The need for change and strategies on accounting education

The desire for changes in accounting education reflects the charge that today’ ; s accounting educators are too focused on delivering the knowledge-based content of the accounting curriculum. As a result, a wide array of instructional strategies by which accounting can be learned is virtually ignored. The consequences of this misplaced focus are accounting graduates who are technically competent and successful in passing exams, but who lack the judgment and other skills so necessary for a long-term success in the profession. To meet the goals outlined for accounting education, more effective classroom instructional strategies are needed more effective in the sense that the strategies develop the professional skills essential for today’ ; s accounting students without sacrificing the knowledge-based content of the accounting curriculum. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to empirically assess tradeoffs to consider the other side of the curriculum and teaching equation by surveying graduate accounting students. The research on how students best acquire knowledge in Financial Accounting (second year), and Management Accounting (fourth year), has been done at Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management Opatija, Croatia. The research findings will be compared with the similar results in USA. The strategy goal should be autonomous learning, because successful learning experiences tend to beget a desire for more, and, as a result, lifelong learning, which is so vital to the accounting professional, is fostered.