The AIS Expectation Gap

In response to the changing terms of competition in business, traditional accounting is becoming AIS – a growing subdiscipline of IS. Visionaries see accounting of the future as primarily an IS discipline as the field changes into a technologydriven information system profession. The challenge for accounting education is to keep pace with the transformation of the profession. This study uses data from four CPA groups (i.e. auditors, tax accountants, managerial accountants, and professors) to identify key AIS knowledge, skills, and personal abilities required in the marketplace. As expected, the results reveal an AIS “expectation gap” between the needs of the profession and academic preparation. The failure of accounting education to make a timely response to changing market conditions threatens the displacement of CPAs by other professionals with the requisite IS skills and knowledge.