Winds of change towards new ways of enhancing sustainability accounting education: A comparative study of stakeholders’ perspectives in Australia and New Zealand

Winds of change towards new ways of enhancing sustainability accounting education: A comparative study of stakeholders’ perspectives in Australia and New Zealand

This study evaluates the perceptions of three groups of stakeholders: accounting academics, accounting students, and professional accounting bodies, of the importance of sustainability in accounting, as well as their contributions to curriculum change to incorporate sustainability into accounting education. This study also investigates whether there are differences between Australian and New Zealand accounting stakeholders' perceptions. An online survey collected responses from accounting stakeholders. The data were analysed through statistical tools such as descriptive analysis, relative importance, the multivariable generalised linear model (GLM), and linear regression analysis. The key findings from accounting stakeholders show that both Australian and New Zealand accounting academics in universities admitted that sustainability should be taught as a compulsory course in accounting curricula, and they showed a positive attitude towards supporting their universities in developing sustainability courses. The results also show no statistically significant differences between Australian and New Zealand accounting academics regarding their perceptions of the importance of sustainability or their contributions to enhancing the incorporation of sustainability into accounting education. Additionally, Australian and New Zealand accounting students exhibited a positive perception of sustainability. For example, they stated that sustainability accounting would enhance their knowledge. The results reveal that New Zealand accounting students valued the importance of sustainability accounting more than Australian students. In addition, Australian and New Zealand professional accounting bodies have demonstrated a general recognition of the importance of sustainability accounting. Most respondents confirmed that sustainability should be incorporated into accounting education, and they can support the university administrations by providing ideas about relevant sustainability programs and activities. In general, there was a shared recognition of the importance of sustainability among these stakeholders, which gives a positive indicator for further integration of sustainability into accounting education. Also, cooperative efforts from accounting stakeholders are being made to effectively enhance the incorporation of sustainability in accounting education in Australia and New Zealand to align with the other stakeholders' expectations.