AAA study of accounting faculty trends in US universities

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01 Apr 2008

The American Accounting Association has released a new report Accounting Faculty in US Colleges and Universities: Status and Trends, 1993-2004.

The study, co-sponsored by the American Institute of CPAs, provides data about the perceived shortage of doctoral candidates in accounting in the United States and the implications for accounting education. Among the findings:
  • The number of accounting faculty declined 13.3 percent over the period 1988-2004.
  • However, undergraduate student enrollment in accounting increased 12.3 percent over the same period.
  • Most of the faculty decline occurred at four-year, non-doctoral-granting institutions (decline of 31 percent since 1993). The number of full-time accounting faculty at research/doctoral universities and at community colleges changed little between 1993 and 2004. No change, also, in the total number of accounting faculty holding PhDs.
  • The number of accounting faculty over the age of 55 increased while the number of accounting faculty under the age of 40 declined by half during the 1993-2004 period. The study estimates that the number of retirements is likely to exceed the number of qualified replacements in the immediate future.
  • One result has been a salary inversion observed in the 2004 data: faculty under age 41 averaged higher pay than faculty over age 41.
  • Workload for accounting faculty has increased markedly, especially at research and doctoral universities, where the bulk of enrollment increases has also occurred.

Click to view Accounting Faculty in US Colleges and Universities: Status and Trends, 1993-2004 (PDF 198k).

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