A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis of Accounting Practice Credential Possession among US Accounting Doctoral Program Graduates

• In Event: Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum 7

Abstract

For more than a decade there have been concerns voiced within the accounting practice community about a growing education-practice divide resulting from the distancing of accounting academics from the practice arena. We, in concurrence with Black and Fogarty (2012), propose that practice credential possession among members of the academic accounting community is one key measure of the extent of this distancing. This study extends the work of the referent study which examined changes in the percentage of accounting faculty who possessed practice credentials at five year academic year intervals from 1981-1982 thorough 2011-2012. The present effort examines changes in the percentage of accounting doctoral program graduates over the past 20 years who possess the CPA, CMA, or CIA certificate. The results indicate a sharp decline in the percentage of graduates who possess one of these three credentials, and a steeper decline among individuals from more prestigious schools.

Authors

• Kenneth Jonathan Smith, Salisbury University

• Douglas Marshall, Salisbury University

• Kasey Harris, Salisbury University