Kellie McCombie

The International Harmonization of Accounting Standards: Making Progress in Accounting Practice or an Endless Struggle?

Kellie M. McCombie et al. — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 23:10:10 PDT

International Harmonisation of Accounting Standards and the Rhetoric of Globalisation

Kellie M. McCombie — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 23:10:09 PDT

"Fractured Tales for Teaching Accounting: A Journey Through Three Worlds?"

Kathleen A. Cooper et al. — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:18:12 PDT

This paper discusses the present educational trends in the Western World, and in particular Australia, that endanger the prospect of critical thought in accounting education. Such trends include the commodification of the student and education, reductions in government funding, and the emergence of Online education. We believe that economic pressure brought to bear on what accounting, and how accounting is taught, should be resisted to preserve the integrity of learning outcomes for students. This then leads us to reveal our struggle to learn/teach in a critical sense. The paper evaluates various pedagogical approaches, and their consequences for teaching and learning accounting. It is proposed there is a direct relationship between the effective teaching and learning of accounting, and the pedagogical framework chosen to enact that teaching and learning. Differing pedagogical frameworks embrace differing epistemological stances. The pedagogical framework chosen impacts significantly on real and valuable learning outcomes achieved. Accounting educators face an ethical imperative to competently educate critical thinking and technically competent professionals to serve society. Teaching and learning pedagogies are exam~for their ability to effectively teach difficult and abstract theoretical accounting concepts, and their ability to link this theory to its practical professional application. This is our response to the emerging trends facing the accounting educator.

The limited chances to be heard: an analysis of the institutionalisation of an official accounting language in the Australian accounting community

Kellie Michele McCombie — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:18:11 PDT

Accounting education in the institution known as the university: alibis of social relevance

Kellie M. McCombie — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:18:10 PDT

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes, if any, that have taken place in terms of the social relevance of accounting education in Australian Universities. In order to comment on the notion of social relevance, this paper examines the notion of alibis as put forward by Simon (2001). The past is reviewed in terms of the roles that accounting education has played in the Australian community. It is concluded that university education, and specifically accounting education, in an Australian context has never entirely been what Simon (2001) would label as ‘traditional scholarly’ (his first alibi). A second alibi, ‘economic utilitarian’, is found to be dominant for accounting education, in line with most university education today. A final section of the paper briefly reviews the way forward for accounting education which would fall under the alibi of ‘modernist liberal’. The paper is largely historical and adds to the debate on change in accounting education, by exploring the social relevance of accounting education.