Management Accounting Education for the 21st Century Firms

Management accounting has become a subject of hot debates over the last four decades and has undergone a major transformation. It is argued that traditional management accounting roles have either disappeared or been changed. The debate is based on the belief that roles of ‘Management Accountants’ require new forms of education and training,  with more emphasis on the practicality of the subjects that are taught in higher education institutions to accounting students. Prevailing subjects, modes of study and delivery of teaching programmes may have to significantly change to make room for new areas, which are more required in the competitive market that the 21st century firms are experiencing these days. The argument in this paper is supported by the data collected from interviews with a sample of CIMA members working as senior financial directors in businesses, both service and manufacturing, in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.