THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CURRICULUM CHANGE ON THE MORAL REASONING ABILITY OF RECENT ACCOUNTING GRADUATES

Abstract

The accounting profession and its related curriculum have experienced major changes in the past two decades. The adoption of the 150-hour rule by many states (extending the academic preparation of accounting majors by more than one additional semester), the advances in the use of technology, the entrepreneurial efforts of CPA firms in management consulting and other services, and the recent ethical challenges to the profession are but four areas that have driven curricular change. This paper examines the effectiveness of past curricular change on the moral reasoning ability of recent accounting graduates as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT).