







































Education, Society and Human Studies 
ISSN 2690-3679 (Print) ISSN 2690-3687 (Online) 

Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 
www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs 

55 

Original Paper 

Accounting Academic Workloads: Balancing Workload Creep to 

Avoid Depreciation in the Higher Education Sector 
Dr Warrick Long1, Associate Professor Lisa Barnes1,2*, Professor Maria Northcote1 & Professor Tony 

Williams3 

1 Avondale University College, Cooranbong, Australia  
2 Conjoint University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Australia 
3 University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia 
* Associate Professor Lisa Barnes, Avondale University College, Cooranbong, Australia; Conjoint 

University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, Australia 

 

Received: June 15, 2020          Accepted: June 22, 2020         Online Published: June 27, 2020 

doi:10.22158/eshs.v1n2p55                       URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/eshs.v1n2p55 

 

Abstract 

Accounting Academics are subject to external influences such as preparing graduates for future 

workplaces, bridging the gap between industry and academia and development of pathways to 

becoming professional accountants. Add to this the internal influences of delivery methods for student 

engagement, work integrated learning and casualisation of the workforce, the accounting academic is 

at capacity in terms of how these influences impact on workload. Using the “lived experience”, this 

research delves into the academic themselves to find that they categorize their workload into four 

themes of Teaching, Research, Accounting academic workload and development of Curricula, deemed 

the TRAC Framework for this study. Using this workload TRAC framework, accounting academics 

identified five factors they believe will influence their future roles. These include growth in 

international students that student success will be a shared responsibility that student engagement will 

be critical, that curricula design will involve stakeholder input and that expectations around research 

will change. These additional impact factors when added to the already at capacity workload model for 

accounting academics, will create a type of workload creep. This workload creep can be described as 

an increase in academic wear and tear, almost like depreciation on capital assets. 

Keywords 

workload creep, TRAC model framework, WIF model, depreciation, accounting academic, academic 

workload 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
56 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

1. Introduction 

The literature shows both external and internal influences are challenging how Accounting Academics 

(AA) teach at the higher education level (Steenkamp & Roberts, 2018). Amongst the many challenges 

facing accounting academics in maintaining relevance, six stand out amongst the literature, being 

divided into external influences, (Graduate attributes, industry-academia gap, alternate pathways) and 

internal influences, (delivery methods, Work Integrated Learning (WIL), and the casualisation of the 

workforce). This research uses the lived experience to find out what the impacts of these influences are 

on the workload of the accounting academic, and what they perceive the future outlook for their 

profession to be. 

 

2. External Influences on Accounting Teaching  

Graduate attributes for accounting students is a challenge for accounting academics. O’Connell et al. 

(2015) reported that “accounting academics face the difficult task of delivering the requisite 

professional knowledge while also trying to develop the professional skills of future professionals” (p. 

29). Employers have a range of graduate attributes that they prefer (Graduate Careers Australia, 2014), 

and which are often at odds with what the academics believe are necessary (Kavanagh & Drennan, 

2007; Naidoo, Jackling, & Prokofieva, 2012). Graduates and students themselves also have a view on 

what attributes they feel are needed (de Lange, Jackling, & Gut, 2006; Jackling & Calero, 2006; 

Jackling & de Lange, 2009). Stakeholders are highlighting the importance in a “fast-changing business 

world” (Albrecht & Sack, 2000, p. 59) of non-technical skills (Hancock, Howieson, Kavanagh, Kent, 

Tempone, & Segal, 2009; Oliver, Whelan, Hunt, & Hammer, 2011) and, in particular, interpersonal 

skills like teamwork and communication (Parker, 2001; Tempone et al., 2012). The challenge for 

accounting academics is to accommodate these changing and differing expectations (Bunney & Therry, 

2010; de Lange et al., 2006) with what is realistically deliverable (Cappellatto, 2010). As observed by 

Kavanagh, Hancock, Howieson, Tempone, and Kent (2010), “this is a complex issue reflecting many 

factors, including the perceived objectives of a university degree, the availability of resources, the 

diverse characteristics of employers, and even the expectations of students” (p. 3). Knowing what 

graduate attributes are required is a challenge for the accounting academics, as they risk becoming 

irrelevant in the event of accounting graduates not acquiring the requisite graduate attributes needed by 

a diverse range of stakeholders. 

Another major issue challenging the relevance of accounting education is the industry-academia gap, 

which in accounting academia, “exists between what accountants do and what accounting educators 

teach” (Bedford, 1986, p. 172), and while this comes from a US report, it is supported by studies in 

Australia (Burritt, Evans, & Guthrie, 2010; Guthrie, Burritt, & Evans, 2011; Kavanagh & Drennan, 

2007). This gap within the accounting discipline has been identified as arising from an 

“underdeveloped bond” (Levitt & Nicolaisen, 2008, p. 19) and “weak links” (Ryan, 2010, p. 26) 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
57 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

between practitioners and academics. As a consequence of these two communities not working together 

(Howieson, 2003, p. 94), the academics are charged with receiving “little direct insight” into 

accounting practice (Behn et al., 2012, p. 29), which Parker (2001) believes produces “a predominantly 

narrow, technicist accounting education focus which neither fits our contemporary accounting and 

business environment” (p. 441). They further note that “not only have academic accounting educators 

failed to lead practice, but they have resolutely failed to even follow the broader scope of activities and 

skills already being adopted in practice” (Parker, 2001, p. 442). 

Addressing the industry-academia gap is important because of the potential for substantial mutual 

benefits (Akili, 2005) arising from the beneficial relationship of the practitioners needing both 

graduates and solutions to problems, and academics needing resources to provide such (see Guthrie et 

al., 2011, pp. 15-16). Other researchers (Russell, Kulesza, Albrecht, & Sack, 2000, p. 6) also contend 

that accounting education has essentially remained static in its delivery while accounting practice has 

adapted in an ever-changing world of business. Most importantly, students stand to gain the most 

advantage from having a strong industry-academia collaboration through the faculty having a strong 

understanding of the current professional environment (Behn et al., 2012), practical experience (Levitt 

& Nicolaisen, 2008), and maintaining a connection with industry which can assist the academics in 

keeping, “undergraduate and graduate curricula and pedagogy relevant and dynamic” (Behn et al., 2012, 

p. 71). 

However, there are difficulties in maintaining close connections between the two communities, 

including the view that there is, “a mismatch between the objectives, process and outcomes of 

accounting education, and the reality of the discipline and of the society in which practitioners work” 

(Palm & Bisman, 2010, p. 180). In part, this is a result of the changed emphasis of university 

administrations onto research prestige, meaning research rather than professional qualifications form 

key criteria for recruitment (Annisette & Kirkham, 2007; Behn et al., 2012). 

To realise the benefits of a closer industry-academia alliance, ways need to be found to make progress 

in communicating and engaging with practitioners (Chapman & Kern, 2012), including developing 

alliances between academics and practitioners, as identified by both Burritt et al. (2010) and Kaplan 

(1989). Support for a closer alliance also needs to come from university administrations and the various 

accrediting agencies to recognise not just academically but also professionally qualified staff (Levitt & 

Nicolaisen, 2008). With this support it is then possible to offer incentives (Bedford, 1986; Behn et al., 

2012) for academics to engage in activities like industry sabbaticals (Thambar, 2012), consulting, 

internships and residencies (Albrecht & Sack, 2000) that give them the connection and experience with 

industry to keep pace with developments and practice. 

