The Expectation-Performance Gap in Accounting Education

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D. ORIGINALITY

- What is the unique and valuable contribution of the study to the body of knowledge?

This study is among the first to explore holistically and comprehensively the gaps of accounting education. The results of the study can be used to get insights how serious the gap. The established framework itself is a contribution to understand better the performance of the current accounting education in producing graduates with competencies essential to the industry.

- What are the accounting/management application of the findings?

The research findings would help the colleges and universities in developing a curriculum that is effective. Gaps identified in the study can be examined by these institutions whether they had these problems. If they had, then they will be alarmed to make solutions in bridging these gaps. The accounting instructors likewise will also be guided on how they will also make themselves effective in teaching the students.

- What areas of further research does it suggest?

This is an exploratory research. The next step would be making it a conclusive research (descriptive or causal) that will finally solve the problem statement.

E. CONCLUSION

This study extends the extant literature by adopting a holistic approach to a problem which the accounting profession has lamented (that is, the perceived failure of accounting education to provide accounting graduates with the competencies which the profession expects them to possess). The study has identified the structure, and causal components, of accounting education’s expectation-performance gap. By identifying its components, attempts to narrow the gap may focus on its causes, thereby increasing the likelihood of success.

Although the case study has provided support for the hypothesised structure of accounting education’s expectation-performance gap, its findings are limited in their scope: only a small number of employers, students, graduates and educators were interviewed, and their comments relate only to the case study programme. The findings may have been different if the samples had been larger or if they related to accounting programmes in other universities in NZ or elsewhere. These limitations highlight opportunities for further research. Given the benefits to be derived from identifying the structure and components of the expectation-performance gap in terms of better aligning the expectations of accounting educators and employers with respect to the competencies which accounting graduates should possess, such research is potentially rewarding for the accounting profession, educators, graduates and students alike.

F. CLARITY AND READABILITY

There is no main problem with the grammar, sentence structure and explanation of the study. The research is well-organized that anyone could easily understand the whole context of the study.