2.1 Introduction

Owing to the current environmental and social problems, there is a growing demand from various stakeholders for organisations to be sustainable. These demands have compelled organisations worldwide to adopt sustainability practices that focus on improving ecological conservation and social equity while contributing to economic development (Gunarathne & Lee, 2019; Zhang & Zhu, 2019). The need for accountants to take up an active role has often been highlighted when organisations pursue sustainability practices, as the sustainability information provided by accountants is utilised by top management for decision-making (Evans et al., 2011; Schaltegger & Zvezdov, 2015). Accordingly, various calls have been made within the society and the business world for accountants to possess the knowledge and skills pertaining to sustainability as well as its various internal controls and accounting aspects (Botes et al., 2014).

There is growing evidence that accountants are unaware of organisational processes’ sustainability impact and do not possess the knowledge or skills necessary to contribute to the corporate transition to improve sustainability performance (Cho et al., 2020; Gunarathne & Rajasooriya, 2020; Schaltegger & Zvezdov, 2015). Since education is imperative to achieve sustainable development in any profession (Filho et al., 2018; Huckle, 1991), studies have investigated the role of accounting education concerning sustainability, particularly at higher education institutions (HEIs) (Botes et al., 2014; Dyball & Thomson, 2013). While these studies have provided various insights into sustainability accounting education in universities, they are mostly confined to developed countries (Botes et al., 2014; Cho et al., 2020; Hazelton & Haigh, 2010). Hence, the manner in which universities engage in sustainability accounting education, particularly in embedding UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is mostly unknown to date. Thus, this chapter aims to present how a public university in an emerging economy has engaged with the SDGs in its undergraduate-level accounting degree programme. Specifically, it focuses on the first academic accounting degree programme offered by the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Although the students of the programme learn and are exposed to various facets of the SDGs through many accounting and non-accounting courses and other extracurricular activities, the chapter focuses on the accounting courses with the intention of providing a focused discussion.

Considering the fact that sustainability education is essential in various disciplines, educational systems must respond to the pressing need to create new skills, values, and attitudes that lead to the creation of a more sustainable society (UNESCO, 2017). To do this, educational systems should set and define new learning objectives and content, introduce pedagogies that empower learners, and use instructions to include sustainability in their management structures. Furthermore, there is an increasing international recognition of ‘education for sustainable development as a vital element of quality education and a significant facilitator for sustainable development’ (UN-DESA, 2021). This idea was further acknowledged in various international agreements, such as Agenda 21Footnote 1 and Muscat Agreement.Footnote 2 The necessity of integrating sustainable development into formal, informal, or non-formal education at all levels is also emphasised in the SDG4. Furthermore, the education sector has the potential to facilitate, encourage, and aid many, if not all, of the SDGs (Junior et al., 2019). In the education sector, universities can play a vital role in two ways. Firstly, they can develop the future generations with the requisite sustainability skills, knowledge, and value systems to address the sustainability challenges and opportunities. Secondly, universities have the potential to conduct research that enhances sustainable development at local, regional, and global scales (Ahmadein, 2019). Hence, universities have a vital role in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), owing to the pressing need for sustainable development in developing economies, such as Sri Lanka.

2.2 Context

Sri Lanka is a South Asian emerging economy that has experienced rapid economic growth after ending the civil war in 2009 (World Bank, 2020). The country has a significantly influential accounting profession with a global presence. It is recognised as a global hidden gem that produces finance and accounting professionals, who work in different regions, including the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific, and Africa (Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2017; World Bank, 2015). Along with professional accounting bodies, some accounting degree programmes in Sri Lanka have played a key role by promoting ESD, such as environmental accounting, sustainability reporting, and integrated reporting in the corporate sector (Cooray et al., 2021; Gunarathne & Senaratne, 2018; Senaratne et al., 2022). The peculiar feature is that Sri Lanka has only government-funded public universities. At present, there are 17 public universities, and 11 offer accounting degree programmes.

