1987. According to the Law 3568 sworn financial advisers must give certifications. The definition of the certification procedure was Stated in the Communiqué concerning the Documents to be Certified by Certified Public Accountants, Certification Topics, Applications and Fundamentals About the Certification Process prepared by the Ministry of Finance on January 2 nd,1990. According to this Communiqué, sworn-in financial advisers are obligated to perform independent external audits. Also Capital Market Board legislated independent audits through the Communiqué X/16 Independent Audit in capital Markets. Although the independent audit -as a financial Statement audit- is limited through the legislations in Turkey, it is performed by the independent sworn-in financial advisors or audit firms. Recently, international scandals resulting from errors and frauds and causing huge losses for investors and bankruptcies increased the importance of independent audit in order to provide efficiency of financial reporting. The result of bankruptcies in corporate industry and failures to disclose material information to investors resulted in a new regulatory regime for independent audits. 11 As a result of these developments, in Turkey, The Capital Market Board issued Communiqué X/22 Independent 11 Elgin İnci, Economies of Scope and Auditor Independence: The Way to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Muhasebe Bilim Dünyası Dergisi, Cilt 7, Sayı 3, Eylül 2005, p.153 Audit Standards in Capital Markets in 2006 which is compatible with the international standards on auditing issued by The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The scandals in global markets at the beginning of the 2000s increased the doubt about the reliability of disclosures by financial Statements. Consequently, setting high quality auditing standards which achieve the reliability of disclosures became significant. The regulations about the following topics were made by The Capital Market Board because of the importance of financial information in capital markets: 12 Presentation of transparent financial Statements and reports (International Financial Reporting Standards) Independent Audit (International Standards on Auditing) Corporate governance and rating (Corporate Governance Principles and Ratings) Valuation (International Valuation Standards) Communiqué XI/25 Accounting Standards in Capital Market issued by Capital Market Board became effective for listed companies by the beginning of 2005. In July 2003 The Capital Market Board introduced Corporate Governance Principles and required listed companies to prepare Rating Principles of Corporate Governance Compatibility Report from December, 31 st, 2004. In December 2003 the CMB expanded the corporate governance rating and issued some new regulations. In March 2006, the CMB issued the Communiqué VIII/45 International Valuation Standards in Capital Market which is compatible with the international valuation standards. The international valuation standards deal with the measurement of the items on balance sheets at their fair values. Through the Communiqué X/22 Independent Audit Standards in Capital Markets in 2006 which is compatible with the international standards on auditing issued by IFAC and European Union Directives, the principles in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act), which was enacted in USA in July 2002, was also included in the audit mechanism of Turkish capital markets. According to these regulations: The services of independent audit and advisorship of independent audit firms and personnel were separated in order to achieve independence by removing any conflict of interests 12 www.spk.gov.tr/haberduyuru/haberduyuru.htm?tur= basinaciklamalari 5

