ABSTRACT

Since countries around the world have adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the concept of Industry 4.0 was externalized at the World Economic Forum in 2016, many investigations have concluded that industries are advancing rapidly through emerging technology projects in a number of fields, enabling them to become more sustainable without neglecting clean and environmentally sound industrial processes. However, this research shows that new accounting graduates lack the key professional competencies required to perform professionally under sustainable accounting standards. Professors and experts agree that traditional teaching methods should be replaced by others that allow recent graduates to better adapt to this new industrial age of sustainability accounting. In this context, we performed an exhaustive analysis of 17 educational methods, in which Delphi was used to survey 46 experts from 26 universities around the world, along with 320 students. This research presents a hybrid model validated by 23 teachers involved directly in its application. In total, 54.82% of the graduates who participated in this model obtained higher marks in their final graduation exam than those who did not. Thus, these students showed greater development in their accounting skills, enabling them to face the complexities of their professional area in view of the 2030 agenda and the new industrial era.

Keywords: sustainability accounting; higher education institutions; university; 2030 Agenda; Industry 4.0