Professional examinations have a strong influence on the content of accounting education. Many textbook writers and professors not only rely regularly on past professional examinations in their work, but they seek to help students master the expected examination content. The feedback loop thus established may retard both teaching and the examination from reflecting recent trends in the changing common body of knowledge utilized by accountants. This is especially important since the body of knowledge covered by professional examinations represents only a small part of the knowledge used by the accounting profession as a whole and to which students should be exposed.
The Committee makes the following recommendation concerning professional examinations:
"In preparing students for the future, accounting faculty should rely on accounting practice and research and on multidisciplinary research in establishing curriculum content rather than merely preparing students to qualify for current practice."