2.2.1 University-Level Accounting Education in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean with a population of just over 20 million. Despite its small geographical area and population, the country’s rich history of accounting practices traces back to many centuries (Liyanarachchi, 2009, 2015); there is evidence that accounting education with well-placed systems and structures has existed for over two millennia (Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2017). However, this indigenous accounting education system waned during the British colonial rule (1815–1948). During this period, Sri Lanka was transformed into a plantation economy from an agriculture-based society (Wickramasinghe & Cameron, 2004), creating significant changes in the country’s political economy. These changes laid the foundation for introducing professional accounting education in 1941 (Senaratne & Cooray, 2012a; Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2017; Yapa, 2010). These changes catered to the plantation economy and, thereafter, strongly influenced accounting education in the post-independence period (Yapa, 2010). Consequently, the first indigenous professional accounting body – the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka – was established in 1959, emulating the education model of the Chartered Institute of Accountants of England and Wales. It created the necessary environment for the growth of two British professional accounting bodiesFootnote 3 in the country.

Higher education system in Sri Lanka was established in 1942 by following the British university education system to focus on science and liberal arts education (Fonseka et al., 2019). However, accounting was introduced as a subject in Sri Lankan universities only in the 1960s, in the economics and management undergraduate degree programmes, when the university system in the country expanded. Hence, it took another three decades for the Sri Lankan university system to establish its first academic accounting degree programme. It was only in late 1992, the Department of Accounting at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura was established to offer a bachelor’s degree in accounting (Fonseka et al., 2019; Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2017).

The peculiar characteristic of Sri Lanka is that it has only state-funded public universities, and presently, there are 17 state-funded universities in the country (University Grants Commission (UGC), 2021). The UGCFootnote 4 selects students for these universities based on their performance (measured in terms of z-scores) at the G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination conducted at the national level by the Department of Examinations of the Ministry of Education. At present, accounting undergraduate degree programmes are quite popular in Sri Lankan universities, and there are 11 state universities offering accounting degrees in the country.

Another notable characteristic of the current accounting education system in Sri Lanka is the parallel development of academic and professional accounting education (Senaratne & Cooray, 2012a; Wijewardena & Yapa, 1998; Yapa, 2000), and this is similar to the situation in the UK due to the British colonial impact (Yapa, 2010). Accordingly, a profession-centric model, wherein a university degree is not compulsory for students to enter into a professional accounting body, is followed in Sri Lanka as in the UK (Annisette & Kirkham, 2007; Byrne & Flood, 2003; Gammie & Kirkham, 2008). Due to this anomaly in accounting education in Sri Lanka (Perera 1975; Senaratne & Cooray, 2012b), professional accounting bodies and universities are engaged in general and professional accounting education, resulting in a duplication of the work for students (Senaratne & Cooray, 2012b; Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2017; Watty et al., 2012) as they concurrently study professional accounting courses (Gunarathne et al., 2021; Watty et al., 2012). Often, they enrol in these professional programmes before starting university in order to secure work-related claims (Senaratne & Cooray, 2012a).

Due to the non-existence of a graduate accounting profession, two groups of accounting professionals are available in the country: ‘academic professionals’ (those with an accounting degree and a professional qualification) and ‘professionals without an accounting degree’ (Senaratne & Cooray, 2012b). Further, these groups compete for employment opportunities while constantly seeking internal differentiation within the profession (Gunarathne et al., 2021; Senaratne & Cooray, 2012b). This has caused the accounting degree programmes to differentiate between their graduates (i.e. ‘academic professionals’) from the members of professional accounting bodies without a degree (i.e. ‘professionals without an accounting degree’) by incorporating new developments in accounting into the degree curricula (Senaratne et al., 2022). These differentiation strategies have a significant bearing on the role that some accounting degree programmes in Sri Lanka have previously played in promoting the new developments in accounting, such as sustainability accounting and integrated reporting through education and research (Gunarathne & Senaratne, 2018).