The final issue involves the development of alternate pathways to becoming a professional accountant, 

which do not involve the university accounting academic. Private higher education providers are able 

to offer undergraduate or post-graduate degree programs, which may be recognised by the professional 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
58 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

accounting bodies for graduate entry. Ryan (2010) notes that typically these providers will have a 

competitive advantage over universities based on a narrow mission and focus that allows them to 

provide “high volume, low cost” programs characterised by low overheads, a highly casualised 

teaching workforce, a mainly teaching-only approach, and strong links with industry and associations 

that can provide employment opportunities upon completion. Nor do the private providers “pretend to 

make broad social and intellectual contributions” (Ryan, 2010, p. 25) as is characterised by the 

universities. The university is no longer the sole provider of the requisite accounting degree for 

admission to the professional accounting bodies programs. 

In 2008, the professional bodies announced that from 2010 CPAA, and the ICAA from 2012, would 

change their admission criteria to allow entrance with a non-accounting degree. The reasons proffered 

by the professional bodies for making these changes include the need to boost the number of 

professional accountants to beat shortages (Thomason & Ward, 2012, p. 63), providing candidates with 

a quicker and cheaper pathway (Matchett, 2009, 26 August), and addressing a negative perception of 

employers about the quality and communication skills of graduates (Farrow, 2012; Hancock, Howieson, 

Kavanagh, Kent, Tempone, Segal et al., 2009). These changes were met with “shock and awe” and 

“outrage” from academics (Poullaos & Evans, 2008, pp. 1-28) who questioned whether the goal was 

“training or educating” professional accountants? (Matchett, 2009, 26 August, p. 29). In the wash-up of 

these exchanges, it remains that the professional bodies have created another pathway for becoming a 

professional accountant that excludes having a university accounting degree. 

A third pathway into professional accounting has arisen with the arrival into Australia of additional 

international professional accounting bodies. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants 

(ACCA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) are both international 

accounting bodies that provide alternatives to CPAA and CAANZ for recognition and accreditation as a 

professional accountant. The “point of differentiation” for these bodies is their international acceptance 

and recognition in a context of global business and employment. In a global business environment, 

these professional bodies have created another pathway into professional accounting. 

 

3. Internal Influences on Accounting Teaching 

The influence of the teacher themselves plays a significant role, as identified by Russell et al. (2000) 

who found that, for accounting students, “the most critical element in a student’s successful classroom 

experience is an inspiring professor” (p. 9). Supporting this, Jackling and Calero (2006) note that 

“…accounting educators at the first year level have an important role to play” (p, 434). And in a study 

of an accounting program in a New Zealand university, interviewees informed Bui and Porter that the 

two key shortcomings of educators are “…deficient teaching skills and a lack of passion for, and 

apparent interest in, the subject matter” (Bui & Porter, 2010, pp. 45-46). This may be in response to a 

“dry” accounting curricula, as noted by McGowan (2012) who observed that “…many students found 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
59 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

the course relevant to their program dull, thus, reducing their engagement with the course materials, 

activities, assessment tasks, and their peers” (p, 1098). This highlights that the traditional teaching 

methods used by accounting educators are neither effective (Fouché, 2013, p. 146), adequate or suitable 

for accounting (Zraa, Kavanagh, & Hartle, 2011, pp. 7-16). The issue of how accounting academics 

teach will be considered, specifically looking at the issues with delivery methods, alternatives like 

online learning and Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and the casualisation of the workforce. 

Accounting educators perceive that university administrations fail to appropriately recognise and 

reward teaching (Bexley, James, & Arkoudis, 2011) and give priority to research over teaching (Behn et 

al., 2012), which may not provide incentives for accounting academics to invest significantly in 

developing adaptive or flexible teaching. Howieson mused whether requesting changes to teaching may 

be perceived by accounting academics as “…threatening a change to their underlying 

knowledge/research base and interests” (Howieson, 2003, p. 94). Yet the need is for accounting 

academics to be a “change agent” rather than a “change resistor” (Parker, 2001, p. 447), and to keep up 

with the changing environments of the accounting academic (Behn et al., 2012, p. 78). In particular, 

students now “…expect that higher education providers will accommodate pressures outside of study, 

such as paid employment and meeting family responsibilities, through the flexible delivery of teaching, 

services and advice” (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent, & Scales, 2008, p. 71). The introduction of online 

learning into the delivery of accounting courses is an option for giving greater flexibility. 

The use of technology for online learning is seen as a “…new era emerging” (Guthrie, Burritt, & Evans, 

2013, p. 19). This “new era” brings with it a number of opportunities that, according to Guthrie et al. 

(2013, p. 19) include: 

• greater opportunities for wider collaboration; 

• interactive case studies; 

• opening courses to geographically, socially and economically 

disadvantaged persons, hence giving a more diverse range of students; 

• anytime anywhere education; and 

• real-time dissemination of research. 

However, the typical accounting academic has not necessarily embraced the use of new technology in 

their teaching, with the cost to develop and transition seen as significant by academics in terms of 

adding to their workload and taking significant time for training and development (Gamage & 

Mininberg, 2003; Subramaniam, 2003). Accounting academics are also concerned that not being able to 

watch students reactions in class makes it harder to “read” the attentiveness of students and their ability 

to grasp what is being taught (Gamage & Mininberg, 2003). There is also apprehension that accounting 

students will not develop all the graduate capabilities in a purely online context (Freeman & Hancock, 

2013), and an earlier study found that only 50% of surveyed accounting educators believed adopting 

online teaching methods will be quite helpful for student learning (Subramaniam, 2003). Another study 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
60 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

identified a concern about the loss of social interaction and spontaneity as having a significant 

detrimental effect of online learning (Howieson, 2003), and in their extensive review of the literature, 

Gamage and Mininberg (2003) found similar concerns, noting: 

Sitting in front of a machine and controlling everything in your world has frightening 

implications for how individuals relate to each other and understand and manage 

interpersonal relations (p. 194). 

However, in the decade that followed these statements a “middle ground” position seems to have 

evolved with support growing for an amalgam of both online and classroom-based approaches. For 

example, Lytle proposed in 2012 that “…hybrid learning, which combines online education with 

in-class instruction, and “individualized, just-in-time learning approaches” will be much more common 

by the year 2020” (Lytle, 2012). Supporting this view, Freeman and Hancock (2013) submitted that:  

What is more likely to happen is academics will judiciously incorporate 

technology-enabled learning into a blended or hybrid learning environment (p. 90). 

In his PhD thesis on situated learning (another term for WIL) in accountancy Stanley (2010) diagnoses 

accountancy as a profession, built on a community of practice (p. 100), with transmission “…still the 

dominant mode of teaching accountancy” (p. 46) even though this “…transfer of knowledge is not 

working” (p. 52). Identifying this issue led Stanley to exploring ways to bridge the gap between 

education and work, and in particular the concept of situated learning. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) 

has had different names like, “…internship, co-operative education, experiential learning and action 

learning” (Leong & Kavanagh, 2013). Jackson (2013) notes that this includes “…work placements, 

internships and practicum; project-based learning; and service learning” (p. 99). Leong and Kavanagh 

(2013) build on these definitions and types of WIL as follows: 

WIL is learning by doing and is designed to help students to develop a better understanding 

of their future career path, personal and professional direction, extend their knowledge of 

the world of work and range of employment opportunities (p. 3). 

Common amongst these explanations and examples of WIL is the theme of integrating theory and 

practice, which is a significant factor in the use of WIL in teaching accounting at the tertiary level. 

