Abstract:

Some factors, such as technology and globalization have generated fundamental changes in the business environment and have given rise to new needs in terms of knowledge and skills which the accounting profession must meet. Academic accounting education should therefore continually evolve in order to better prepare future professionals for these new needs. This research aims to ascertain the knowledge, skills and teaching methods considered to be the most important for the successful practice of certified public accountants (CPA), and to compare the results with the curriculum and the pedagogy used in Tunisian universities. For this purpose, we conducted a survey of 306 CPAs and CPA trainees in Tunisia. The research focuses on four dimensions: knowledge (19 items), professional skills (22 items), technological skills (18 items), and teaching methods (12 items). This paper presents what the respondents agreed upon as being the most important in terms of knowledge, skills, and teaching methods for the accounting education of CPAs, although results indicated that there are significant differences among subgroups regarding the perceived importance of such knowledge and skills. The findings also revealed that there is a gap between the academic accounting education provided and the needs of the profession.