TY - JOUR

T1 - Accounting and finance in UK universities

T2 - Academic labour, shortages and strategies

AU - Smith, Sarah Jane

AU - Urquhart, Vivien

N1 - This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in The British Accounting Review. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in The British Accounting Review, 50, 6, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.bar.2018.03.002

PY - 2018/11

Y1 - 2018/11

N2 - This paper contributes to the literature on change in the higher education sector arising from massification, increased political control, international mobility and competition. Drawing on various data sources and labour shortage models, it considers academic labour in UK accounting and finance academia over the period 2000 to 2012. A disequilibrium between supply and demand is evidenced through the identification of recruitment problems, unfilled vacancies, and retirements. The impact of research assessment on faculty backgrounds is shown to result in inadequate supply of faculty with the required skills. Strategic responses to labour shortages include: increased recruitment efforts, early promotions, enhanced remuneration and reducing restrictions on occupational entry. The consequences and future implications of shortages and strategies are considered. In particular, the decoupling of research and teaching in accounting is challenging the future existence of accounting as an academic discipline. The current generation of accounting academics are also under threat – if they neither excel at research nor are professionally-qualified they risk becoming undesirable.

AB - This paper contributes to the literature on change in the higher education sector arising from massification, increased political control, international mobility and competition. Drawing on various data sources and labour shortage models, it considers academic labour in UK accounting and finance academia over the period 2000 to 2012. A disequilibrium between supply and demand is evidenced through the identification of recruitment problems, unfilled vacancies, and retirements. The impact of research assessment on faculty backgrounds is shown to result in inadequate supply of faculty with the required skills. Strategic responses to labour shortages include: increased recruitment efforts, early promotions, enhanced remuneration and reducing restrictions on occupational entry. The consequences and future implications of shortages and strategies are considered. In particular, the decoupling of research and teaching in accounting is challenging the future existence of accounting as an academic discipline. The current generation of accounting academics are also under threat – if they neither excel at research nor are professionally-qualified they risk becoming undesirable.

KW - Academic labour

KW - Labour shortages

KW - Restructuring

KW - UK

KW - Accounting and finance

U2 - 10.1016/j.bar.2018.03.002

DO - 10.1016/j.bar.2018.03.002

M3 - Journal article

VL - 50

SP - 588

EP - 601

JO - British Accounting Review

JF - British Accounting Review

SN - 0890-8389

IS - 6

ER -