Creating Strategic Responses to Critical Risks Facing Accounting Education

Recently many accounting programs have simultaneously faced declining enrollments and administrative/practitioner pressures to update curricula. Each of these issues requires accounting educators to carefully consider the strategic direction and operating structure of their programs. This paper illustrates how KPMG's Business Measurement Process (BMP) can be used to identify and manage the major risks affecting accounting education at the college and university level. It also demonstrates the BMP's usefulness in meeting the strategic‐planning requirements of the AACSB's new, mission‐based accreditation process. The BMP's holistic framework specifically focuses accounting educators on controllable risks and educational processes, and unmasks potentially hidden opportunities to deliver lasting, substantive, and effective curriculum change.