Accounting to ‘take a seat at the table’ of NSW school syllabus

In its submission, the professional accounting body noted that despite its appreciation of the accounting industry being outlined, there were opportunities to strengthen the “visibility, coherence, and practical application of accounting within the learning framework”.

“CA ANZ acknowledges several positive elements in the draft syllabus, including its clear subject specific content, embedded capabilities taught in context, applied learning approach and use of case studies and scenarios,” the body said.

“It also provides good coverage of outcomes and essential content. Importantly it identifies accounting as a fundamental area of business education.”

However, the body noted that while the draft syllabus was “comprehensive”, it could raise challenges for teachers and students based on its breadth.

CA ANZ added that this breadth was important to consider, as the volume could limit coverage and application of core areas in the required timeframe.

Within its submission, the body noted it wanted to strengthen accounting content and its career relevance, enhance accounting, financial and evaluative skills, as well as embed sustainability reporting concepts.

“Our submission emphasises the need for more explicit inclusion of accounting concepts across the syllabus and its implementation. The draft syllabus refers to several core accounting areas such as the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement,” CA ANZ said.

“However, these concepts should be more strongly articulated and connected to career pathways. CA ANZ recommends ensuring students can readily identify where accounting skills are being taught in the syllabus, and how this can help them with real-world business decision making and unlock career opportunities.”

In addition, the connection between accounting learning and future career pathways was encouraged to be strengthened to bolster student engagement and understanding of how accounting skills were transferable across diverse roles in tax, audit and business finance.

Currently, the draft syllabus recommends that students learn and be exposed to “mathematical tools”, which CA ANZ said should be changed to “accounting and financial analysis tools”.

This was recommended to “reflect deeper evaluative skills required in business studies and align the terminology with the content” that followed.

Sustainability reporting was also suggested as a main focus within the syllabus as it was a prevalent part, requirement and goal within the industry, as well as its role in ethical decision making, risk management and financial performance.

“Our goal is to bring to life the real-world relevance of accounting theory and showcase how accounting skills are globally relevant, portable, and transferable.”