Abstract:

Accounting education has developed considerably since its beginning in Portugal, around the 18th century. It was indeed in the 18th century that Carvalho e Mello, who later received the title of Marquis of Pombal, recognized accounting as a strength for national economic development. It was of his initiative the recognition of the importance of accounting for business and the economic interests of the country.

Carvalho e Mello undertook a wide range of reforms, among which the teaching, access, and exercise of the accountant profession stand out. The reforms in teaching began, effectively, with the creation of the School of Commerce in Lisbon, in 1759. This School was the first to have a curriculum that included the subjects of accounting.

Over the years, the curricular structure of accounting education has always gone hand in hand with the evolution of the accountant profession, corresponding to the technical needs that were found in the practice of the profession.

Currently, higher education is an essential condition for entering the profession of certified accountant. The degree for access must be in accounting, management, economics, business sciences, or taxation.

The accounting education is, on the one hand, professionalizing, in the sense that education is primarily designed for candidates for Certified Accountants. On the other hand, it is a very advanced scientific topic, with scientific journals and international conferences at the highest level of demand. There are degrees in accounting and similar areas both in public and private education and in university and polytechnic education.

Despite the massive development of accounting, the accounting profession, and accounting education, since the area first was considered of great importance for the country, this paper concludes that the basic principles of some reforms performed three centuries ago, related to those issues, remain until today. This first recognition of the accounting importance was of paramount relevance for the evolution of the accounting education curriculum design.

Even onset of the recent COVID-19 global pandemic and being until that moment the most common methodology in the teaching of accounting the face-to-face classes, this teaching has adapted to the new circumstances and the online teaching forced by the pandemic.

Thus, this paper presents the challenges that have arisen throughout the history of accounting education and explain how the curricula of courses in this area have effectively managed to continue to respond to the needs of the profession.

To accomplish this goal, this paper consists of a major literature review on the accounting education development in Portugal. Thus, the most appropriate methodology was a documentary analysis on this theme.

Keywords:

Accounting, Accounting curriculum design, Accounting education history, On-line accounting education, Portugal.