The interrelationship between the accounting professional bodies and academia has been highlighted through numerous accounting studies over the years. Yet the nature of this, at times, constrained relationship has often been stated as a fundamental issue with regards to the ability of the academic community to change accounting curriculum, pedagogy, and assessments. To better understand this relationship, our focus in this study relates to the professional accreditation of accounting education in Code Law and Common Law legal systems using two different institutional contexts, Italy, and Australia.
Through the theoretical lens of institutional logics, we analyse 30 semi structured interviews with key stakeholders relevant within this interrelationship in both countries. We find that traditionally, the accountancy profession was underpinned by the application of a fiduciary logic whereby it sought equal status with other professions with a public interest mission. We observe this remains within the professional accounting setting in Italy. In contrast, we report that the notion of “market” is easier to apply to the Australian professional accounting setting, due to the influence of the “economic self-interest” motivation behind the professional bodies’ aims to generate more income by attaining future members through the universities (and maintaining a position within a network).
Unlike Italy, we find little, if no evidence, of any aim related to the educational attainment of members, as concerns around learning quality in Australia were raised by participants. We contribute to the institutional logics literature through the exploration of the logics in these two legal contexts (Australia and Italy) and in doing so, explore the interrelationship between the professional accounting bodies and academia, and how these can be better balanced.
Dr Michael Kend has been a full-time accounting lecturer at RMIT University for around 15 years. He was also an accounting lecturer at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, between 2003 to 2007.
He has published in accounting education, sustainability assurance, audit technology and corporate law reforms related to external audits. He has published a number of studies (currently 30 publications) in leading business journals, such as ABACUS, International Journal of Auditing, Critical Perspectives on Accounting and Accounting and Finance. In 2023 he published a book on Statutory Audits in Europe.
He has been awarded several external research grants including from the ICAEW (London), CPA Australia, ARC Linkage grants (Australian Government) and the AFAANZ research grants scheme. He is the current leader of the Financial Accounting and Auditing Research Cluster at RMIT, Department of Accounting. He helped host the AASB and RMIT research forum on accounting research in 2022. He has supervised 8 PhD students to successful completion at RMIT University.
The seminar will be held in English.
Major Information: Lorenzo Dal Maso (lorenzo.dalmaso@unibo.it).