Reengineering the engineering education: The need for management and accounting courses

Many technically-based professionals such as engineers and other technical managers would often feel inadequately equipped in their understanding of certain important management and accounting. Such knowledge can be crucial when one is called upon to financially justify engineering-based projects, request funding, or effectively develop, manage or influence departmental budgets. In an effort to enhance the financial literacy of engineering students, this paper examines 97 undergraduate engineering programs from fifty universities globally. Specifically the paper evaluates the inclusion of management and accounting courses in the programs and it was found that the percentage is currently very low. Moving forward, this paper proposes options available to engineering departments and faculties on how best they can integrate management and accounting knowledge into their curriculum.