2.3 The Case

This study presents the case of the accounting degree programme of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, which pioneered the introduction of management and accounting education into the country’s university system. The accounting degree programme (i.e. B.Sc. Accounting [Honours]) of the Department of Accounting, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, has been selected as the context of the study. It was the first accounting degree programme in Sri Lanka; it started in 1992 and has produced the highest number of accounting graduates in the country so far. They now work both locally and globally in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, and South East Asia (Fonseka et al., 2019; Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2017). Furthermore, this accounting degree programme in Sri Lanka has been considerably impacted by introducing areas, such as corporate sustainability, sustainability accounting and reporting, and integrated reporting into the university curriculum for nearly two decades (Gunarathne & Senaratne, 2018).

This 4-year degree programme is placed at the level six (Bachelors Honours) of Sri Lanka Qualifications Framework. Currently, the department has an annual intake of around 200 students. The students selected to follow the degree programme have obtained high z-scores on the university admission examination – G.C.E. Advanced Level (Fonseka et al., 2019; Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2019). At present, this accounting department consists of 28 academic staff members, including permanent and visiting lecturers with both academic and professional qualifications in the field of accounting. This also includes two endowed chairs created by EY and KPMG, two of the big four global public accounting firms.

At the introduction time of this accounting degree programme in 1992, there was a consensus among the employers in Sri Lanka’s private sector that the graduates of state universities were not work-ready for several reasons: a lack of practical experience about the application of theories/concepts learnt at the university, several shortcomings in their English communication skills (both written and oral), and their inability to adapt to the business sector environment (Fonseka et al., 2019; Ranasinghe, 2011). Hence, this degree programme followed an outcome-based education modelFootnote 5 from its inception to meet the demands of the accounting profession (Gunarathne et al., 2019; Gunarathne & Alahakoon, 2016; Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2019) in the context of the liberalised economic policies introduced in 1977 and the resulting expansion in the private sector (Fonseka et al., 2019). Thus, it has been offered as an academic degree with a professional orientation containing several salient features: (a) a 2-year accounting and finance-related internship programme, (b) accounting courses embedded with information technology, (c) English-based business communication skills, and (d) English medium of instruction. These features were mostly uncommon in the university education system of the country in the early 1990s (Gunarathne et al., 2021; Senaratne & Gunarathne, 2019).

These salient features, which were introduced in the beginning, have been improved and maintained at the degree programme, and presently, it adopts a whole-person development approach in its curriculum development, which is in line with the stakeholders’ expectations and the requirements of the Sri Lanka Qualifications Framework, the Subject Benchmark Statement on Accounting of the University Grants Commission, and the international educational standards of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) (Gunarathne et al., 2019). A notable feature is that this accounting degree programme has been proactive in meeting the changing expectations of the stakeholders. Among these proactive changes, the introduction of areas such as sustainable development and sustainability reporting into the degree curricula (Gunarathne & Rajasooriya, 2020) from early 2000 is an important dimension; at the time, these areas were not considered in accounting degrees in Sri Lanka. Since then, the curriculum of the degree programme has been continuously revised to respond to the new developments in corporate sustainability accounting and reporting and environment management accounting, and these changes have also been supported with the use of appropriate teaching, learning, and assessment methods, which is elaborated in the following section.

2.4 Incorporation of SDGs into Curriculum of Accounting Programme

This section explains the degree programme’s approach of incorporating the sustainability concept into the accounting courses in the degree curriculum. The coverage of sustainability in these courses will be described along with learning and assessment activities in the subsequent sections.

2.4.1 Coverage

The concepts of sustainability (or aspects of the SDGs) are principally incorporated into the curriculum of the accounting degree programme under three main dimensions: (a) external reporting dimension, (b) management accounting dimension, and (c) governance and ethics and research dimension.

2.4.1.1 Incorporation of Sustainability under External Reporting Dimension

Initially, some aspects of sustainability were embedded under the ‘external reporting’ dimension through the Advanced Financial Accounting and Reporting course of the degree programme as a specific topic in the year 2000 (see Table 2.1). Advanced Financial Accounting and Reporting was a compulsory core course for all accounting degree students. The focus and scope of this topic had gradually expanded in order to suit the new developments in sustainability reporting about the generally accepted guidelines such as Global Reporting Framework (GRI) guidelines/standards and AccountAbility standards, as well as in relation to reporting on the SDGs and integrated reporting. This gradual expansion also reflects the extensive importance placed on the sustainability dimension in the degree programme’s financial accounting and reporting courses. More specifically, sustainability reporting aspects had been initially introduced as an entirely separate topic under ‘additional corporate reports/new developments in accounting’. Later, these were expanded into a separate module under the Financial Reporting/Corporate Reporting courses. Along with these developments, the Financial Reporting course has been retitled as Corporate Reporting since 2017 to represent the essence of its coverage.

