E-business in accounting education in the UK and Ireland: Influences on inclusion in the curriculum

With the increasing impact of e-business within economies worldwide there are implications for accountants, the accounting profession and the providers of accounting education. This study uses a postal questionnaire to seek perceptions of accounting academics on the factors influencing them to include or exclude e-business related topics in UK and Irish undergraduate accounting degree programmes and to explore the likely future direction of e-business coverage in such degrees. Findings indicate that respondents generally felt that e-business is important and should be included in accounting degrees: both to reflect changes in the business environment and to increase the employability of graduates. However, the majority of respondents did not themselves teach any e-business topics to accounting students. While this could be attributed to a combination of factors, the most significant impediment to further emphasis on e-business was reported to be the lack of space in already crowded syllabi. Interestingly, lack of staff expertise or teaching materials were not considered to be major impediments. Although the focus of this study is the UK and Ireland, the empirical results have potential implications for the wider community of accounting educators by widening the international perspective on the issues addressed.