Abstract:

This study investigated the curriculum of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in line with the researchers’ sustainability curriculum index.

A content analysis methodology was employed. The variant of content analysis used is that which uses a disclosure index. Therefore, a content analysis of the Institute’s curriculum was carried out against the researchers’ sustainability curriculum checklist. An open-ended questionnaire was also used to solicit the opinion of professional accounting students on their conceptualization of sustainability reporting. The results of this study indicated that sustainability issues have been significantly incorporated into the ICAN 2014 curriculum for professional students. The 2014 curriculum is an improvement on the 2010 curriculum. Furthermore, findings from the qualitative aspect of this research showed that professional accounting students have divergent views about sustainability reporting and its relevance to the accounting profession. The study only examined the content of the ICAN professional accounting curriculum without evaluating the curriculum of other professional accounting bodies in Nigeria. Professional accounting bodies should play a key role in ensuring that professional accounting students understand the relevance of sustainability reporting. This will ultimately make business organizations report more information on corporate sustainability.

Keywords:

Sustainability Reporting, New Institutional theory, Professional Accounting Association, Curriculum.