Table 2.1 Incorporation of sustainability concept into curriculum: External reporting dimension
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While this gradual evolution in the Financial Reporting and Corporate Reporting courses has taken place, an expansion in the focus on sustainability had already occurred in other courses of study. For example, a sustainability focus was incorporated into the Advanced Accounting Theory course in 2009. This included a discussion on the extended systems of corporate reporting by incorporating social and environmental factors and related theories such as legitimacy, stakeholder, and institutional. However, this topic was refocused in the Advanced Accounting Theory course to create and emphasise the theories providing a basis for voluntary reporting practices, such as sustainability and integrated reporting, from 2017. This is mainly because these reporting practices are comprehensively discussed under the Corporate Reporting course.

2.4.1.2 Incorporation of Sustainability under Management Accounting Dimension

In the degree programme, the sustainability concept was incorporated into the curriculum under the ‘management accounting’ dimension to emphasise the importance of sustainability management accounting and its related internal practices. As given in Table 2.2, the initial concepts related to sustainability were discussed as an emerging issue titled ‘Harmonising with the environment: Environmental management accounting’ under the elective course entitled Contemporary Issues in Management Accounting in 2009. Following that, in the new curriculum revision of the accounting degree, a new elective course, Sustainability Management Accounting, was introduced in 2013 to broadly discuss the different aspects of sustainability management accounting. This course was designed by following a pragmatic approach with many practical-oriented learning and assessment items (see the next section for more details). Later, it was renamed as Corporate Sustainability Accounting in 2017, and it was offered as an elective course, thereby allowing students to further specialise in this area. In order to disseminate the core knowledge on sustainability management accounting to students who do not follow this elective course, a separate topic was included in the two compulsory courses, Advanced Management Accounting and Strategic Management Accounting, since 2013.

Table 2.2 Incorporation of sustainability concept into curriculumCurricula: Management accounting dimension
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In the current curriculum revision, which is to be implemented from September 2021, a notable change has been the introduction of Corporate Sustainability Accounting as a compulsory course along with other core courses such as Advanced Accounting Theory, Corporate Reporting, and Corporate Governance and Ethics that focus on sustainability. This change to the syllabus has been made to reflect the increasing importance of internal sustainability processes and related accounting and control aspects for the accountants.

2.4.1.3 Incorporation of Sustainability under Governance and Ethics and Research Dimension

In addition to the two main dimensions mentioned above, the inclusion of sustainability aspects into the degree programme has occurred by means of ‘Corporate Governance and Ethics’ (see Table 2.3). It highlights how sustainability is embraced within corporate governance and emphasises on environmental and social considerations in business ethics. Furthermore, the students have the option to conduct their final year research project on an area relating to sustainability. Hence, the knowledge gained on the sustainability aspects through the courses taught in accounting is regularly utilised, when students engage in the compulsory research study (i.e. Research Report in Accounting) as an integral component of the degree programme in the final year. The research project has been made compulsory from 2018.

Table 2.3 Incorporation of sustainability concept into curriculum: Governance and ethics dimension
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2.4.2 Learning Activities

The courses mentioned above use a variety of teaching and learning activities. They include interactive lectures sessions, tutorials and workshops, field visits, guest sessions by practitioners, group-based discussions, role plays, and presentations. In addition to these standard activities, teaching and learning processes within these courses are further nurtured through the special learning activities presented in Table 2.4.

Table 2.4 Learning activities
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2.4.3 Assessment Activities

The assessments of the sustainability-related aspects of the courses are carried out continuously and at the end of the semester. Usually, a practice-based assignment (such as examining the adoption of integrated reporting and the SDGs in Sri Lankan public-listed companies) under the Corporate Reporting course and a case study development under the Corporate Sustainability Accounting course is given as the continuous assessment. Further, the sustainability aspects are tested at the end semester examinations through case study-based questions under Corporate Reporting, Advanced Accounting Theory, and Corporate Sustainability Accounting courses. Table 2.5 presents the continuous assessments given on the sustainability aspects.

