Intercultural and cross-institutional learning simulation: A relevant pedagogy for developing professional competencies and enhancing graduate work readiness in accounting programs

The “new” workplace is challenging the relevance of accounting degree programs (Herbert, Rothwell, Glover, & Lambert, 2021). To address these concerns, accounting programs are adopting work-integrated learning and authentic assessment (Jackson & Meek, 2021).
This paper proposes an authentic learning approach in accounting education to meet the evolving demands of the global economy. The study involves undergraduate accounting students from Australian and Middle Eastern universities and introduces an authentic learning activity involving cross-cultural, peer-to-peer problem-solving, and communication, simulating offshore team environments.
The results indicate that the learning activity successfully developed professional skills aligned with graduate attributes and the IAESB's International Education Standards, as perceived by the students.
To evaluate the pedagogical effectiveness of this learning activity, the views of accounting employers were gathered through semi-structured interviews. The employers praised the learning activity for effectively developing essential professional skills required in accounting roles. However, they collectively emphasised that technical skills, particularly knowledge and application of accounting standards, were of limited importance when hiring graduates.