From the perspective of the student, this greatly assists in their learning (Eskola, 2011; Jackson, 2013, 

2016; Simmons, Williams, Sher, & Levett-Jones, 2012; Stanley, 2010). WIL has also been found to 

assist students in exploring and affirming their career choice (Cord, Bowrey, & Clements, 2010; Patrick 

et al., 2008; Stanley, 2010). Importantly, there has been significant research into how WIL enhances the 

graduate attributes for students, both profession specific and more generic (Abeysekera, 2006; Beard, 

2007; Beard & Humphrey, 2014; Cord, Sykes, & Clements, 2011; Freudenberg, Brimble, & Cameron, 

2011). Moreover, perhaps foremost in the mind of the student is the prospect of employability, and WIL 

has been found to enhance the employability of graduates (Beard & Humphrey, 2014; Bradley et al., 

2008; Eskola, 2011; Jackson, 2013; Paisey & Paisey, 2010). 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
61 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Other stakeholders to also benefit from WIL include accounting employers/practitioners who can gain 

an advantage by previewing potential employees, which can improve selection and increase employee 

performance, retention and loyalty (Beard & Humphrey, 2014, pp. 564-566). The accounting 

professional bodies also stand to gain from WIL “…by having well-trained accounting professionals, 

membership drive, and enhancing their professional strength due to greater membership and image” 

(Abeysekera, 2006, p. 26). 

Even with such benefits and potential advantages to adopting a WIL approach, challenges still exist in 

implementing them. One such challenge is the reluctance of faculty to “…take on the role of a master 

or mentor in the master/apprentice or mentor/mentee paradigm” (Stanley, 2010, p. 99), which is 

important in guiding students through a WIL program. Another more complex challenge comes from 

the various stakeholders in the process (e.g., students, universities, faculty, employers, professional 

bodies), and whose interests, views, and objectives were paramount and would most influence the 

design of accounting curricula. There are multiple and largely competing views on this, and 

implementing a WIL program encounters the same challenges with tensions arising “…from the 

tendency of stakeholders to have different motivations, objectives and understanding of the intended 

purpose of WIL” (Patrick et al., 2008, p. 17). Patrick et al. (2008) further identify other major 

challenges for WIL, which include issues of equity and access (e.g., international students, regional and 

remote students), ensuring consistent quality of the placement experience, and adequate resourcing for 

the WIL program. 

That is, there has been a substantial increase in the number of casual academics employed within 

universities is the third internal influence accounting academics face. A casual academic, is defined by 

Percy et al. (2008) as “sessional teachers including any higher education instructors not in tenured or 

permanent positions, and employed on an hourly or honorary basis” (p. 4). Casuals are also referred to 

as “sessional” (Coates, Dobson, Goedegebuure, & Meek, 2009) and on occasion as a “conjoint” or 

“adjunct” (Nadolny & Ryan, 2013).  

The extent of the use of casual academics in the Australian university sector is very significant (Bexley 

et al., 2011) and it was noted in the Bradley report into higher education in Australia that Australian 

universities are “highly dependent on a casual workforce” (Bradley et al., 2008, p. 22). Estimates report 

that 50% of all teaching is by casual staff (Percy et al., 2008), and more than 50% of all undergraduate 

teaching in Australian universities (National Tertiary Education Union, 2012). More recently, McCarthy, 

Song, and Jayasuriya (2017) have asserted that casualisation has moved so far within Australian 

universities that “the majority of teaching [is] now conducted by casual staff” (p. 1023). While the 

focus of this study is on the Australian context, Vajoczki, Fenton, Menard, and Pollon (2011) note that 

casualisation of academic staff is an international issue, with Ontario, Canada, UK and the US 

experiencing similar levels of casualisation in the university sector as Australia. As a part of the 

university, the discipline of accounting has similarly experienced the casualisation of its academic 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
62 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

workforce. Both Guthrie and Parker (2014) and Ekanayake and Jackling (2014) report that it is typical 

within the university accounting departments that the academic staff is now highly casualised. 

Two important impacts of casualisation are the potential degradation of the quality of university 

education and the added workload to the existing tenured staff. Several studies report that due to the 

poor selection process, lack of professional development opportunities, and poor performance 

management processes for casuals, there will be a consequent flow-on effect to the quality of the 

teaching (Lama & Joullié, 2015; Probert, 2015; Ryan, Burgess, Connell, & Groen, 2013; Steenkamp & 

Roberts, 2017). The risk to quality was noted by Coates et al. (2009), where “the universities’ main 

business is handled by its least-connected workforce segment, a lot could be at stake” (p. 53). This 

sentiment is reinforced by the Productivity Commission (2017), where they record “it seems likely that 

a system where a significant share of the teaching is provided by junior staff with limited long-term 

teaching interest will not generate the best educational outcomes for students” (p. 14).  

The increased workload to tenured staff as a consequence of the growing casualised academic 

workforce (Kimber, 2003) arises from the added pressure to coordinate this labour segment (Coates et 

al., 2009). While the large numbers of casual staff may collapse into only a small number of Full-ime 

Equivalents (FTE) of tenured staff, there remains a growing supervisory and coordination load that the 

permanent staff must undertake, impacting on their own workloads (Percy et al., 2008). AUAAs 

experience similar workload pressures from the increased casualisation in the accounting departments, 

as noted by Cappellatto (2010) and Wright and Chalmers (2010). Based on the literature review, the 

following spheres of influence have been developed demonstrating the external and internal influences 

on Accounting Academics. 

 

 

 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
63 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Spheres of Influence 

 

Based on these current internal and external influences, this study will then investigate what accounting 

academics perceive to be the future outlook for teaching of accounting by asking the following 

Research Question: How does the accounting academic (AA) perceive the outlook for teaching of 

accounting and its impact (if any) on Workload? 

 

4. Methodology: The Lived Experience 

In its simplest form lived experience is the “…experience we live through before we take a reflective 

view of it” (Van Manen, 2014, p. 42); however in the context of research, lived experience is “…a 

representation and understanding of a researcher or research subject’s human experiences, choices, and 

options and how those factors influence one’s perception of knowledge” (Boylorn, 2008, pp. 490-491). 

Van Manan (2004, pp. 580-581) expands on this to note that lived experience “…remains a central 

methodological notion that aims to provide concrete insights into the qualitative meanings of 

phenomena in people’s lives.” Essentially it is an attempt to construct or express the meaning of what a 

person experiences as they live through phenomena (e.g., occurrence, episode, happening, and 

encounter) (Creswell, 2013; Crotty, 1998; Schwandt & Burgon, 2006). Developing an awareness of the 

meaning of lived experience can often lead to improving practice associated with the phenomena of the 

lived experience (Lindseth & Norberg, 2004). For example, examination of the lived experience has the 

potential to develop a better understanding of the challenges and joys of being a parish nurse in 

Australia (Gosling, 2012), knowing more about what it is to be an entrepreneur (Berglund, 2007), or 

understanding the natural music learning process of children (Green, 2005). This study is important as 

the lived experience of accounting academics has not yet been fully explored elsewhere. 

E
X
T
E
R
N
A
L 

I
N
T
E
R
N
A
L 

Accountin
g 

Academics 
(AA) 

Graduate 
Attributes 

Industry-acad
emia gap 

Alternate 
Pathways 

Delivery 
methods 

WIL 

Casual 
Staff 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
64 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Lived experience comes under the qualitative research method known as phenomenology and, more 

particularly, hermeneutic phenomenology. 

 

5. Data Analysis 

Invitations to an online questionnaire were sent to 808 accounting academics who were listed on the 

university websites as being accounting educators, of which 162 useable responses were received. 