Table 2.5 Continuous assessment
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2.5 Contribution of Degree Programme to SDGs

The accounting degree programme contributes to the SDGs in several ways. Firstly, the 11th programme learning outcome of the accounting degree states ‘demonstrating an understanding of social and civic responsibilities, human rights and matters of sustainability’, which depicts its commitment to the SDGs. Secondly, the degree programme has had a long-standing focus on achieving the abovementioned programme learning outcome by incorporating the concepts of sustainability into its curriculum since 2000 through various courses. Thirdly, and more specifically, the SDGs are comprehensively discussed in the Corporate Sustainability Accounting and Corporate Reporting courses. In particular, the first learning outcome of the Corporate Sustainability Accounting course is dedicated to this purpose (i.e. to discuss the developments in accounting to support the SDGs). Furthermore, the third learning outcome of the Corporate Reporting course (i.e. to analyse and appraise the current practices adopted by companies in sustainability reporting and integrated reporting) is indirectly linked to the SDGs. In addition to these direct and explicit references, the degree programme contributes to several SDGs through these courses, as indicated in Table 2.6.

Table 2.6 Accounting degree programme’s contribution to SDGs
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The summary presented in Table 2.6 is further discussed as follows.

SDG4: Ensure Quality Education

This accounting degree programme aims to provide inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all its students through the subjects in the curriculum. All the courses that cover the sustainability aspects presented in Sect. 4 contribute to achieving Target 4.7 – ‘By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development’. The Corporate Sustainability Accounting course, in particular, plays a significant role in this respect. The structure of this course captures the broad concept of sustainable development. It emphasises what type of accounting and other internal practices should be followed by an organisation to achieve long-term sustainable development. As presented in Table 2.2, this course covers environmental and social dimensions of sustainability (the economic dimension is covered through many other courses such as macro and microeconomics) and the integrations of the three dimensions. Through this course and other related courses as presented in Tables 2.1 to 2.3, the students are given the opportunity to learn the aspects mentioned in Target 4.7 with the help of various pedagogical approaches, such as learner-centred approach, action-oriented learning, and transformative learning.

SDG8: Promote Decent Work and Economic Growth

The accounting degree programme directly contributes to sustainable economic growth and full-time productive employment by producing accounting graduates with appropriate knowledge and skills. In this direction, the degree programme offers a 2-year internship programme to produce highly employable graduates. This programme ensures that the students have practical exposure and improve employability while developing new skills related to sustainability. Besides, the sustainability concepts are taught through various courses as mentioned in previous sections and thereby creating a solid foundation for graduates to contribute to green growth through future employment.

SDG9: Build Industry, Infrastructure, and Innovations

As emphasised in the SDG9, the accounting degree programme focuses on promoting innovations through research and development to achieve inclusive and sustainable industrial development and strong infrastructure and innovation. Specifically, it contributes to achieving Target 9.5 – ‘enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities’. The knowledge gained through the courses such as Sustainability Management Accounting/Corporate Sustainability Accounting, Corporate Reporting, Advanced Accounting Theory, and Corporate Governance and Ethics inspires the students to investigate research issues related to sustainability in the final year’s mandatory research project. As shown in Fig. 2.1, a gradual increase in sustainability-related research conducted by the accounting students of this degree programme is observed. The research studies have covered an array of aspects such as sustainability reporting, environmental management accounting, and waste management. These studies eventually provide innovative solutions from an accounting perspective for the identified sustainability issues while developing the graduates’ skills and attitudes.

Fig. 2.1
A vertical bar graph plots the percentage of research on sustainability conducted by undergraduate accounting students in 2018, 2019, and 2020. The graph shows increase in research activities. The data given are as follows: 21% in 2018, 25% in 2019, and 31% in 2020.

