Addressing the stagnation issue in accounting education research while incorporating mainstream publications and professional practice into the accounting curriculum

The accounting practice and academic research-oriented sides of the profession have had difficulties concerning the integration of their outputs. The practice side has maintained that very little of the “mainstream” research produced by academics has been of value in their day to day activities, and the research side has complained about the lack of cooperation as to the availability of data from the practice segment that is needed to conduct academic research. Add to this situation the teaching focused faculty of the profession, who contend that the research conducted in the “mainstream” is of little value to their efforts in teaching undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, faculty in the classroom need input from the practice side to determine what information the students need to be successful after graduation. The problems were noted in 2012 by the AICPA and AAA supported Pathways Commission in their major report, with questionable efforts to date addressing the concerns. Take all of these components together and you have a view of our current “situation” in accounting.