The establishment of committees responsible for audit became mandatory Corporate responsibilities concerning the preparation, presentation and reliability of financial Statements and annual reports were determined. 4. Accounting Education from 1950 till Today 4.1. Accounting Education in Universities In Turkey the period of the Higher Education Board (HEB) began in 1981 and has strongly affected higher education from the second half of the 20 th century. In this period Economics and Commercial Sciences Academies which had an important role in education were abolished and transformed to Faculties of Economics and Business Administration Sciences. The number of secondary and high schools which provide education in Turkey increased to 48 from 4 between the years 1950-1980. The total number of faculties and vocational high schools increased to 321 from 34. At the beginning of the HEB period-in 1981- there were 18 faculties and 43 vocational high schools in Turkey. In the following years the number of the vocational high schools which provide education increased to 131 from 43; hence this increasing number decreased the quality of education in Anatolia. 13 The percentage of the number of students of vocational high schools was 14.2% in the 1984-1985 period. This percentage increased to 39.7 in the 1999-2000 period. This situation shows that unqualified vocational high schools were trying to give education. 14 In 2000, there were 167 programs in the vocational high schools of universities in Turkey. The number of the programs increased to 349 in 2003. The number of the students of these programs was approximately 22,000. 15 It is clear that the quality of the programs is much more important than the large number of these programs. Saban et al researched the educational quality of the graduates of vocational high schools 13 Güvemli, p..395-403 14 Güvemli p..408 15 Saban Metin, Karaca Merih, Özkan Filiz, Meslek Yüksek Okullarında Muhasebe Eğitimi ve Muhasebe Eğitimini Etkinliği,(Accounting Education and the Efficiency of Accounting Education in Vocational Schools), Muhasebe Bilim Dünyası Dergisi, Cilt 7, Sayı 1, Mart 2005, p.83 programs. They gave questionnaires to the managers of the 200 offices in order to determine the quality of the graduates. 84.6% of the respondents Stated that the education of the graduates of programs was not satisfactory. Also some topics such as concepts, bookkeeping, VAT, financial Statement analysis, depreciation, cost were presented to the respondents in order to find out whether the graduates of programs were informed about these topics or not. Unfortunately, most of the respondents said that the information level of graduates about these topics was average or unsatisfactory. Vocational high schools are significant educational institutions in Turkey. The programs should be revised in vocational high schools in order to enhance the educational quality of the students. Hatunoğlu researched the views of the students about the level of the education in 25 Turkish universities. 38% of the students stated that the education was at the level that it should be, 16.7% Stated that the education was at a higher level than it should be, 45.3% Stated that the education was at a lower level than it should be. Also 85.2% of the students indicated that the courses were mostly theoretical; few of them included case studies. 16 On the other hand, the percentage of the graduates of the master and Ph.D. of remained very low. This percentage was 0.6 % in the 1987-1988 period and 0.9 % in the 1999-2000 period. 17 These percentages show an insufficiency of education in Turkey for both educators and accountants. 4.2. The Education of Accountants The total number of members of the profession in Turkey was 50,690 as of the end of June 2000 and this total consists of 25,072 Independent Accountants, 22,437 Certified Public Accountants and 3,181 sworn-in Certified Public Accountants. 18 According to Law 3568, the graduates of Commercial Vocational High Schools should complete their practical training lasting six years in order to become independent accountants. Certified public accountants should be a graduate of a university and have a B.A. degree in economics, law or management and be successful in the proficiency examinations 16 Hatunoğlu Zeynep, Muhasebe Eğitiminde Bilgi Teknolojisi Kullanımının Sunum Kalitesine Olan Etkilerinin Tespitine İlişkin Bir Araştırma, (A Research on the Determination of the Effects of Information Technology Usage in Accounting Application on Presentation Quality), Muhasebe ve Finansman Dergisi, Sayı 30, Nisan 2006, p.196 17 Güvemli p.409 18 www.turmob.gov.tr 6

