تعریف حال و شکل دهی آینده: ماهیت تغییر آموزش حسابداری در ایرلند

This paper uses an historical perspective to provide a comprehensive understanding of contemporary accounting education in Ireland. It describes the structure and nature of accounting education within the profession, higher education, and the second level school system. The relationships among these three sectors are analysed and the distinctive features of Irish accounting education are highlighted. Tracing the developments in accounting education across the sectors, economic activity is identified as the key driver of change. By examining the genealogical roots of accounting education, this research develops a contextualised understanding of the spectrum of contemporary accounting education in Ireland. It highlights current issues and challenges, offering a framework for further deliberations by policy makers and researchers. This paper also facilitates research comparing Irish accounting education to that experienced in other countries and to the education systems of other professions in Ireland.

The accounting profession in Ireland1 has experienced considerable change over the past 15 years. Similar to what has occurred internationally, changes in the business environment, emanating from technological developments, globalisation and market and regulatory pressures, have led to the re-conceptualisation and repositioning of the role of professional accountants (Albrecht and Sack, 2000 and Collins, 2000). Such observed changes and the expectation of increasing dynamism pose both opportunities and challenges for accounting education in Ireland. Beaver (1992) contends that a thorough exploration of the various dimensions of contemporary accounting education is a pre-requisite for its improvement in the future. However, accounting education in Ireland, both past and present, is remarkably under-researched. Taking an historical perspective, this paper explicates the current state of accounting education in Ireland and reviews relationships among the profession, higher education, and second level education. By developing a contextualised understanding of present-day accounting education, this review provides a foundation for addressing the education challenges of the new millennium. The research method underpinning this paper is a historiographic linking of past and present. Parker (2001) supports this research approach in his exploration of the expanding horizons of accounting and the challenges facing researchers and educators, arguing that there is “no identifiable dividing line that separates past from future”. Rather, past and future are part of a continuum where the present is viewed as a junction of the immediate past and the immediate future (Tillinghast, 1972). In this sense, the past helps define the present and shape the future. Carnegie and Napier (1996, p. 27) similarly support the use of the historical perspective to offer a framework for future research: “collections of historical articles pertaining to specific countries or regions … provide important databases for future researchers”. Moreover, “differences between organizations in different cultures can … only be explained completely if the historical dimension is included in the comparison” (Kieser, 1994, p. 609). Thus, this paper facilities future research comparing Irish accounting education to that experienced in other countries. The next section of the paper explicates the education system of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland. The nature of accounting education within the higher education sector is then described and the strong relationships that exist with the accountancy profession are delineated. The fourth section examines the study of accounting within the second level school curriculum and is followed by an exploration of the future challenges facing Irish accounting education.

Accounting education in Ireland has clearly been shaped by economic history. As the industrial base of the country expanded, accounting education within the profession, higher education, and the second level system developed to meet the needs of the economy. While many features of accounting education in Ireland are unique to its context, there are also many similarities with accounting education systems in the USA, Britain, Australia and elsewhere. Furthermore, accounting education in Ireland is today serving an accounting profession and an economy that are very similar to that experienced in other developed countries. But what has been learnt from explicating the current state of accounting education in Ireland and by exploring its origins? Ultimately, by examining the development of accounting education in Ireland and by delineating the factors that have fostered change, a deep contextualised understanding of the current position has emerged. This facilitates further research comparing Irish accounting education to that experienced in other countries and to the education systems of other professions in Ireland. Furthermore, this understanding helps to explicate the potential challenges that lie ahead for accounting educators. There is no doubt that these challenges demand a swift and integrated response if accounting education is to successfully meet the demands of Ireland's increasingly dynamic, competitive, and complex business environment.