Accounting Faculty Perspectives on Data Analytics: Course Design, Competency Assessment, and Employer Needs and Response

Data analytics has become a source of significant change in both the profession and higher education. Although prior research has discussed how to integrate data analytics, little research has been performed to learn what faculty are tactically doing in the classroom or how student competencies are being assessed at course-by-course and programmatic levels. Additionally, little is known about whether the integration of data analytics into the accounting curriculum is meeting employer needs. This study expands the literature by surveying 192 accounting faculty to investigate how faculty are operationalizing Standard A5, how learning competencies are being measured, and employer involvement and response with the integration of data analytics into accounting curricula. Results suggest that much work needs be done to integrate data analytics throughout the curriculum and ensure that program-level goals are being measured and assessed. However, employers are hiring graduates regardless of data analytics competencies. Data availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.