This paper presents an analysis of accounting education in Australia and Japan, highlighting the major differences in the two countries. The analysis reveals that accounting education in Australia places emphasis on financial accounting with a focus on external financial reporting, while the emphasis is on management accounting in Japan. Further, accounting courses in Australian universities are often confined to a narrow specialization with scant attention being devoted to general education. It is also seen that being firm specific through extensive in-house education and training, the Japanese system is in a better position to produce accountants capable of adapting accounting systems to the different work situations which result from technological changes and automation.