From Strategic Plan to Practical Realities: Developing and Implementing a Zero‐Based Accounting Curriculum

During the 1990s, accounting educators and professional accountancy bodies throughout the Anglo‐American world have become concerned about the inability of existing accounting programs to prepare students adequately for the dynamic, complex business environment they enter upon graduation. Massey University's Department of Accountancy shared such concerns and, in 1991, established a Curriculum Review Team (CRT) to undertake a comprehensive curriculum review. The CRT adopted a strategic approach and commenced its task by reviewing relevant literature and surveying the department's stakeholders to ascertain their opinions about, inter alia, desired attributes of accountancy graduates, the department's curriculum, and the department's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and constraints. Based on its research findings, the CRT developed an “ideal” curriculum. However, a number of politically driven obstacles caused the “ideal” curriculum to be modified prior to implementation. This paper reports on the development, modification, and implementation of Massey's new accountancy program. It also notes that accountancy departments may gain benefits by adopting a continuous improvement or Total Quality Management (TQM) approach to curriculum development.