Critical success factors of online accounting education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of online academic accounting teaching. Design/methodology/approach Factor analysis was used with the aim of identifying the CSF of online teaching based on the attitudes of 134 university accounting teachers from three Southeast European countries. Findings We identify four CSFs: academic rigour (AR) in an online environment, more efficient workload and time management, development of teacher competencies and the existence of adequate technical infrastructure and support. Also, the importance of a proper pedagogical approach and evaluation method for achieving AR in accounting teaching has been proven empirically. Practical implications The CSF we have identified can be useful for future re/designing online accounting teaching. The results also show how online teaching can have both positive and negative outcomes, depending on the context and how important it is to create an adequate learning context. Accounting teachers need to include advanced information technology (IT) tools in their curricula, apply innovative teaching methods and improve their own IT and other skills. The message for universities and policymakers is that they need to anticipate the emerging trends and implement teaching reforms. Originality/value The research included the entire population of university accounting teachers from three countries and focused on three semesters. There are not enough papers analysing the CSF of online teaching from the teachers’ perspective. There is no similar research in Southeast Europe.