Background
This paper is a study of Management Accounting education in Estonia today, fourteen years after
the market system change. It examines what is being taught to Estonian students, who study
business and have chosen management accounting (or similar) as their speciality during the last
years of their education. A comparison is made to the business curriculum offered by a Swedish
university, this one also with a specialisation in the subject of Management Accounting. Sweden
was chosen because it is known as a country with excellent education system, study conditions,
and also Management Accounting education. So it is a good country to look up to for Estonia.
Purpose
This study compares the Management Accounting education of Sweden and Estonia. The
curriculum of business administration students, topics of the management accounting courses as
well as the level of knowledge in different topics is compared. The literature used and the design
of the studies of the current countries are exemplified as well.
This study identifies the differences and similarities in the Management Accounting education in
a transitional country like Estonia is from the well developed country Sweden. Those countries
are neighbour countries, and there are and will be a lot of labour movements and also student
exchanges. It is hard to know for a Swedish university or the employer company, how similar is
the education of these two countries and what an Estonian Management Accounting student can
or cannot. This study will give some guidance in this matter.
Method
The theory, empirical data and logical reasoning are used in order to conduct this work. This
survey is intended to be descriptive. After reviewing the literature of accounting education in
Eastern Europe a list of questions were made to ask Estonian management accounting educators.
The main focus during the interviews was on the character of the Management Accounting
education in the particular country and university. The second part of the empirical data was the
questionnaire with ISAR topics about Management Accounting education and curricula.
Conclusion
Estonia has come a long way since the time Estonia regained its independency. There are persons
graduating from the university with an education more in tune with the market economy already
since 1997. The lack of educators in the new areas is not that large anymore either. The Busine...