These responses were followed up with semi-structured interviews of a smaller group of 8 Australian 

academics from five different Australian universities to further explore key issues raised in the 

questionnaire. Demographics from the interviews are shown in Tables 1 and 2. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2. Sources and Connections of Data Collection 

 

Table 1. Participant Characteristics 

Characteristic 
Number of 

Participants 

Gender Female 4 

 Male 4 

Academic Position Lecturer 3 

 Senior Lecturer 3 

 Associate Professor 2 

 

 

 

 

 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
65 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Table 2. Participant Universities 

Characteristic Universities Participants 

Size (no. students) Large (>40000) 2 2 

 Medium (20001 – 40000) 2 5 

 Small (< 20000) 1 1 

Location CBD 2 2 

 Regional 3 6 

 

Four themes emerged in the data collection process of Teaching, Research, Workload and Curricula. 

Each of these will now be analysed. 

 

6. Theme 1: Teaching-Related Workload Factors 

The first of the teaching-related workload factors that came to light during the data analysis are those 

activities that involve the administration of teaching, and include activities such as compliance, class 

preparation, and developing new materials. The accounting academics (AA) described this as being 

“overburdened with administration” (Q47), and “…we’ve got too many other demands on our time 

around teaching-related sort of activities” (AA 2). Included in these demands is “…an overabundance 

of compliance required by the university related to teaching tasks” (Q47) and “bureaucracy regarding 

teaching” (Q24). However, these compliance related tasks were only part of issue for the accounting 

academics in the study.  

The preparation of teaching material was reported as a secondary issue affecting teaching (Q47), with 

comments such as the following, 

 Time to develop material 

 The time it takes to prepare for a lecture/tutorial/seminar, even in the 

case of a subsequent year “repeat performance” 

 Lack of preparation time 

AA(1) noted that “…teaching is very intensive in terms of getting the material organised”, highlighting 

that the act of teaching encompasses more than just the face-to-face function of content delivery. While 

preparing for teaching a class is identified by the accounting academics in the study as an issue in their 

teaching workload, a greater number of accounting academics noted developing new material and 

methods of teaching as a crucial issue. Typical of their responses were, 

 Lack of time for improving teaching (Q23) 

 Lack of time to develop new methods of presenting the lectures and 

notes (Q47) 

 Too busy with teaching and admin., so limited time available for 

designing new assessments and teaching materials (Q47) 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
66 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 Constant changes mean no time to fully develop and consolidate great 

content and delivery methods (Q49) 

It was AA(4), when discussing the time involved with all the time allocated for teaching, who used the 

phrase “…it wasn’t teaching, it was the administration of teaching”. In discussing the same issue, AA(5) 

summed up the feeling of the Accounting academics regarding such administration, when they noted, “I 

don’t think the administration around teaching is acknowledged enough”. 

The final issue within the teaching-related theme reported by the accounting academics in the study 

involves online teaching. With over 90% of respondents to the questionnaire noting that the use of 

online environments has increased over the last five years (Q32), and over 80% indicting staff have 

increased their use of electronic feedback for assessments (Q33), the pressure for online development is 

real for the accounting academics in the study. In responding to five of the questions in the 

questionnaire the accounting academics very clearly perceived significant pressure to be moving into 

an online/blended delivery mode of teaching, indicative response to the questions are: 

 Too much of a push to “blended learning” (Q23) 

 [Would like] less pressure to move courses online, accounting is a 

people based career (Q24) 

 Pressure for on-line development (Q47) 

 Pressure to teach solely online (Q48) 

 [Issue is the] balance of online v face to face (Q49) 

In particular, this was seen to be a primary challenge expected to be encountered in their teaching in the 

next five years (Q48). While the responses of the accounting academics indicated much of this pressure 

came from the university (e.g., “restructuring to provide more online teaching” Q48), the expectations 

of students were also reported as an important influence. A secondary response to questionnaire Q30 

(Ways student expectations of teaching have changed) involved the desire for more online resources, 

examples of these responses included, 

 Better online learning environment 

 More on line teaching 

 More demands for online materials 

 Students expect significant online content 

Clearly the accounting academics in the study perceive a demand from students for more content and 

resources to be available online (“…increasing proportion opt for online”, Q30). 

The primary issue with this as noted by the accounting academics was that online/blended learning 

delivery requires more resources, most significantly the time of accounting academics. To meet this 

demand requires accounting academics to adapt, which includes, 

 More time devoted to developing materials, especially online (Q24) 

 Time to put stuff online takes away from class time (Q47) 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
67 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 Finding time to deliver high quality online resources (Q48) 

The accounting academics noted that online/blended learning approaches are increasing and with this 

comes the need to develop different/additional teaching materials. The lack of support, training and 

resources available to the accounting academics for what they perceive to be the inevitable transition to 

the online environment is of concern to them.  

 

7. Theme 2: Research Related Workload Factors 

The second identified workload factor external to teaching that impacts on the accounting academics 

teaching is the requirement for research. The participants in the study noted the tension between 

research and teaching, with indicative comments including: 

 Balancing time between research and teaching (Q47) 

 Research teaching trade off (Q23) 

 Teaching research tension (Q23) 

An important number of accounting academics in the study noted they felt increasing pressure to 

research and publish, which they believed has a detrimental effect on the time available for teaching, 

see for example the following responses to Q48 when asked about the challenges ahead to teaching,  

 Meeting research expectation (takes time away) 

 Increased pressure to publish (less time for teaching) 

 Less time for teaching-related activities due to more time required for research 

These sentiments were echoed in other responses throughout the questionnaire, as illustrated by the 

following, 

 Increased demands for research – less time for teaching (Q47) 

 Workload expectations for research output allowing minimum time for teaching (Q50) 

 Pressure to focus on research rather than on teaching (Q23) 

The pressure felt by accounting academics in the study within the research component of their 

workload at the expense of teaching is perceived to be a “lack of recognition of teaching” (Q25) and 

impacts on not just the time available for teaching, but also the quality of teaching (Q23). 

 

8. Theme 3: Administration Workload Factors 

In the context of this research, administration refers to the “paperwork” and compliance requirements 

of accounting academics associated with their role. It does not refer to the administration of their 

teaching (e.g., marking and preparing classes). The accounting academics repeatedly noted in the study 

that administration has increased, and intrudes into time for teaching, as indicated by the following 

typical comments: 

 Heavy admin load for coordinators who are trying to maintain a balance between 

research and teaching but mostly spent in managing and coordinating (Q23) 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
68 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 Intrusion of administration into time (Q48) 

 Increased time spent on admin (Q50). 

An example of the type of administrative functions that are imposing on their time for teaching-related 

activities is provided by AA(8), 

 Oh, the admin is, the admin, there are a lot of things that we do from an administrative 

point of view that, waste our time, that take us away from improving materials for 

students and, I was asked recently to put my CV into a template for TEQSA for one 

of the places I work at, their, reaccreditation process. And I looked at it and thought, 

you’ve got my CV and you’ve got the template, and someone in admin could’ve put 

my CV into the template but now I’m doing it, which takes me away from, doing 

things that I could be doing for my students or, improving my Blackboard 

Being required to engage in administrative tasks that could be undertaken by non-academic staff is an 

area the accounting academics keenly felt as a pressure point on their teaching component within their 

workload. AA(1) further noted below that even though their role requires them to fulfil administrative 

duties, there is insufficient recognition in the workload model for such:  

 …I find administration duties take a lot away from me as well. So, I’m constantly 

looking after staff, staffing issues, arranging staff events and those sorts of things. 

Even though it gets recognized in my role, it doesn’t really get recognized in terms of 

this workload model.  

