Skills for Tomorrow: Rethinking Accounting Education and Training

The roundtable discussion about changing the way we teach accounting and train students took place at Embark College, Pulchowk, Lalitpur on Monday. The event’s purpose was to adapt accounting instruction to suit what professionals use on the job and what the industry looks for, Dr. Saurav Satyal said.
Today, Embark College lets students enroll in professional courses in finance and accounting, ACCA. Collaborating with University of Roehampton, UK, the college delivers a four-year program for a Bachelor degree in Business Management and a two-year Master’s degree in Business Administration.
Ashish Thakur, Executive Director and CEO of Embark College, pointed out that accounting education should change by including important skills used in the real world. We should not only teach accounting from textbooks in the future. The curriculum should be designed to include hands-on activities and the latest skills, said Thakur.
Dr. Satyal paid attention to the need for creating training modules that fit the needs of the industry. “We are beginning to add practical hands-on training to the way we teach theory, so that our students can grasp the work challenges they will face,” he stated.
Sabu Nepal from Hexamatics Nepal Pvt. Ltd. encouraged accounting teachers to help students learn about risk management and technological developments. The accountant said today’s specialists have to be skilled with technology and aware of risks for the profession to keep growing.
Rupesh Bhattarai, Vedaalaya Group’s Chief Financial Officer, recommended that academic courses should match the demands of the industry to help graduates get jobs. “Education should give students skills they can apply right away, rather than only theoretical ideas,” he said.

Following the event, participants shared their understanding of how helpful the presented ideas would be. The college stated again that it is working on creating new courses that bring accounting education closer to business and use technology. By sharing what was detailed in the roundtable, Embark College is hopeful that they can bring industry and academia closer together and create more skilled accountants.