Accounting Standards

July 1, 2021 Update

AACSB has harmonized the accounting standards with the 2020 business standards to ensure congruence between the two sets of standards. We have aligned terminology within the accounting standards with the business standards, updated references to business standard numbers/names, and replaced the eligibility criteria, which no longer exist in the 2020 business standards, with references to the ten guiding principles." Two versions of accounting standards will be in use during the remaining two years of the transition period for the 2020 business standards—one dated July 1, 2021, for schools being reviewed under the 2020 business accreditation standards, and the original version, dated April 23, 2018, for schools being reviewed under the 2013 business accreditation standards. View a summary of key updates  to the accounting accreditation standards.

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The fundamental purpose of AACSB accreditation is to encourage business schools and accounting academic units to hold themselves accountable for improving business practice through a commitment to strategic management, learner success, thought leadership, and societal impact. AACSB achieves this purpose by defining a set of guiding principles and standards, coordinating peer review and consultation, and recognizing high-quality business schools that meet the standards and actively engage in the process.

Development of the 2018 Accounting Accreditation Standards

An appointed 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 for accounting academic units, accounting learning and teaching, and accounting academic and professional engagement and professional interactions. The standards are built on the three themes of engagement, innovation, and impact. These themes are integrated to achieve continuous quality improvement.

Since AACSB accounting accreditation is supplemental to AACSB’s business accreditation process, the standards for AACSB accounting accreditation build on the business standards and follow a similar structure to the business standards. Therefore, the accounting accreditation report and documentation do not duplicate information included in the business accreditation report. The business accreditation report and documentation are the foundation on which the accounting accreditation report and documentation are added.

 

Download the July 1, 2021,
2018 Accounting Accreditation Standards

 		  Download the July 1, 2021,
2018 Accounting Accreditation Standards
With Changes Tracked 		   Download the April 23, 2018,
Original Accounting Accreditation Standards