Accounting education, training and practice in Botswana, just like in many developing countries, is modelled on that of developed countries. This practice has delayed these countries from developing effective accounting systems suitable for their needs. Relevant accounting education and training programs could lead to the production of accounting personnel well-equipped to deal with accounting problems and this could help accelerate the rate of economic growth. This paper, through a survey of accounting practitioners, accounting educators and accounting students in Botswana, investigates the problems that hinder the enhancement of accounting education, training and practice in Botswana. The findings suggest that the lack of qualified accounting educators, over-reliance on accounting expertise from outside the country, the lack of local accounting material and over-dependence on accounting material from developed countries, are some of the major factors that hinder the development of an effective accounting system. It is suggested that adopting regional accounting programs and educational material is the right way forward because countries in the same region share similar accounting environment. This could lead to efficient use of limited resources for a better standard of living. These findings have important implications for academics, the government and other groups interested in improving accounting education and training and accounting practice in Botswana.

The purpose of this research is to examine whether accounting education, training and practice in Botswana is suited to the environment and needs of the country, or whether their design is more appropriate for developed countries with more sophisticated accounting systems. Specifically, the research's aim is to examine accounting education and training programs to find out if their design matches with what is demanded by the accounting practice and by users of accounting.

Researchers of accounting in developing countries suggests that the absence of sound accounting systems and inappropriate accounting practices, are some of the major factors that are preventing the optimum use of available economic resources for a better standard of living in developing countries. Inappropriate accounting practices and the lack of sound accounting systems are a result of deficient and/or irrelevant accounting education and training programs found in these countries. This is because many developing countries did not develop their own accounting education and training programs from scratch, but rather adopted those programs which were initially developed for other countries, especially developed ones. It is argued that such accounting education and training programs are not meant to satisfy accounting information needs of developing countries, as such, they are not appropriate for use in building effective accounting systems for these countries. Given the differences that exist between developing and developed countries in terms of political, cultural, economical and the level of development, accounting information requirements are also bound to be different; an accounting education system meant for developed countries may not satisfy the accounting requirements of a less developed country for the same reasons. Also given the differences in the level of development and also in the type of businesses found in both developed and developing countries, accounting information needs of both users and producers of accounting information is bound to be different.

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