Teaching and research: partners or competitors?

The raison d’être of universities is to create and disseminate knowledge; or to undertake research and teach students. It remains something of a maxim in higher education (HE) that to be a good teacher you have to be a good researcher. This research explores the relationship that exists between these two primary activities of universities in the discipline of accounting in the UK and Ireland. Traditionally, the accounting curriculum has included a significant amount of rules-based and technique-driven content, arguably at the expense of more conceptual, principles-based and contemporary material. Changes within universities mean that accounting departments are more closely located with other disciplines, teach increased numbers of post-graduate students and have increased both the volume and quality of their research. It remains an interesting empirical question to consider what role does academic research play in influencing what is taught to accounting students?