Abstract:
The fact that Departments of Accounting at South African universities, whose
academic programmes are accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered
Accountants (SAICA), have for many years focused primarily only on the academic
training of prospective chartered accountants, has established a culture that is
removed from research, and this is in contrast to the nature of a university. The aim of
this paper is to evaluate some recent developments in the South African academic
environment that may promote a research culture and to point out the coercive role
these developments may play in changing the existing culture of a Department of
Accounting. The study concludes that in view of a list of specific recent
developments in the national academic environment, Departments of Accounting will
be forced to change course toward becoming more research oriented. A number of
recommendations are made to expedite the process.
