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Effect of Professional Accounting Webinars on Students’ Awareness of Emerging Accounting Practices in Nigeria

Abstract

Emerging accounting practices are increasingly transforming the accounting profession as technological advancement, regulatory developments, digital financial systems, sustainability reporting, artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud accounting, blockchain technology, electronic taxation, and other contemporary developments influence the way accounting information is processed, reported, audited, and communicated. Accounting Education students therefore require adequate awareness of emerging accounting practices to prepare them for changing professional expectations and workplace requirements. However, students in Nigeria may have limited exposure to current developments in the accounting profession because conventional classroom instruction may not always provide regular access to practicing professionals, current industry information, and rapidly evolving accounting practices. Professional Accounting Webinars provide an accessible platform through which accounting professionals, educators, regulators, and industry experts can share current knowledge and practical insights with students. Such webinars may improve students’ awareness of emerging accounting practices and expose them to contemporary developments within the accounting profession. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of Professional Accounting Webinars on students’ awareness of emerging accounting practices in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on Experiential Learning Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Technology Acceptance Model. Experiential Learning Theory explains how students develop knowledge through practical experiences, reflection, conceptualization, and active participation. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes learning through observation, professional modelling, interaction, feedback, and self-efficacy. The Technology Acceptance Model explains how perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use may influence students’ acceptance and utilization of webinar technologies for professional learning. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how Professional Accounting Webinars may influence students’ awareness of emerging accounting practices. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The population will comprise Accounting Education students enrolled in selected Nigerian universities and polytechnics. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select institutions, departments, levels of study, classes, and eligible students. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, emerging accounting practices awareness scales, webinar participation records, professional-learning assessment instruments, pre-test and post-test assessments, and relevant programme documents. Professional Accounting Webinars will be assessed using indicators such as frequency of webinar participation, duration of participation, number of professional speakers, relevance of webinar topics, professional experience of presenters, quality of presentations, interaction with presenters, question-and-answer sessions, access to webinar recordings, availability of presentation materials, practical demonstrations, case-study discussions, exposure to current accounting issues, opportunities for professional interaction, opportunities for networking, access to professional resources, feedback from presenters, and students’ participation in webinar activities. Students’ awareness of emerging accounting practices will be assessed using indicators such as awareness of cloud accounting, artificial intelligence in accounting, accounting data analytics, blockchain applications in accounting, electronic financial reporting, digital audit procedures, computer-assisted audit techniques, continuous auditing, electronic taxation, forensic accounting technologies, robotic process automation, cybersecurity in accounting, data privacy, digital financial systems, accounting information systems, sustainability accounting, sustainability reporting, environmental accounting, social and governance reporting, integrated reporting, international financial reporting developments, digital financial reporting, regulatory technology, financial technology applications, electronic payment systems, digital banking, automated bookkeeping, accounting software, enterprise resource planning systems, digital internal controls, electronic documentation, digital records management, data-driven decision-making, professional accounting technologies, and other contemporary developments in accounting practice. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students’ demographic and academic characteristics, webinar participation, sources of accounting information, and awareness levels. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of Professional Accounting Webinars on students’ awareness of emerging accounting practices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, awareness scores before and after exposure to Professional Accounting Webinars may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that Professional Accounting Webinars have a significant positive effect on students’ awareness of emerging accounting practices in Nigeria. Students who participate in structured webinars led by accounting professionals are expected to demonstrate greater awareness of contemporary developments in the accounting profession than students without comparable exposure. Webinar sessions on cloud accounting may improve students’ understanding of technology-based accounting systems. Presentations on artificial intelligence may increase awareness of automated accounting processes and emerging applications of intelligent technologies. Discussions on accounting data analytics may strengthen students’ understanding of data-driven accounting decision-making. Blockchain presentations may improve awareness of distributed-ledger applications in accounting and financial transactions. Digital financial-reporting sessions may strengthen students’ understanding of technology-supported reporting practices. Digital auditing and continuous-auditing discussions may improve awareness of contemporary audit technologies. Electronic-taxation sessions may increase students’ knowledge of technology-supported tax processes. Forensic accounting technology discussions may strengthen awareness of digital techniques for identifying and investigating financial irregularities. Robotic process automation sessions may improve students’ understanding of automated accounting tasks. Cybersecurity presentations may strengthen awareness of threats to accounting information systems and methods of protecting financial information. Sustainability accounting and reporting discussions may improve students’ understanding of environmental, social, and governance-related reporting requirements. Integrated-reporting sessions may broaden students’ awareness of contemporary approaches to communicating financial and non-financial information. Regulatory and financial-technology discussions may improve students’ awareness of changing professional and technological requirements. Exposure to practicing professionals may also enable students to connect classroom knowledge with current workplace practices, clarify professional expectations, ask questions about emerging developments, and obtain practical insights into changing accounting responsibilities. However, limited internet access, unstable electricity supply, inadequate digital devices, poor connectivity, high data costs, limited webinar opportunities, low student participation, inadequate awareness of professional events, scheduling difficulties, limited interaction during online sessions, and lack of access to webinar recordings may reduce the effectiveness of Professional Accounting Webinars. The study therefore expects accessible, relevant, interactive, professionally delivered, and regularly organized accounting webinars to contribute significantly to improved awareness of emerging accounting practices among Accounting Education students in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on Professional Accounting Webinars, emerging accounting practices, accounting education, professional accounting education, experiential learning, social cognitive learning, technology acceptance, cloud accounting, artificial intelligence in accounting, accounting data analytics, blockchain accounting, digital auditing, continuous auditing, electronic taxation, forensic accounting technology, robotic process automation, cybersecurity, sustainability accounting, sustainability reporting, integrated reporting, financial technology, accounting information systems, digital financial reporting, regulatory technology, electronic payment systems, digital banking, accounting software, enterprise resource planning, digital internal controls, professional development, accounting technology, workplace readiness, employability skills, professional awareness, Accounting Education students, Nigerian universities, Nigerian polytechnics, and accounting education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education, universities, polytechnics, Accounting Education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, accounting firms, regulatory institutions, industry practitioners, webinar organizers, curriculum developers, employers, and policymakers regarding strategies for improving students’ exposure to contemporary accounting developments. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for integrating Professional Accounting Webinars into Accounting Education programmes, establishing regular professional-webinar programmes, strengthening collaboration between educational institutions and professional accounting organizations, improving students’ access to accounting professionals and industry experts, providing reliable digital infrastructure for online professional learning, incorporating emerging accounting technologies into curriculum discussions, encouraging student participation in professional learning events, providing access to recorded webinar materials, and aligning Accounting Education programmes with contemporary developments and future requirements of the accounting profession in Nigeria.

Keywords: Professional Accounting Webinars, emerging accounting practices, accounting education, professional accounting education, cloud accounting, artificial intelligence, accounting data analytics, blockchain accounting, digital auditing, sustainability reporting, financial technology, accounting information systems, digital accounting, professional awareness, Accounting Education students, Nigeria.