Sustainability-related undergraduate research

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In addition to these research studies, students have engaged in several publications related to sustainability concept, as presented in Table 2.4 (such as ‘Cases in sustainability management accounting – Sri Lanka’, ‘An accountant’s approach for energy-efficient practices – with special emphasis on SMEs and households’, and ‘Environmental management accounting in Sri Lankan enterprises’). These publications have been carried out under the Sustainability Management Accounting course, and in due course, they help generate new knowledge on sustainability aspects for students and practitioners. Further, in 2015, the students who followed the Sustainability Management Accounting course engaged in an assignment on managing waste in one of Sri Lanka’s leading apparel companies by introducing the material flow cost accounting technique. This kind of academic and industry collaboration paves the way for sustainable industrialisation.

The outcomes of the sustainability-related research projects conducted by the academic staff members are incorporated into the curriculum through relevant courses. For instance, the outcomes of integrated reporting-related research studies are discussed in the Corporate Reporting course. Similarly, the results of studies related to environmental management accounting are integrated into the Corporate Sustainability Accounting course. The research outcomes disseminate the knowledge on sustainability innovations to students, which inspires the students to focus on the sustainability concept.

SDG12: Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production

Sustainable consumption and production have been identified as one of the three main objectives of, and vital requirements for, sustainable development, as per the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), 2002). This was recognised as the SDG12 in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN-DESA, 2021). The accounting degree attempts to contribute to fulfilling this goal through two targets: Target 12.6 ‘encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle’ and Target 12.8 ‘ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable’.

Notably, the students are taught waste management, life cycle costing, and other environmental management accounting practices under the Sustainability Management Accounting/Corporate Sustainability Accounting courses. Further, the physical and monetary information of different sustainability practices/aspects and their management techniques are extensively discussed in the above course. In addition, the reporting aspect of sustainability in an organisation is comprehensively covered through the Corporate Reporting course. As accounting students of this degree programme mainly gain employment in the corporate sector, they can effectively contribute to the accomplishment of the SDGs in these organisations with a firm foundation they receive beforehand.

SDG13: Take Action to Combat Climate Change

The developing countries suffer the harshest blows of climate change. These countries have a lesser ability to cope with the anticipated shocks to their social, economic, and natural systems (UN-DESA, 2021). As a developing country, Sri Lanka is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (Gunarathne et al., 2020). Therefore, understanding the importance of climate change as per the Sri Lankan context, the accounting degree programme attempts to mitigate climate change through education and awareness-raising. Specifically, it focuses on achieving Target 13.3 – ‘improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning’.

The impact of climate change and the remedial actions employing environmental management accounting techniques are comprehensively discussed throughout the Corporate Sustainability Accounting course. Apart from what is taught in class, students are encouraged to watch the relevant video clips/movies and read case studies. Moreover, through the field visits, the students who follow this course have the opportunity to understand the actions undertaken by the companies to mitigate climate change. Further, the students can identify these actions with the assignments they carry out under this course. In addition to this, the students are exposed to reporting aspects of climate mitigation strategies when companies present their case studies in the workshops organised as part of the Corporate Reporting course.

SDG16: Promote Peaceful, Just, and Strong Institutions

While the SDG16 has many aspects to consider through the courses discussed above, the accounting degree mainly focuses on three elements: reduction of corruption and bribery (Target 16.5); development of effective, accountable, and transparent institutions (Target 16.6); and ensuring responsive, inclusive, and representative decision-making (Target 16.7). In this respect, the Corporate Governance and Ethics course plays a crucial role. This course has been compulsory for all the students in the degree programme, as governance and ethics are essential for future accountants throughout their careers. The ethics component taught in this course helps to inculcate the right values and attitudes in the students. It also helps to safeguard their professional conduct by avoiding corruption and bribery. The corporate governance component teaches the students to develop accountable and transparent organisations when they start working. Furthermore, the appropriate knowledge on corporate governance assists in better decision-making when they achieve top positions in organisations in the future.

2.6 Challenges Encountered

As explained in the previous sections, the accounting degree programme contributes to the sustainable development agenda by equipping the next generation of accountants with the skills, knowledge, and understanding necessary to address sustainability challenges and opportunities (Ahmadein, 2019). However, the pursuance of teaching, learning, and assessment activities described above has encountered several challenges throughout the process. These significant challenges are described below.

