Accounting Systems in the Curriculum.

Abstract The article highlights that there is a definite need for an evaluation of current accounting thought concerning systems and accounting systems instruction. First, the accounting profession should recognize that more is encompassed by management information systems than the accounting system. Recognition of this fact leads to important implications for the training of accountants as "systems men." The educational requirements of the "systems man" can be met currently with an interdisciplinary curriculum of courses drawn from various disciplines, one of which must be accounting. Second, if the courses in the curriculum are taught by those trained to do so, the much-discussed problem of accounting faculty capabilities in the systems area is not as serious as we are led to believe. Finally, members of the accounting faculty need to communicate more freely with their colleagues in non-accounting areas and to develop an understanding, if not a proficiency, in those subjects which complement the traditional accounting systems course.