conducted after they have successfully completed their practical training lasting two years with and under the supervision of a CPA or sworn-in CPA, to be awarded a license for "Certified Public Accountancy". 19 After having at least 10 years of work experience as a certified public accountant and being successful in the proficiency examinations, a CPA is awarded a license for "Sworn-in Certified Public Accountancy". The proficiency examinations are conducted by the Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants and the Government. Education is a lifelong process. The continuous education of accountants can be achieved by education which updates the information and capabilities of the related areas. Continuous education is a process which provides to continue professional productivity and efficiency hence the universities and professional organizations both have significant roles in continuous education. The improvement of the accountancy profession requires continuous professional education in. The continuous professional education activities in Turkey are the seminars, symposiums and meetings for accountants held by the Union of Chambers of Certified Public Accountants. In Turkey there are a total of 70 chambers of certified public accountants. 46 of them have web sites. However these sites are not sufficient enough in content to inform accountants. In the sites generally there is information about the presidents and members of the chambers, some legal rates and values about daily transactions and a few of them have chamber bulletins. There is no web site providing on-line education. 20 5. Determination of the Present Situation of Accounting Education, and Conclusion The courses at the undergraduate level in the 60 Turkish universities for the 2006-2007 period are presented in Appendix Table 1. Financial (98%), cost (95%), managerial (82%) and audit (75%) are the most given courses at the undergraduate level. Financial Statement analysis (62%) and corporate (52%) are included in the undergraduate curricula of more than half of the Turkish universities. End-period transactions are given in 26 universities, computerized is given in 23, specialized is given in 15, inflation is given in 11 and bank and insurance 19 Law No 3568 article 5/A 20 Subaşı Şerife, Muhasebe Meslek Mensuplarının Sürekli Eğitimi ve Türkiye deki Uygulamanın Değerlendirilmesi, (Continuous Education of Accountants and the Evaluation of the Application in Turkey), Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi, (Unprinted PhD Thesis), Anadolu Üniversitesi, Eskişehir, 2005,p.43 is given in 10 universities. Accounting standards, tax, budgeting, organization, information systems, for derivatives, foreign trade, uniform system of accounts, topics and international are courses that are included in less than 10 Turkish universities undergraduate curricula. While examining the undergraduate curricula of the 60 Turkish universities, it is seen that they generally follow a traditional structure. Financial, managerial and cost are the most preferred courses. Table 2 presents the courses at the master level in the 49 Turkish universities for the 2006-2007 period. Managerial (78%), cost (67%), financial (51%), audit (43%) and financial Statement analysis (37%) are the most given courses at the master level. Advanced is given in 10 universities. Accounting standards, for derivatives, information systems, theoretical structure of, corporate, inflation, international, foreign trade, governmental, budgeting, tax audit techniques, computerized, uniform system of accounts, applications, hospitality, and law, theory, organization, environmental, history, bank and insurance are courses that are included in less than 10 Turkish universities master curricula. Table 3 presents the courses at the PhD level in the 21 Turkish universities for the 2006-2007 period. Strategic managerial (38%), strategic cost (38%), standards (33%), theory (33%) and auditing standards (33%) are the most given courses at the PhD level. International is given in 6 universities, developments, advanced financial and audit are given in 5, budgeting, and law and for new financial instruments are given in 4 universities. Numerical methods in, consolidated financial Statements, responsibility, managerial, tax, specialized, information systems, ethics, CMB and and inflation are courses that are included in less than 4 Turkish universities PhD level curricula. In Turkey, although the courses included in the undergraduate, master and PhD level curriculums differ among universities, they are generally focused on cost and managerial. The developments in the world such as and auditing standards are reflected in the curricula. Universities are trying to improve the quality 7

of education at undergraduate, master and PhD level by the continuous revision of curricula. Accountants should give importance to continuous professional education following higher education in order to provide qualified services. They also need to update their information and capabilities. The professional organizations are obligated to provide continuous professional education for accountants. In developed countries the professional organizations contribute to accountants with their educational activities. In Turkey the education requirement of the accountancy profession is trying to be met by professional organizations; however, there are discussions concerning the sufficiency of these educational activities. 8

APPENDIXES: Table 1: Accounting Courses (Undergraduate) Accounting audit Financial End-period transactions Corporate Cost Accounting standards Management Computerized Financial Statement analysis Inflation Tax Accounting organization Derivatives Foreign trade Accounting information systems Uniform system of accounts Bank and insurance Accounting topics Budgeting Specialized International Abant İzzet X X X X X X X X X X Baysal Adnan X X X X X X X X X X Menderes Afyon X X X X X X X X X X X Kocatepe Akdeniz X X X X X X X X X X X Anadolu X X X X X X X X X X X X Ankara X X X X X X Boğaziçi X X X X X X X X Celal Bayar X X X Cumhuriyet X X Çanakkale X X X X X X X X X Dumlupınar X X X X X X X X X Dokuz Eylül X X X X X Ege X X X X X Erciyes X X X X Galatasaray X X X X X Gazi X X X X X X X X Gaziantep X X X X X X X X X X Gazi Osmanpaşa X X X X X X X Hacettepe X X X X Harran X X X X X X X X X X X X X İstanbul X X X X İTÜ X Kafkas X X X X X X X X X Sütçü İmam X X X X X X X X X X X KATU X X X X X X X X X X X Kocaeli X X X X X X X X X Marmara X X X X X X X X X Mersin X X X X X Muğla X X X X X X X X X X X X Mustafa X X X X X X X X X 9