2.6.1 Inadequate Institutional Support

As per the strategic plan of 2017–2021, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura has shown its commitment to sustainable development and the 17 SDGs. Accordingly, its mission statement includes ‘developing globally competent citizens through our education for a sustainable future, drawing inspirations from our cultural heritage and wisdom’. It has focused on the 3Ps (people, planet, and prosperity) in utilising education for the sake of a sustainable future along with strategic goals. Even though it reflects the university and its higher-level administration’s interest in achieving sustainable development, its methods of translating these interests into operational activities are questionable. In particular, when introducing a novel course, such as Corporate Sustainability Accounting, limited support was received from the academic staff members due to their lack of interest in and awareness of the subject matter. The Corporate Sustainability Accounting course, an elective in the current curriculum, has not been offered by the department in certain years. This is due to limited staff availability and reduced student demand. Despite the contemporary importance of this subject, higher administration and some staff members have shown less interest in offering the subject and convincing the students of its significance. This highlights that even though the higher-level university administration is committed to achieving sustainability, some staff members are reluctant to implement these strategies (Bellou et al., 2017; Filho et al., 2017).

Furthermore, some of the courses’ teaching, research, and development activities focusing on sustainability have not been well supported by some academic members in the department. Therefore, the introduction of course contents on sustainability to the degree programme has been driven by a few staff members’ interest and commitment, without adequate institutional support.

2.6.2 Lack of Awareness and Excessive Workload

According to Ahmadein (2019), this is another critical issue when incorporating the concept of sustainability and the SDGs into the degree curriculum. In the Department of Accounting, a lack of awareness has been noted among academic members and students. In particular, only a few academicians are interested in sustainable development and the related concepts and their relevance to the accounting discipline. These members have always endeavoured to integrate these concepts and contemporary developments into their teaching and research activities. However, a majority of the academic staff have inadequate knowledge and are less enthusiastic about the SDGs, their potential benefits, and their role in the accounting discipline. In addition, most of the staff members are overburdened with the workload of the traditional accounting courses. Therefore, they not only pay limited attention to embed sustainability aspects or the SDGs in the courses they teach but also resist the initiatives of other staff members.

On the other hand, there is a lack of interest and awareness among the department students, leading to fewer students opting for these elective subjects. Due to the novel teaching, learning, and assessment activities in the courses like Corporate Sustainability Accounting, the students have exhibited reluctance to select these subjects from the elective subject list. Instead, they usually opt for subjects that offer traditional accounting knowledge in a conventional classroom setting, with less demanding assessment requirements. This can also be attributed to these accounting students having to undergo training while reading for their degrees. Although workplace exposure acts as a drive for selecting these subjects, they often ignore it to choose a relatively easy path for completing the degree. Further, the excessive workload of traditional courses and practical training hinders the students from following these contemporary courses.

2.6.3 Lack of Training and Development Opportunities

Another limitation closely associated with the two factors discussed above is the lack of training and development opportunities for the staff members regarding the contemporary developments in sustainability agenda and sustainability education. Despite the global developments in the subject and the inclusion of the SDGs in the strategic plan, the university has provided only a few training opportunities to increase the awareness of sustainable development among the staff. For instance, only a handful of workshops on the concept of sustainability has been conducted as a part of the faculty staff development programme in the last few years. Furthermore, there has been scant discussion in these workshops on the importance of incorporating the SDGs into the degree curriculum and the role of universities in contributing to sustainable development. Specifically, these aspects have not been considered while developing the learning outcomes of different degree programmes. Instead, the academics, who are interested in these aspects, tend to follow free online courses offered by the institutes such as SDG Academy.

2.6.4 Inadequate Financial Assistance

As per the SDG9, research and development comprise a vital contribution to sustainable innovations. Since Sri Lanka is a developing country, the government allocates limited funds to research and development activities, owing to the other urgent priorities include health, infrastructure development, and housing (Gunarathne et al., 2020). On the other hand, the academics in the management studies field have a lesser chance of receiving funds from the international funding bodies or government institutions (such as the National Research Council or National Science Foundation), as they generally prefer scientific projects focused on medical or applied science fields. Therefore, there is less funding available for research and development activities in the social science aspects of sustainable development.

