Research Article |
Corresponding author: Therese Grohnert ( t.grohnert@maastrichtuniversity.nl ) Academic editor: Anna Gold
© 2024 Therese Grohnert, Wim Gijselaers .
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes, provided that the article is not altered or modified and the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Grohnert T, Gijselaers W (2024) Learning from others: how insights from healthcare, law, and aviation can inspire accounting education. In: Majoor B, Gold A, Oord A (Eds) De controle verklaard. Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomie 98(1/2): 25-33. https://doi.org/10.5117/mab.98.116840
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Dutch accounting education has an excellent reputation; yet future-proofing it is challenged by a tight labour market and the continuously expanding societal roles and expectations imposed on accountants. In this article, we share insights on how three other professions – healthcare, law and aviation – have approached challenges similar to those currently faced by accounting educators. First, we show how healthcare education deals with ever-growing amounts of knowledge that young professionals should master. Second, we share how law educators have developed a new post-graduate approach linking theory and practice. Third, we demonstrate how aviation training fosters competence development without overloading the curriculum.
Accounting education, adaptation, innovation, knowledge, skills, healthcare, law, aviation
Learning from other professions can inform the auditing profession on innovation and adaptation without needing to reinvent the wheel. In this article, we highlight how healthcare, law, and aviation have addressed the challenges of exponential growth in professional knowledge, integrating theory and practice, and how they integrate knowledge and skills development. By explaining how these approaches address current challenges of accounting educators, we aim to contribute to ongoing efforts to ascertain a future-proof Dutch accounting education.
Accountants, whether employed by an audit firm, a multinational corporation, a SME, or within government roles, consistently encounter complexity, high expectations, and time pressure. In the Netherlands, accountants are thoroughly prepared for this demanding work environment. They begin by acquiring a theoretical education from universities (or ‘hogescholen’) and subsequently undertake postgraduate training that integrates theory and practice. This academically rigourous postgraduate training is collaboratively organised by institutions of higher education and industry practitioners and exceeds demands placed on future accountants in many other countries (e.g.,
Yet, Dutch accounting education faces significant challenges, marked by declining enrolments and a rising drop-out rate. Enhancing the feasibility, attractiveness and sustainability of the current education therefore has evolved into a strategic imperative for the entire sector (e.g.,
Innovating professional education is not a straightforward process; it requires thoughtful exploration of new educational pathways while acknowledging historical roots and effective current practices (e.g.,
In 2022, the CEA and RPO conducted a survey on the contents, teaching formats, and the necessary conditions for effective and efficient accounting education, reaching out to 356 programme directors, educators, internship agency and firm members, supervisors, assessors, and trainees (
Simultaneously, results from surveys and roundtable events highlight that the level of required knowledge and expertise for beginning practitioners is increasing and changing continuously. In 2022, 38.4% of the 609 trainees surveyed by the NBA stated that their current programmes are not sufficiently covering topics they consider to be critical post-graduation. These topics include IT, data analytics and business intelligence, tax legislation, continuity, fraud, professional development, as well as attention to ‘hot topics’ and current events in accountancy (
Improving the feasibility, attractiveness, and adaptability of post-graduate programmes in accountancy then requires not only an update of what is taught, but also changes to how trainees learn and develop as young professionals. Simultaneously, Dutch accounting education enjoys a good reputation domestically and internationally. For instance, the Netherlands mandate chartered accountants to obtain a master’s degree, exceeding requirements by the
Accountancy is not the only profession faced with the need to innovate its education; other professions grapple with the three challenges identified by the Kwartiermakers and the CEA/RPO (e.g.,
First, like accountancy, these three professions are knowledge-driven, strictly regulated, and subject to continuous oversight, relying on standards and procedures (e.g.,
Building on these shared characteristics, each professional domain’s approach to professional education can offer valuable insights to the others. In the following sections, we spotlight three practices:
Accounting educators can learn from medical education in many ways. Similar to accountancy, healthcare is a highly regulated field with substantial oversight, adheres to both national and international curriculum standards and assessment requirements. Additionally, young healthcare professionals also experience high stress levels and demonstrate higher turnover rates than the previous generation (e.g.,
With the exponentially growing body of medical knowledge, students and educators struggled with student’s mastery of this knowledge for medical practice (
To address this challenge, medical schools shifted their approach to teaching knowledge. Using anatomy as an example, teaching future doctors all available knowledge could easily consume a substantial portion of a six-year (under-)graduate programme. Consequently, instead of pursuing completeness, instruction now hones in on basic principles that have multiple applications (e.g.,
With this shift in teaching, practitioners and educational researchers turned their attention to ensuring that students become competent and safe doctors (e.g.,
Lawyers, much like accountants, base their professional judgments on in-depth knowledge of standards, laws, and regulation. Both professions adhere to a common set of guidelines dictating how lawyers resolve cases and how accountants prepare or audit financial statements. Consequently, professionals in both fields must exercise professional judgment across a range of situations, recognising when standards and knowledge is applicable (e.g.,
In the past five years, Dutch legal educators have undertaken a critical evaluation of the optimal preparation of graduate students for their roles as lawyers (
To ensure the new curriculum’s rigour, practicality, applicability across different firms, manageability, and attractiveness, the programme was shortened by a year. It now centres on the acquisition of key legal competences such as writing, ethics, and client interactions (
Accounting educators can similarly build on insights into how young accountants’ professional identity depends on the organisation they work in (