Accounting audit Financial End-period transactions Corporate Cost Accounting standards Management Computerized Financial Statement analysis Inflation Tax Accounting organization Derivatives Foreign trade Accounting information systems Uniform system of accounts Bank and insurance Accounting topics Budgeting Specialized International Kemal Niğde X X X X X X X X X X Osmangazi X X X X X X Pamukkale X X X X Sakarya X X X X X X X X X Süleyman X X X X X X X X X X Demirel Trakya X X X X X X X X X Uludağ X X X X X X X Yıldız Teknik X X X X X X X X Zonguldak X X X X X X X X Atılım X X X Bahçeşehir X X Başkent X X X X X X X X Beykent X X X Çankaya X X X X Çağ X X X X X Haliç X X X X Fatih X X X X Doğuş X X X X X X X Işık X X X X Bilgi X X X X Kültür X X X X X X X X X İzmir Ekonomi X X X X X Koç X X Kadir Has X X X Okan X X X X Maltepe X X X X X TOBB X X X X X Ufuk X X X X X Yaşar X X X X Yeditepe X X X X X X X X TOTAL 45 59 26 31 57 8 49 22 37 11 5 4 3 3 4 2 10 3 5 14 3 % 75 98 43 52 95 13 82 37 62 18 8 7 5 5 7 3 17 5 8 23 5 10

Table 2: Accounting Courses (Master Program) Accounting Standards Accounting Audit Financial Accounting Derivatives Accounting information systems Financial Statement analysis Theoretical structure of Corporate Inflation Cost Accounting Managerial Accounting International Foreign trade Governmental Budgeting Tax audit techniques Advanced Computerized Uniform system of accounts Accounting applications Hospitality Accounting and Law Accounting Theory Accounting organization Environmental Accounting history Bank and insurance Abant İ.Baysal X Adnan Menderes X X Afyon X X X X X X Kocatepe Akdeniz X X X X Anadolu X X X X X X X X Ankara X X X Boğaziçi X X X X X Celal Bayar X X X Çanakkale X X X X X X Dokuz X X X X X X X X Eylül Dumlupınar X X X X X Erciyes X X Galatasaray X X X Gazi X X X X X X X X X X X Gaziantep X X X X Gazi X X Osmanpaşa Gebze X Hacettepe X X X X Harran X X İstanbul X X X X X İTÜ X Sütçü X X X X X X X İmam KATÜ X X X X X X X Marmara X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Mersin X X X Kocaeli X X X X Muğla X X Mustafa X X X X Kemal Niğde X X X X X X X Osmangazi X X X X Sakarya X X X X X Süleyman X X X X X X X X X X X X X Demirel 11

Accounting Standards Accounting Audit Financial Accounting Derivatives Accounting information systems Financial Statement analysis Theoretical structure of Corporate Inflation Cost Accounting Managerial Accounting International Foreign trade Governmental Budgeting Tax audit techniques Advanced Computerized Uniform system of accounts Accounting applications Hospitality Accounting and Law Accounting Theory Accounting organization Environmental Accounting history Bank and insurance Uludağ X X Yıldız Teknik X X X Zonguldak X X X X Atılım X X Bahçeşehir X X X Başkent X X X X Çankaya X X X X Çağ X Doğuş X X X Işık X X Bilgi X X X X X X X Kültür X X X X X İzmir Ekonomi X X X X X Okan X X X X X X Maltepe X X Yaşar X X Yeditepe X X X X X X X X X X X TOTAL 9 21 25 4 5 18 3 3 8 33 38 8 1 2 4 4 10 4 2 3 1 3 5 1 3 2 2 % 18 43 51 8 10 37 6 6 16 67 78 16 2 4 8 8 20 8 4 6 2 6 10 2 6 4 4 12

Table 3: Accounting Courses (PhD program) 13 Accounting standards Strategic management International Numerical methods in Strategic cost Budgeting Consolidated financial Statements Responsibility Managerial Tax Specialized Developments in Accounting theory Accounting information systems Accounting ethics Accounting and law CMB and Independent audit standards Advanced financial Accounting for new financial instruments Inflation and financial Statement analysis Accounting audit Afyon Kocatepe X X X X X Anadolu X X X X X X X X Akdeniz X X X X X Boğaziçi X Celal Bayar X X Erciyes X X X X X X X X X Galatasaray X X Gebze X Gazi X X X X X X Hacettepe X X X X X İstanbul X X X X Marmara X X X X X X X X X X KATÜ X X X X Niğde X X X X X X Sakarya X X X Süleyman Demirel X X X X X Uludağ X X Zonguldak X X X Başkent X X X İzmir ekonomi X X X X Yeditepe X TOTAL 7 8 6 2 8 4 2 2 2 2 1 5 7 3 1 4 1 7 5 4 3 5 % 33 38 29 10 38 19 10 10 10 10 5 24 33 14 5 19 5 33 24 19 14 24

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