The accounting education triangle and its implications for future research

The rise of the professional status of accountants and auditors has brought expansive growth and embedded privilege into the modern accounting profession. However, the employers’ demand for accounting graduates has not increased at the same pace, indicating decreasing career relevance of accounting education in universities and colleges. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model - the accounting education triangle - which highlights the different expectations among the three essential stakeholders in accounting education, namely, educators, employers, and graduates. By examining the previous literature and relevant frameworks, we document specific expectation gaps within the model and provide value propositions and their implications for future research.