The increased role of administrative work required of accounting academics is perceived by the 

academics in the study to be impacting their teaching, to the point in some cases where their identity as 

educators is threatened, and evidenced by the following comment from AA(4), a senior lecturer:  

 So, another challenge, another challenge that I notice is that I’m no longer, I try hard to 

hang onto this, but I feel I’m no longer an educator, I’m an administrator 

Within the traditional workload model for academics, administration may be the smallest component, 

but in the study reported here and noted above, the accounting academics see it as growing and putting 

pressure on the time available for teaching. The accounting academics in the study reported feeling the 

pressures of workload in two discrete ways. The first was in relation to the volume of work which they 

indicated impacts on the balance between work and non-work activities (work/life balance). Work-life 

balance was reported as a primary issue facing the discipline (“work-life balance issues”—Q23), an 

example of increased student expectations on accounting academics (“expect staff to be available 

24/7” —Q30), a challenge ahead for teaching (“Lack of time”—Q48) and an obstacle to implementing 

positive changes (“Time constraint”—Q25).  

The second of the workload pressures reported by the accounting academics in the study is the 

competing demands for time within allocated work time. That is, the balance between the traditional 

academic roles for lecturers and senior lecturers of teaching (40%), research (40%) and administration 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
69 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

(20%) (which includes administration, service, community and industry engagement is perceived as 

being very difficult to maintain, as illustrated in 2 and noted by AA(2) that “… probably like 

everywhere else, there’s an ongoing debate and concerns about increasing workloads, just in terms of, 

say, class contact time and things like that”.  

Other responses to the questionnaire in relation to this included: 

 Competing demands (Q47) 

 Balancing research, admin., and teaching (Q48) 

 Balancing time—teaching/admin., and research overlap and can implode one another 

(Q49) 

Within the study’s questionnaire, Q45 asked participants to indicate how their academic workload is 

broken down across a year, noting that the total should equal 100%. The results for the average of each 

component for each academic role is shown in Figure 3 compared to the traditional weighting and notes 

that teaching is the dominant component, with research being less than the traditional model and 

admin/other more: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3. Traditional Lecturer/Senior Lecturer Academic Workload Components 

 

9. Theme 4: Curricula Related Workload Factors 

The accounting academics in the study noted there are changes in the world of accounting that may 

potentially impact on the university accounting curricula. These changes include:  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
70 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 4. Accounting Academic Reported Work Components 

 

• the changing role of accountants and the accounting workforce (Q23); 

• the nature of the accounting profession and the nature of accounting (Q23 and Q47); 

• the changing preferences of students (Q47); and 

• changing graduate attributes (Q48).  

Driving these changes are accounting academics, employers, students and the accreditation processes 

of universities and the accounting professional bodies. Three major potential changes to the accounting 

curricula that the accounting academics see are needed: more emphasis on information technology; 

giving greater priority to developing “soft skills’ in students (e.g., communication skills and critical 

thinking skills); and producing work-ready graduates curricula. 

The accounting academics, when asked to rate a number of different student skills in the questionnaire 

(Q27), primarily voted the following as their top three, indicating a need for “soft skills” to be included 

in accounting curricula: 

 Problem solving (98.5%)  

 Written communication (96.2%) 

 Critical thinking (94.7%) 

This was supported by responses in the questionnaire asking what changes the Accounting academics 

would like to see in the accounting discipline (Q24), with indicative responses including: 

 Broader range of non-accounting based subjects 

 Less emphasis on vocational skills 

The accounting academics perceive that accounting students instead prefer curricula content that 

emphasises “real-life” examples and a focus on practical skills, as evidenced by typical comments: 

 Students too focussed on technical skills (Q25) 

 Practical oriented teaching (Q30) 

 Expectation of the use of real life examples takes priority to the actual subject content 

(Q30) 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
71 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Accounting students are looking for a context in which to apply the lessons they are learning and skills 

they perceive will enhance their employability. 

The accounting academics in the study reported their perception of the influence of industry/employers 

on the accounting curricula as being: 

 Demands for work-ready graduates (Q23) 

 Industry demands for work-ready graduates (Q25) 

There were a small number of accounting academics who indicated a criticism of this: 

 Curricula too influenced by industry organisations (Q23) 

 Industry focusses on applied ability, even if they talk about soft skills (Q25) 

However, the primary response suggested more accounting academics support the idea that the 

curricula should better reflect what prospective employers want in potential graduates, and invite their 

involvement, as evidenced in typical responses to questions asked in the questionnaire about the 

changes they would like to see in the accounting discipline (Q24): 

 More industry engagement in determining course structure and subject content 

 More input from industry in curriculum design 

 Review curriculum to match industry expectations 

 Incorporate more industry involvement 

Accounting academics perceive that employers are seeking graduates who are “work-ready”, a term not 

defined by the accounting academics yet considered critical in the design of accounting curricula. 

Accounting courses are regularly accredited as part of the university quality assurance process, to meet 

the university’s overall accreditation requirements as an approved higher education provider. In 

addition the accounting professional bodies (CPA/CAANZ) offer accreditation of accounting courses 

which gives advanced standing into the respective professional body membership and graduate 

programs to accounting graduates from degrees accredited by CPA/CAANZ. There may be other 

accreditation processes that accounting courses and/or faculties at particular universities are subject to, 

including more recently the move towards accreditation with the Association to Advance Collegiate 

Schools of Business (AACSB). Gaining accreditation requires the satisfaction of criteria, some of 

which impact the design of the accounting curricula.  

The accounting academics in the study noted the influence of accreditation as a driver of change in the 

accounting curricula. They were particularly critical of the accounting professional bodies, as 

evidenced by: 

 Content of syllabus too much driven by the accounting profession (Q23) 

 [Would like to see] less involvement of professional organisations/accreditation, more 

academic freedom in the design of the curricula (Q24) 

 [Would like to see the] removal of accreditation of degree programs by the accounting 

profession (Q24) 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
72 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 Professional body accreditation is mandatory, but is often self-serving (Q53) 

However, a small number of other Accounting academics pointed out that the professional bodies have 

relaxed their requirements and “…haven’t been overly prescriptive as far as what they actually want” 

AA(2). 

 

10. TRAC Framework 

Using the lived experience of the accounting academic, the four themes identified, being Teaching, 

Research, Accounting academic workload and Curricula have been used to create the (TRAC) 

Framework. This framework is an adaption of Biggs and Tang (2007) framework of constructive 

alignment for quality learning and teaching, recognised and employed in higher education in Australia, 

and includes the themes of institutional climate, curricula and teaching methods and assessment. The 

perspectives in the TRAC theme Framework can also be viewed as concentric circles which is also 

based on Biggs and Tang (2007) framework, in which the accounting students are the centre and relate 

outwards to the accounting academic. The accounting academic then is next, who is concerned with 

students and the university, and finally the university, whose interactions with students is largely 

through the accounting academic. These differing perspectives of accounting academics impact on 

research problems being considered through the issues, challenges and outlooks of accounting 

academics and their lived experience. 

 

11. Discussion and Conclusions 

The Research Question has as its objective to construct what the Accounting academics outlook for the 

teaching of accounting and the impact on workload. In achieving this, the accounting academics in the 

study noted five factors that will shape the immediate future of the academic accounting profession, 

and in particular their dissatisfaction with workload issues, summarised as: 

• Growth of international students will continue to present challenges 

• Student success at the beginning of university is a shared responsibility 

• Change in engaging with students is necessary 

• Curricula design needs to be relevant and have input from multiple “stakeholders” 

• Differing expectations around research continue 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
73 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 5. The University Spheres of Influence 

 

Growth of international students will continue to present challenges. The growth of the international 

student cohort in the accounting discipline at Australian universities is anticipated to continue. This 

means that international students will be an established part of universities in Australia for the 

foreseeable future, and accounting academics will need to accept this and adapt. This cohort of students 

provides a significant source of revenues for universities, and accounting academics will need to be 

vigilant to ensure the quality of the education delivered is not compromised in order to protect this 

revenue. The outlook of accounting academics is that international student growth is part of accounting 

academics lived experience for the near future. 

