Abstract
Symposium panel discussion on how accounting programmes might, or should, look to balancing these demands to provide programmes in the best interests of students, in the long as well as the short term.
The nature and content of accounting education is highly affected by jurisdictional and institutional contexts, and within all these contexts technical accounting content matters. Accounting programmes are often pressured to include more and more advanced technical accounting content. At the same time, there are often demands to minimise the "boring" parts of the accounting craft, especially those most likely to be automated such as double entry bookkeeping. In contrast many of the main employers of our accounting graduates continue to emphasise that they want graduates with the non-technical skills universities traditionally provide to all graduates regardless of field of study, such as effective communication, critical thinking, and the intellectual curiosity to continue learning throughout their careers.