Even though the academic staff members of the Department of Accounting have the opportunity to obtain research grants through the university’s research council, the amount of those funds is usually inadequate for conducting large-scale research projects. Due to the insufficient relationship between public universities and the private sector, no proper mechanism has yet been developed to receive funds from the private sector for research activities. Although the Department of Accounting obtained financial assistance from several professional accounting bodies for some research publications, no private sector organisation has provided funds for major research projects. This inhibits academic staff members’ opportunities in the accounting field for conducting research and development activities that would develop new knowledge that would benefit students and the industry.

2.6.5 Insufficient Interdisciplinary Focus of the Degree Programme

ESD could be promoted through an interdisciplinary collaboration (Chiotha et al., 2019). Since sustainable development calls for going beyond disciplinary boundaries to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge in order to construct a common dialogue, ESD should also provide students with interdisciplinary knowledge (Lamberton, 2005). However, it is often suggested that management education has followed a disciplinary focus, thereby making students unaware of the details of operational processes (Gunarathne & Alahakoon, 2017). The same phenomenon is evident in some courses of the degree programme (such as Corporate Sustainability Accounting and Corporate Reporting) that emphasise the importance of sustainability aspects mainly from an accounting viewpoint. Accordingly, fewer attempts have been made to integrate the interdisciplinary sustainability perspectives into the design and pedagogy of these courses with the help of relevant academics in the non-accounting fields (such as environmental science and agriculture).

While this is mainly attributable to the rigid disciplinary nature of the management degree programmes at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, it also reflects a lack of interdepartmental or interfaculty dialogue in managing education. The same limitation could be observed when the undergraduates of the department conduct research related to sustainability. As per the current university policies and regulations, only a supervisor from the department can be appointed when students engage in an undergraduate research project. Yet, proper procedures and systems have not been developed to get the supervision of non-accounting academics for the research topics such as waste management, climate change reporting, cleaner production, and circular economy, which require significant knowledge inputs from other disciplines. Consequently, this discourages accounting undergraduates from engaging in interdisciplinary research in the short run. In the long run, it also fosters siloed thinking when these graduates become professional accountants at their places of work. It then becomes a source of limited coordination at workplaces between the accounting department and other departments that engage in sustainability practices (Burritt, 2004).

2.7 Conclusions and the Way Forward

This chapter presented how a public university in Sri Lanka engages with the SDGs in its undergraduate-level accounting degree programme through accounting-related courses. It also demonstrated how this degree programme has gradually introduced the concepts of sustainability (or the aspects of the SDGs) into the curriculum through external reporting, management accounting, and governance and ethics dimensions. Over two decades, the degree programme has gradually increased the coverage of sustainability as well as the growing developments in the sustainability agenda. This increased coverage has been accompanied by various teaching, learning, and assessment activities. With these educational interventions, the degree programme has directly contributed to the achievements of several SDGs, such as SDG4 (ensuring quality education), SDG8 (promoting decent work and economic growth), SDG9 (building industry, infrastructure, and innovations), SDG12 (ensuring sustainable consumption and production), SDG13 (taking action to combat climate change), and SDG16 (promoting peaceful, just, and strong institutions).

Additionally, the challenges encountered by the educators of this degree programme in these interventions include inadequate institutional support, lack of awareness and interest of students and staff members, lack of training opportunities, limited financial support, and the insufficient interdisciplinary focus of the degree programme highlight two aspects. First, they show that the changes made to the education system in developing countries such as Sri Lanka are driven by interested individuals without systematic policy-level interventions. Second, these challenges further resonate with the need for urgent and comprehensive educational reforms at the higher education institutions of developing countries, in particular for sustainability education. Since the countries similar to Sri Lanka face the most significant sustainability-related challenges, educational reforms in all the disciplinary areas are essential to leapfrog the unsustainable pathways that developed countries previously followed in their pursuits of development.