Is the accounting curricula keeping up with sustainability development?

Abstract

There is continuing demand from practitioners, standard setters, and regulators for accountants to have the knowledge and competencies to contribute to sustainable business practices, reporting, and assurance. Educators at all levels of the accounting curricula have a responsibility to upskill. This research examines the extent of sustainability education among all levels of accounting curricula. Publicly available course information at three levels in New Zealand–secondary school, university, and professional accounting–was analysed using content analysis. The research finds a lack of sustainability education at all accounting curricula levels, with uneven coverage that is focused on sustainability broadly with questionable breadth and depth. This inconsistency among accounting educators results in accounting graduates with varied exposure to sustainability. This research calls for collective responsibility and collaborative leadership among educators, professional accounting bodies, practitioners, standard setters, regulators, and society to ensure sustainability education keeps pace with the development of sustainability accounting practice globally.