CPA Australia-University of Melbourne Annual Research Lecture

Big Data, data analytics, and computerization are revolutionizing accounting.  To survive the revolution, accountants must focus on how they can improve: (1) the veracity of Big Data by concentrating on measuring and verifying data and (2) the effectiveness of data analytics by focusing on analyzing, interpreting and communicating data.  Accounting educators must also revolutionize the accounting curriculum to produce accounting graduates with an analytics mindset.  This new curriculum focuses on higher levels of thinking per Bloom’s Taxonomy to develop critical thinking skills.  Such a curriculum will:

• provide students with a step-by-step framework/approach for analyzing the data;
• immerse students in data analysis to answer questions instead of completing rote memory exercises;
• prepare students to analyze both financial and non-financial Big Data. 

This new curriculum requires business acumen to provide context as well as technological adeptness to analyze the data.