Student success at the beginning of university is a shared responsibility. While accounting academics 

feel challenged by a number of issues pertaining to students’ apparent lack of preparedness for study at 

university level, questions remain over whose is responsible to address these issues. The overarching 

issue is one of shared responsibility, including accounting academics, and until steps are taken to 

coordinate and address these issues, the perception of unprepared students will remain. The uncertainty 

of this most likely means accounting academics will continue to encounter students they perceive as 

being under prepared for university study, part of the outlook of accounting academics. 

Change in engaging with students is necessary. Since universities first began, students have reflected 

the culture and characteristics of their changing generations. This will be the case as long as 

universities exist and accounting academics over the course of their career will need to be constantly 

reviewing how to best engage with the students of the time, adapting as necessary. The accounting 

academics outlook for the future is that there will always be a generational gap between most students 

and accounting academics, and it is incumbent on academics to attempt to bridge this. 

Curricula design needs to be relevant and have input from multiple “stakeholders”. Change is also 

ever-present in the worlds of business and technology, and accounting curricula needs to be regularly 

reviewed to ensure it remains current. While the authors of accounting curricula are the accounting 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
74 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

academics, they do need to ensure they have appropriate forums for engaging with other stakeholders 

in accounting graduates (including employers, students, and accounting professional bodies) to ensure 

the curricula is relevant at all times, forming part of the outlook of the accounting academics lived 

experience. 

Without significant change to the accounting higher education sector, it is unlikely there will be any 

change to the pressures on universities to keep sourcing additional revenue streams and keeping costs 

as low as possible. As such, there is not likely to be additional resources available for accounting 

academics to have their workloads reduced or provided with additional support for research activities. 

The accounting academics in the study anticipate in their outlook that the issues associated with 

workloads (e.g., increasing administration, larger classes and increasing student demands) and research 

support will be ongoing and part of accounting academics lived experience for the near future. 

 

Table 3. TRAC Theme Framework of Accounting Academic Perceptions 

 Accounting academics 

Perception of How The 

Student Views: 

How Accounting academics 

View: 

Accounting academics 

Perception of How The 

University Administration 

Views: 

The Purpose of 

University 

Preparation for a career To develop and impart 

knowledge 

Big business 

• Teaching Teach me the way that I 

like, without challenging 

me too much 

Support for adapting my mode 

of teaching 

Teaching as efficiently and 

low cost as possible in a way 

that attracts and retains 

students— i.e., low cost/high 

volume/high demand 

• Research Whatever helps me in 

my career 

Reasonable expectations of and 

support for me researching in 

my areas of interest 

Focus research in areas that 

maximize funding 

opportunities 

• Accounting 

Academic Workload 

Be available to me 24/7 Allow me flexibility and 

autonomy within a balanced and 

reasonable workload 

Allocated so as to maximize 

income generation while 

keeping costs to a minimum 

• Curricula Deliver what I need to 

give me the best chance 

of getting a job in my 

chosen career 

Designed according to what I 

think the student needs 

Designed to attract students 

and satisfy multiple 

stakeholders 

 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
75 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

 
Figure 6. Workload Impact Factor (WIF) Model 

 

The lived experience used both survey and interviews to identify the 4 themes of current accounting 

education, being TRAC (Teaching, Research, Accounting Academic Workload and Curriculum), and 

from these themes, five outlook factors were identified and have been incorporated into the following 

Workload Impact Factors (WIF) Model, demonstrating the impact on the accounting academic 

particularly on workload. This has been called “Workload Creep” (Petry, 2011) as although the 

institutions still allocate a workload model based on 40% teaching, 40% research and 20% 

administration, the accounting academics researched indicated that this is no longer a balanced model 

and that in fact they were expected to do far more than the simple 100% model. The Workload Impact 

Factor (WIF) Model incorporates the four related themes from the research (TRAC) and combines 

them with the 5 outlook factors for the projected future for the accounting academic, and demonstrates 

this concept of “Workload Creep”.  

This research has reviewed the literature to see that accounting academics have both external influences 

(graduate attributes, industry-academia gaps and alternate pathways) and internal influences (Student 

engagement, WIL and casualisation of the workforce). With these influences in mind, the lived 

experience of accounting academics was researched using both survey and interviews to discover 4 

main themes using the TRAC Theme Framework (Teaching, Research, Accounting academic workload 

and Curriculum). These themes then highlighted the Workload Impact Factor (WIF) model, in order to 

answer the research question of “How does the accounting academic (AA) perceive the outlook for 

teaching of accounting and its impact (if any) on Workload? Finally the effects on workload were that 

the five factors together created a higher than expected workload creep, where accounting academics 

believe that the future only holds more work to be absorbed by current workload.  



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
76 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Accounting academics are a smaller component of the larger academic community. As such, they are 

subject to largely the same issues and pressures as the general academic workforce, and are not immune 

from changes to the way of academia. There is significant pressure on university administrations to 

introduce cost efficiencies, and consequently university managers are looking for less expensive 

delivery methods and greater use of casual academics. However, there are still costs associated with the 

resourcing, developing and managing of these initiatives. There are additional workload allocations 

required for engaging in WIL activities and coordinating the growing casual academic workforce. The 

challenge for accounting academics is to do so within a balanced workload model, rather than the 

workload creep that many accounting academics are forecasting to be the outlook for academics. This 

workload creep can be described as an increase in academic wear and tear, almost like depreciation on 

capital assets. Depreciation is a recognition of assets use, and its diminution in economic benefits or 

value. Accounting academics must be careful not to be classified as an asset subject to depreciation, as 

then they could become commercially obsolete.  

Finally, a positive view of the future remains with the following comment from AA(2) which 

summarises well the workload and outlook of accounting academics in this study: 

“Yes there are increasing demands on our time, at the end of the day, 

compared to working out in the corporate world on a full-time basis; we’ve 

got it pretty good. On the whole as far as you know, purely from a financial 

point of view, what I get paid for what I do, I think is reasonably good” 

AA(2). 

 

References 

Abeysekera, I. (2006). Issues relating to designing a Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) program in an 

undergraduate accounting degree program and its implications for the curriculum. Asis-Pacific 

Journal of Cooperative Educattion, 7(1), 7-15. 

Akili, W. (2005). On industry-academia relations in the Arab Gulf states: Steps toward building 

strategic partnership. Paper presented at the Frontiers in Education, 2005. FIE’05. Proceedings 

35th Annual Conference. https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2005.1611995 

Albrecht, S., & Sack, R. (2000). Accounting education: Charting the course through a perilous future 

(Vol. 16). American Accounting Association Sarasota, FL. 

Annisette, M., & Kirkham, L. (2007). The advantages of separateness explaining the unusual 

profession-university link in English Chartered Accountancy. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 

18(1), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2006.03.005 

Beard, D. (2007). Assessment of internship experiences and accounting core competencies. Accounting 

Education, 16(2), 207-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639280701234625 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
77 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Beard, D., & Humphrey, R. (2014). Internships and accounting education. In R. Wilson (Ed.), 

Routledge Companion to Accounting Education. Abingdon, New York: Routledge. 

Bedford, N. (1986). American Accounting Association Committee on the Future Structure Content and 

Scope of Accounting Education: Future accounting education: Preparing for the expanding 

profession, [Bedford Report]. Issues in Accounting Education, 1(1), 168-175.  

Behn, B., Ezzell, W., Murphy, L., Rayburn, J., Stith, M., & Strawser, J. (2012). The Pathways 

Commission: Charting a national strategy for the next generation of accountants. 

https://doi.org/10.2308/iace-10300 

Berglund, H. (2007). Researching entrepreneurship as lived experience. In H. Neergaard, & J. Ulhøi 

(Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research methods in entrepreneurship (pp. 75-93). Cheltenham, 

MA: Edward Elgar. 

