Abstract:

The quality management system (QMS) more than a strategic decision of an entity or firm, it is a question of behaviour. Indeed, the NP ISO 9001: 2008 (IPQ; 2008: V) promotes “the adoption of a process approach when developing, implementing, and improving the effectiveness of a quality management system”.

The main objective of this research is to present the results and to instigate the discussion of the QMS by choosing dynamic and differentiated examples presented in the accounting practices. This fundamental problem centred in the field of the accounting and quality provided the voluntary nature that this behaviour should have. The methodological axioms of research should have reliability, validity, representativeness and generalizability (McNeil, 1990: 14-16) of the quality management process (management system, operational system, support system and evaluation and feedback system) applied to the accounting practices.

So, the aim is to present, in the scientific area of accounting, a QMS that emerge from the new challenges of the Quality Assurance of Higher Education and, at the same time, it will contribute to improve the accountant practices in working environment. Following, this research question, the students play a central role, because they get special training on very important subject that will consolidate the experiences, reduce the weakness of the self-evaluation process of the accounting practices and clearly enlarge the feedback, the impartiality, and the independence of the learning process.

Obviously, accounting practices in higher education will support a better interface between accounting and business needs and it will answer to the society, in general, and to accountants, in particular.

Keywords:

Accounting, Quality Management System, Portugal.