Aligning Curriculum in Undergraduate Business Education to Integrate World’s Leading Professional Qualifications – Methodology and Limitations

The discussion on education-related issues in­variably addresses the question as to how the qual­ity of education should be improved. A successful example for adding value to professional education (a measure of education quality, though a condi­tional one) is the recent research project of the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at the University of National and World Economy – Sofia (Bulgaria). The project involves the aligning of syllabuses for the courses taught in the faculty with the modules of the chartered accountancy qualification of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW). Its goal is to ensure the appropri­ate recognition of high-quality learning and assess­ment and the award of credits for prior learning (ex­emptions) for programmes in the University by one of the oldest and currently the largest organizations of professional accountants in Europe. The innovative character of this research proj­ect emphasizes the need to summarize the expe­rience acquired during the project’s implementa­tion, which includes but is not limited to: problems, objectives, methods, activities and results. This paper discusses that set of interrelated elements. The paper contributes to the existing literature by the novel idea to integrate these elements within a general methodological framework for aligning curricula in undergraduate business education with the requirements of world’s leading professional qualifications. While much of the discussion is ori­ented at the development of students at the under­graduate level in accounting, finance and financial control, in many aspects it is also applicable in a more general context of education and training. The paper applies deductive reasoning – project implementation is contingent on the proposed meth­odological framework. In other words, the project is just a test to apply the methodology and a specific attempt to verify the developed theoretical model. Deductive logic provides at least two valuable ad­vantages First, it enables the essential understand­ing of the project’s results and allows for reflections on the project’s limitations, giving some insights for future research. Second, that approach supports the universal character of the proposed methodol­ogy as well as its applicability in other initiatives of similar vein. The paper concludes with a brief sum­mary and a call for further discussion on the prob­lems of undergraduate business education