Bexley, E., James, R., & Arkoudis, S. (2011). The Australian academic profession in transition. 

Victoria, Australia: Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne. 

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university: What the student does (3rd 

ed.). Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill. 

Boylorn, R. (2008). Lived experience. In L. Given (Ed.), The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative 

Research Methods (pp. 490-491). 

Bradley, D., Noonan, P., Nugent, H., & Scales, B. (2008). Review of Australian higher education: 

Final report [Bradley review]. Canberra, Australia: Department of Education, Employment and 

Workplace Relations. 

Bui, B., & Porter, B. (2010). The Expectation-Performance gap in accounting education: An 

exploratory study. Accounting Education, 19(1-2), 23-50. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/09639280902875556 

Bunney, D., & Therry, L. (2010). Employability skills in the Master of Professional Accounting: One 

school’s journey. eCULTURE, 3(1/3). Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/eculture/vol3/iss1/3/ 

Burritt, R., Evans, E., & Guthrie, J. (2010). Challenges for accounting education at a crossroad in 2010. 

In E. Evans, R. Burritt, & J. Guthrie (Eds.), Accounting Education at a Crossroad in 2010 (pp. 

9-15). Sydney, Australia: Centre of Accounting, Governance and Sustainability/Institute of 

Chartered Accountants in Australia. 

Cappellatto, G. (2010). Challenges facing accounting education in Australia. Victoria, Australia: 

AFAANZ. 

Chapman, C., & Kern, A. (2012). What do academics do? Understanding the practical relevance of 

research. Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, 9(3). 

https://doi.org/10.1108/qram.2012.31409caa.004 

Coates, H., Dobson, I., Goedegebuure, L., & Meek, L. (2009). Australia’s casual approach to its 

academic teaching workforce. People and Place, 17(4), 47-54. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
78 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Cord, B., Bowrey, G., & Clements, M. (2010). Accounting students’ reflections on a regional 

internship program. Australasian Accounting Business and Finance Journal, 4(3), 47.  

Cord, B., Sykes, C., & Clements, M. (2011). Who cares wins: Owning the learning transition. 

Development and Learning in Organisations, 25(4), 20-22. 

https://doi.org/10.1108/14777281111147062 

Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). 

Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. 

Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research 

process. St Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin. 

de Lange, P., Jackling, B., & Gut, A.-M. (2006). Accounting graduates’ perceptions of skills emphasis 

in undergraduate courses: An investigation from two Victorian universities. Accounting & 

Finance, 46(3), 365-386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-629X.2006.00173.x 

Ekanayake, D., & Jackling, B. (2014). The growth in international enrolments in accounting: 

Implications for an established nexus between education and migration. Accounting Education, 

1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639284.2014.900958 

Eskola, A. (2011). Good learning in accounting: Phenomenographic study on experiences of Finnish 

higher education students (DSc (Econ)). University of Jyväskylä, Finland.  

Farrow, C. (2012). Pathways for chartered accountants in the 21st century. In E. Evans, R. Burritt, & J. 

Guthrie (Eds.), Emerging Pathways for the Next Generation of Accountants (pp. 35-45). Sydney: 

Centre of Accounting, Governance and Sustainability/Institute of Chartered Accountants in 

Australia. 

Fouché, J. (2013). A renewed call for change in accounting education practices. International Journal 

of Educational Sciences, 5(2), 137-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/09751122.2013.11890071 

Freeman, M., & Hancock, P. (2013). Milking MOOCs: Towards the right blend in accounting 

education. In Academic Leadership Series (Vol. 4, pp. 86-100): Centre of Accounting, 

Governance and Sustainability/Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. 

Freudenberg, B., Brimble, M., & Cameron, C. (2011). WIL and generic skill development: The 

development of business students’ generic skills through work-integrated learning. Asia-Pacific 

Journal of cooperative education, 12(2), 79-93.  

Gamage, D., & Mininberg, E. (2003). The Australian and American higher education: Key issues of the 

first decade of the 21st Century. The International Journal of Higher Education and Educational 

Planning, 45(2), 183-202. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022488220850 

Gosling, T. (2012). Promoting health and wellness in Australian church communities: The parish 

nurses’ lived experience (M.Nurs (Hon.)). Avondale College of Higher Education. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
79 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Graduate Careers Australia. (2014). Graduate outlook 2013. The report of the Graduate Outlook 

Survey: Employers’ perspectives on graduate recruitment. Vic., Australia: Graduate Careers 

Australia. 

Green, L. (2005). The music curriculum as lived experience: Children’s natural’music-learning 

processes. Music Educators’ Journal, 91(4), 37-42. https://doi.org/10.2307/3400155 

Guthrie, J., Burritt, R., & Evans, E. (2011). The relationship between academic accounting research 

and professional practice. In E. Evans, R. Burritt, & J. Guthrie (Eds.), Bridging the gap between 

academic research and professional practice (pp. 9-20). Sydney: Centre of Accounting, 

Governance and Sustainability/Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. 

Guthrie, J., Burritt, R., & Evans, E. (2013). Challenges for accounting and business education: 

Blending online and traditional universities in a MOOC environment. In The academic leadership 

series (Vol. 4, pp. 9-22). Sydney: Centre of Accounting, Governance and Sustainability/Institute 

of Chartered Accountants  

Guthrie, J., & Parker, L. (2014). The global accounting academic: What counts! Accounting, Auditing 

& Accountability Journal, 27(1), 2-14. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-10-2013-1504 

Hancock, P., Howieson, B., Kavanagh, M., Kent, J., Tempone, I., & Segal, N. (2009). Accounting for 

the future: More than numbers. Australian Teaching and Learning Council.  

Hancock, P., Howieson, B., Kavanagh, M., Kent, J., Tempone, I., Segal, N., & Freeman, M. (2009). 

The roles of some key stakeholders in the future of accounting education in Australia. Australian 

Accounting Review, 19(3), 249-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1835-2561.2009.00061.x 

Howieson, B. (2003). Accounting practice in the new millennium: Is accounting education ready to 

meet the challenge? The British Accounting Review, 35(2), 69-103. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0890-8389(03)00004-0 

Jackling, B., & Calero, C. (2006). Influences on undergraduate students’ intentions to become qualified 

accountants: Evidence from Australia. Accounting Education, 15(4), 419-438. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/09639280601011115 

Jackling, B., & de Lange, P. (2009). Do accounting graduates’ skills meet the expectations of 

employers? A matter of convergence or divergence. Accounting Education, 18(4-5), 369-385. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/09639280902719341 

Jackson, D. (2013). The contribution of work-integrated learning to undergraduate employability skill 

outcomes. Asia Pacific Journal of Cooperative Education, 14(2), 99-115.  

Jackson, D. (2016). Re-conceptualising graduate employability: The importance of pre-professional 

identity. Higher Education Research & Development, 1-15. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1139551 

Kaplan, R. (1989). Connecting the research-teaching-practice triangle. Accounting Horizons, 3(1), 129.  



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
80 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Kavanagh, M., & Drennan, L. (2007). Graduate attributes and skills: Are we as accounting academics 

delivering the goods? Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2007 AFAANZ Conference. 

Kavanagh, M., Hancock, P., Howieson, B., Tempone, I., & Kent, J. (2010). Academic standards and 

challenges for accounting educators. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2010 AFAANZ 

Conference. 

Kimber, M. (2003). The "Tenured Core" and the "Tenuous Periphery": The casualisation of academic 

work in Australian universities. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 25(1), 

41-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600800305738 

Lama, T., & Joullié, J.-E. (2015). Casualisation of academics in the Australian higher education: Is 

teaching quality at risk? Research in Higher Education Journal, 28(May).  