While seemingly disparate, aviation and accountancy share several critical characteristics. Pilots operate in hierarchical teams where each member monitors different information sources, forms judgments, and the team integrates judgments under time pressure to ensure a safe and effective flight (
At that time, pilot training primarily focused on technical knowledge specific to individual roles. As professionals advanced through the ranks, training would prepare them for the next set of responsibilities (
In aviation, experienced pilots, certified as CRM trainers, assess crew performance during simulations, conduct debriefs, point out mistakes, and monitor CRM compliance. This comprehensive evaluation encompasses the application of technical knowledge, communication effectiveness, and adherence to CRM principles under pressure. It combined critical experience with feedback and reflection, so that pilots develop implicit knowledge and routines, aligning with evidence-based best practices in educational research (
Applying CRM principles to accounting education involves utilising cases and simulations, preferably in a team-based setting, so that professionals can practice changes in standards and regulations. These activities can be complemented with process-focused feedback and reflections. Through simulations, accountants may practice managing risk, budget pressure, and complexity, for example. They may also experiment with different ways of exchanging information, challenging judgments, and applying professional skepticism. Such simulations should strive to be immersive and realistic, incorporating continuous feedback and reflection (
Many professions, including accountancy, face challenges in educating the next generation due to tight labour markets, exponential knowledge growth, and increasing societal demands. Drawing lessons from healthcare, law, and aviation education can offer insights into addressing current challenges in accounting education. Healthcare education models how to teach principles and their applications, rather than attempting full coverage of all available knowledge. Law education demonstrates the importance of differentiating and integrating theory and practice to foster a common professional identity while allowing for specialization. Aviation education is an example for concurrently developing and assessing knowledge and skills by combining realistic experiences with feedback and reflection.
Applying these lessons requires establishing several preconditions. First, successful change in accountancy education is unlikely unless relevant stakeholders, including firms, educational institutions, oversight and accrediting bodies, as well as young professionals themselves, actively engage in the innovation process. A shared approach ensures ownership and commitment through an uncertain yet necessary change process (
The Kwartiermakers, CEA and RPO have laid the groundwork for establishing alignment among stakeholders and fostering a collaborative effort to envision the future of accountancy education. Now is the time to learn from others, to consolidate ideas, and to take the next steps towards a feasible, attractive, and future-proof curriculum. This phase marks a crucial step in shaping the education of the accountant of the future.
Thoroughly preparing young accountants for a profession subject to intense oversight and operating in a complex environment, requires rigourous assessment of educational effectiveness. In healthcare, law, and aviation, strong foundations in educational research and psychology have been established to develop effective teaching approaches and measure their impact on professional learning. Following the examples highlighted in this article, we propose that accountancy, too, would benefit from adopting an evidence-based and integrated educational research approach involving all relevant stakeholders. Dutch accounting educators have built a strong reputation and rich history in effective pedagogy. To sustain this reputation, we advocate for increased attention to assuring young professionals’ learning through evidence-based and ongoing innovation. We hope that insights from other professions inspire accounting educators to craft programs that are not only feasible, attractive, and but also future-proof for a profession critically relevant to society.
T. Grohnert PhD – Therese is an assistant professor at the Department of Educational Research and Development, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University. Her work connects insights from learning science with judgment and decision-making in professional services. She develops her research in co-creation with audit practice to explore research questions that are meaningful for all involved parties and to facilitate the implementation of scientific insights into practice for improved learning, performance, and sustainable employability.
Prof. dr. W. Gijselaers – Wim holds the chair in Education Research at the Department of Educational Research and Development, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University. His research interests include leadership development, organizational learning, team learning, and expertise development. Previous research projects include understanding the impact of the learning culture on the performance of professionals and their team decision-making, leadership behaviours and team learning, and cognitive approaches to leadership development.
The authors would like to thank members of the Commissie Eindtermen Accountantsopleiding (CEA), the Raad voor de Praktijkopleidingen (RPO), and all participants of the ‘Stip aan de Horizon’ hackathons for their time, commitment, and inputs for future-proofing the Dutch accounting education.
In 2022, the CEA and RPO invited the authors of this article to organise a series of hackathons to explore and challenge the current situation of Dutch accounting education in a project called ‘Stip aan de Horizon’, which literally translates to ‘dot on the horizon’, a common metaphor in Dutch for a clear and motivating long-term goal or vision. In this article, we share how we were inspired by other professions (healthcare, law, and aviation) in addressing current challenges faced by Dutch accounting educators. We used these insights to prepare for these hackathons and, ultimately, to write this article. More information on this project, including the final report, can be found here: https://www.cea.nl/themas/project-stip-aan-de-horizon/
Example questions from CEA’s and RPO’s 2022 survey include “Which 3 to 5 changes and developments do you think we should take into account in the next five years when it comes to the accounting profession and the education to become a qualified accountant?”, “Which knowledge and skills that are currently included in accounting education are longer or less relevant for the future?” “Which knowledge and skills that are needed in practice are not yet or insufficiently built up in accounting education?” “Which (new) skills do graduate accountants need to master?” “Which critical or essential learning experiences or authentic professional situations must students/trainees have completed within the accounting training (theory and practice) to develop into a competent accountant?” and “Which learning activities that are currently part of theoretical courses can be better done in practice? And vice versa?”