Accounting educators’ views on the need for, and means to develop, responsible leadership competencies in accounting students

Abstract

Accounting graduates often hold leadership positions early in their careers, but are insufficiently prepared for them. Transforming the curriculum is necessary to address this, but effective change requires buy-in from multiple stakeholders. A key stakeholder group is the educators themselves. The purpose of this study is to investigate accounting educators’ perceptions of the need to incorporate responsible leadership (RL) competency development into the accounting curriculum and how to do so. The study was conducted within a South African higher education setting. Interviews were conducted with 12 experienced South African accounting educators from 10 different employer institutions involved in senior accounting courses. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. The study found unanimous support for developing RL competencies to at least a foundational level in accounting students. Furthermore, the appropriateness of an existing RL competency development model for accounting education was affirmed, and refinements to the model to effectively execute the curriculum’s role in this process were identified. These refinements include cultivating a common understanding of a chartered accountant as a responsible leader; weaving the golden thread of RL throughout all years of study; and accounting educators to reconceptualise their role as primarily educators of future responsible leaders, and to secure support and personal development to execute this role effectively.
Contribution: The study’s contributions include practical suggestions aligned with the three model refinements, as well as evidence that affirms existing guidance on RL education for accounting students, which may be beneficial to accounting educators and academic institutions.