Leong, R., & Kavanagh, M. (2013). A Work Integrated Learning (WIL) framework to develop 

graduate skills and attributes in an Australian university’s accounting program. Asia-Pacific 

Journal of cooperative education, 14(1), 1-14.  

Levitt, A., & Nicolaisen, D. (2008). Final report of the Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession 

to the US Department of the Treasury. Washington, DC: The Department of Treasury. 

Lindseth, A., & Norberg, A. (2004). A phenomenological hermeneutical method for researching lived 

experience. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 18(2), 145-153. 

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2004.00258.x 

Lytle, R. (2012, 16 August). How the future of higher education affects businesses. US News.  

Matchett, S. (2009, 26 August). Accounting changes add up to turf war. The Australian, 29.  

McCarthy, G., Song, X., & Jayasuriya, K. (2017). The proletarianisation of academic labour in 

Australia. Higher Education Research and Development, 36(5), 1017-1030. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1263936 

McGowan, S. (2012). Going beyond the numbers in teaching financial accounting: The newsletter as 

an assignment option. Issues in Accounting Education, 27(4), 1095-1117. 

https://doi.org/10.2308/iace-50207 

Nadolny, A., & Ryan, S. (2013). McUniversities revisited: A comparison of university and 

McDonald’s casual employee experiences in Australia. Studies in Higher 

Education(ahead-of-print), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.818642 

Naidoo, J., Jackling, B., & Prokofieva, M. (2012). Identifying the employment expectation-performance 

gaps of early career accounting graduates. Retrieved from 

http://mams.rmit.edu.au/ztct5ymtl0ht.pdf 

National Tertiary Education Union. (2012). Casual teaching & research staff survey 2012—Summary 

of key results.  



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
81 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

O’Connell, B., Carnegie, G., Carter, A., de Lange, P., Hancock, P., Helliar, C., & Watty, K. (2015). 

Shaping the future of accounting in business education in Australia. Melbourne, Australia: CPA 

Australia. 

Oliver, B., Whelan, B., Hunt, L., & Hammer, S. (2011). Accounting graduates and the capabilities that 

count: Perceptions of graduates, employers and accounting academics in four Australian 

universities. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 2(1), 2-27. 

https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2011vol2no1art550 

Paisey, C., & Paisey, N. (2010). Developing skills via work placements in accounting: Student and 

employer views. Accounting Forum, 34(2), 89-108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accfor.2009.06.001 

Palm, C., & Bisman, J. (2010). Benchmarking introductory accounting curricula: Experience from 

Australia. An International Journal, 19(1), 179-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639280903254959 

Parker, L. (2001). Back to the future: The broadening accounting trajectory. The British Accounting 

Review, 33(4), 421-453. https://doi.org/10.1006/bare.2001.0173 

Patrick, C., Peach, D., Pocknee, C., Webb, F., Fletcher, M., & Pretto, G. (2008). The WIL 

(Work-Integrated Learning) report: A national scoping study [Final Report]. Brisbane: 

Queensland University of Technology.  

Percy, A., Scoufis, M., Parry, S., Goody, A., Hicks, M., Macdonald, I.,...Wills, S. (2008). The RED 

report, Recognition-Enhancement-Development: The contribution of sessional teachers to higher 

education.  

Petry, G. (2011). Top Ten Workplace Issues for Faculty Members and Higher Education Professionals. 

Academe, 97(4).  

Poullaos, C., & Evans, E. (2008, 27 November). The ICAA pathways project: Identifying the issues. 

Paper presented at the meeting of the University of Sydney Pacioli Society, Sydney, Australia. 

Probert, B. (2015). The quality of Australia’s higher education system: How it might be defined, 

improved and assured.  

Productivity Commission. (2017). University education, shifting the dial: 5 year productivity review, 

Supporting Paper No. 7, Canberra, Australia.  

Russell, K., Kulesza, C., Albrecht, S., & Sack, R. (2000). Charting the course through a perilous future. 

Management Accounting Quarterly, 2(1), 4-11.  

Ryan, S. (2010). Business and accounting education: Do they have a future in the university? In E. 

Evans, R. Burritt, & J. Guthrie (Eds.), Accounting Education at a Crossroad in 2010 (pp. 22-28). 

Sydney: Centre of Accounting, Governance and Sustainability/Institute of Chartered Accountants 

in Australia. 

Ryan, S., Burgess, J., Connell, J., & Groen, E. (2013). Casual academic staff in an Australian university: 

Marginalised and excluded. Tertiary Education and Management, 19(2), 161-175. 

https://doi.org/10.1080/13583883.2013.783617 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
82 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Schwandt, T., & Burgon, H. (2006). Evaluation and the study of lived experience. In I. Shaw, J. Greene, 

& M. Mark (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Evaluation (pp. 99-118). 

https://doi.org/10.4135/9781848608078.n4 

Simmons, C., Williams, A., Sher, W., & Levett-Jones, T. (Eds.). (2012). Work ready: E-portfolios to 

support professional placements. Sydney: Australian Government Office for Learning and 

Teaching. 

Stanley, T. (2010). Bridging the gap between tertiary education and work: A model of situated learning 

in accountancy (PhD). Queensland University of Technology. 

Steenkamp, N., & Roberts, R. (2017). Unethical practices in response to poor student quality: An 

Australian perspective. The Accounting Educators’ Journal, 26.  

Steenkamp, N., & Roberts, R. (2018). Does workload and institutional pressure on accounting 

educators affect academia at Australian universities? Accounting & Finance, Advance online 

publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.12340 

Subramaniam, N. (2003). Factors affecting the career progress of academic accountants in Australia: 

Cross-institutional and gender perspectives. Higher Education, 46(4), 507-542. 

https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1027388311727 

Tempone, I., Kavanagh, M., Segal, N., Hancock, P., Howieson, B., & Kent, J. (2012). Desirable 

generic attributes for accounting graduates into the twenty-first century. Accounting Research 

Journal, 25(1), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.1108/10309611211244519 

Thambar, P. (2012). The transforming finance function: Implications for the education and training of 

accountants. In E. Evans, R. Burritt, & J. Guthrie (Eds.), Emerging Pathways for the Next 

Generation of Accountants (pp. 65-72). Sydney: Centre of Accounting, Governance and 

Sustainability/Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. 

Thomason, R., & Ward, D. (2012). Contemporary professional pathways: CPA Australia. Emerging 

Pathways for the Next Generation of Accountants, 3, 57-64.  

Vajoczki, S., Fenton, N., Menard, K., & Pollon, D. (2011). Teaching-stream faculty in Ontario 

universities. Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, Toronto.  

Van Manen, M. (2004). Lived experience. In M. Lewis-Beck, A. Bryman, & T. Futing Lioa (Eds.), The 

SAGE Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods.  

Van Manen, M. (2014). Phenomenology of practice : Meaning-giving methods in phenomenological 

research and writing. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. 

Wright, S., & Chalmers, K. (2010). The future for accounting academics in Australia. In E. Evans, R. 

Burritt, & J. Guthrie (Eds.), Accounting Education at a Crossroad in 2010 (pp. 72-79). Sydney: 

Centre of Accounting, Governance and Sustainability/Institute of Chartered Accountants in 

Australia. 



www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs              Education, Society and Human Studies             Vol. 1, No. 2, 2020 

 
83 

Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Zraa, W., Kavanagh, M., & Hartle, T. (2011). Teaching accounting in the new millennium. Paper 

presented at the 2011 Cambridge Business and Economics Conference Proceedings. 


