Abstract
To instigate the conception of sustainability in education, it takes a top-down commitment from the administration of a tertiary institution as well as a bottom-up initiative stimulating interests of its faculty and students to collaborate learning proactively. This Chapter aims to develop a conceptual framework that adopts a model of knowledge development for the attraction of sustainability competence of a new generation of professional accountants. A personal knowledge management model is advocated for students of a tertiary education program to develop their explicit and tacit knowledge needed for sustainability competence. Through a case study of an undergraduate program in accountancy in Hong Kong, it highlights the integrative role of an undergraduate program that is designed with an emphasis on the ethical aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and knowledge about sustainability. Standalone compulsory and elective courses integrated with a program of learning and teaching activities with involvement of students would engender a dynamic process for sustainability competence as a higher order of learning beyond the confines of vocational education. The significance of pertinent faculty research activities and transferring contemporary knowledge about sustainability with local relevance is pointed out.
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Notes
- 1.
COSO released a paper in 2013 titled “Integrating the triple bottom line into an enterprise risk management program” emphasizing the growing significance of sustainability risk.
- 2.
According to HKICPA, its total membership number reached 36,867, while practising members increased to 4223, with 2219 firm and corporate practices as at end-April 2014 (http://hong-kong-economy-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Hong-Kong-Industry-Profiles/Accounting-Industry-in-Hong-Kong/hkip/en/1/1X000000/1X003UJZ.htm#sthash.Fpb8wL4h.dpuf).
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Ng, A.W., Leung, T.C.H., Lo, J.M.K. (2017). Developing Sustainability Competence for Future Professional Accountants: The Integrative Role of an Undergraduate Program. In: Leal Filho, W., Brandli, L., Castro, P., Newman, J. (eds) Handbook of Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development in Higher Education . World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47868-5_8
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