Accounting Education in the New Millennium: The Internet Challenges

Abstract

The methodologies and the mode of delivery for accounting courses are undergoing dynamic changes as Internet‐based teaching techniques continue to expand into higher education. Private, for‐profit organisations are developing accredited courses and degrees that can be completed at any location, at any time and that compete directly with university programmes of study. The Internet has provided these organisations with an easier entry into the educational market because the infrastuccture of a large campus, required for a resident population, is no longer necessary. It has been found that educational institutions with a tradition of providing accounting education courses and degrees to a resident student population have been slow to adopt new Internet teaching methods. This essay examines several issues facing university programmes in accounting as these environmental changes and challenges continue to accelerate in the new millennium.