Five recent developments’ impact on the traditional academic culture of Departments of Accounting at South African universities

The fact that Departments of Accounting at South African universities, whose academic programmes are accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), have for many years focused primarily only on the academic training of prospective chartered accountants, has established a culture that is removed from research, and this is in contrast to the nature of a university. The aim of this paper is to evaluate some recent developments in the South African academic environment that may promote a research culture and to point out the coercive role these developments may play in changing the existing culture of a Department of Accounting. The study concludes that in view of a list of specific recent developments in the national academic environment, Departments of Accounting will be forced to change course toward becoming more research oriented. A number of recommendations are made to expedite the process.