AACSB International

The fundamental purpose of AACSB Accreditation is to challenge accounting educators to pursue excellence and continuous improvement in their accounting programs. AACSB achieves this purpose by defining a set of rigorous criteria and standards, coordinating peer reviews and consultation, and recognizing high-quality business schools and accounting academic units.

The Accounting Accreditation Task Force developed the current accounting standards, which were adopted by the AACSB Accounting Accreditation Council in April 2018. The six standards are organized into three categories: strategic management and innovation; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement. The standards are built on the three themes of engagement, innovation, and impact. These themes are integrated continuous quality improvement.

The transition from the 2013 accounting standards to the 2018 accounting standards will occur over the next two years. Below are details about the transition period along with a comparison chart of the 2013 standards and 2018 standards.

Transition Period: 2018 Accounting Standards
The transition period for adoption of the 2018 accounting standards will take place between January 2019 and June 2020. The 2018 standards will be launched in January 2019 with a small number of volunteer schools with visits scheduled between January and June 2019 reviewed under the 2018 accounting standards. All other schools outside the volunteer group will be reviewed under the 2013 standards.

Schools with peer review team visits scheduled between July 2019 and June 2020 can choose to be reviewed under either the 2013 or 2018 accounting standards. Schools should communicate their preference to their accreditation staff liaison.

Beginning July 1, 2020, all schools with accounting accreditation will be reviewed under the 2018 standards at their next regularly scheduled five-year visit.

View Accounting Standards Comparison Chart as a PDF