In the last decade the accounting profession has faced several challenges. The first posed by advancements in technology which was assumed to eliminate accounting jobs, and the second, a perception issue with accountants often portrayed in film and television as boring, unattractive, cautious, meticulous and unimaginative. The general acceptance of these myths has resulted in a lack of 30,000 accounting professionals in Australia (CAANZ, 2023).
The primary aim of the QUT Accounting Challenge is to dispute these misnomers, to challenge historical stereotypes, rewrite the future of the profession, and transform student perceptions of accounting and accountants in a bid to attract the next generation of accounting professionals.
We seek to raise awareness and enthusiasm for accounting as both a subject choice and career path among high school students by creating a real-world and engaging case study, in collaboration with an industry partner, that will showcase the true nature of the profession and the diverse opportunities it offers. The case study has been mapped to the Year 9/10 Australian Curriculum for Accounting and has been reviewed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). Details of this mapping is available here.
The QUT Accounting Challenge was initiated and is managed by Dr Bronwyn McCredie and Dr Natalie Elms in the School of Accountancy at QUT, along with colleagues and industry partners working with high schools to modernise and change perceptions of what a career in accounting looks like.
Our Team
Dr Bronwyn McCredie is an Associate Professor and the Lead of Teaching and Learning in the School of Accountancy at the QUT Business School. She holds a PhD in Finance and the University medal from the University of Newcastle, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from Queensland University of Technology. She is also a Chartered Accountant (CA), a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA), a fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA), an affiliate of the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA), Vice President of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association (ATTA); the Chair of the Tax Special Interest Group for the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ); and a member of the Finance Research Network (FIRN). Bronwyn is passionate about ensuring accountability in all facets of business. This is evident in her role at QUT, where she strives to embolden students and business to pose and resolve challenging questions through her research and teaching.
