Collaborating with Industry to Enhance Financial Planning and Accounting Education

Higher education is integral to the professionalisation of financial planning in Australia. However, thetraditional separation between ‘content’ and ‘practice’ in tertiary curriculum does not necessarily equipstudents with the skills required to apply the content in a professional context. Contextualisation of thefinancial planning curriculum requires collaboration between higher education institutions and the professionto develop authentic learning environments, such as work-integrated learning (WIL). This paper describes thecollaboration by one Australian university to develop a professionally integrated Financial Planning andAccounting degree and provides evidence of its impact from an industry perspective. The results reveal a highlevel of industry satisfaction with the degree, substantial professional integration, as well as the developmentof students’ professional skills. Students also developed an improved impression of the university, its studentsand its staff.