At the beginning of the 21st century, rapid technological developments significantly impacted the field of education. As a result, university professors in recent years have been constantly searching and implementing teaching methods, such as blended learning, to increase the interest of their students and retain them in their courses. It is a matter of many academic discussions to create educational practices to reduce student dropout, especially in social sciences courses that are considered by students to be difficult subjects, such as accounting. The blended learning approach is based on constructivist theory and specifically on the Community of Inquiry model, where the educational experience of students is related to social, cognitive, and didactic presence, and it is orientated towards a more student-centred approach that maximises retention rates. The present study employs an exploratory blended-methods design. A questionnaire and individual interviews of students were used to collect data. The study was carried out in the context of an Advanced Financial Accounting course at a Greek university, through the implementation of an experiment with undergraduate students. Important findings include higher retention rates of undergraduate accounting students in the blended class compared to the traditional one, as the redesigning of content for the needs of blended learning, the incorporation of videos, the development of group work, and the good organisation of the course constitute the optimal mix for reducing student attrition.

Legislative regulations for gender quotas are increasingly being enacted on the corporate boards in numerous countries. Research focused on this topic since 2003 when Norway passed the first law concerning the composition of board of directors and women’s proportion in it. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the literature on gender quotas applied on corporate boards and their impact in different aspects. Using Scopus database, the authors reviewed a body of studies and analyzed those that demonstrated a correlation with the impact on firm’s environmental and social performance, those that demonstrated a diffusion of gender equality across the firm levels and those that focused on individual perceptions. Our results highlight that even though there is a positive impact of gender quotas there is still lack of studies using primary data and addressing the specific research field from non-financial perspective in order to approach deeper the subject. This could be a trigger for future researchers. Also, our findings regarding the benefits of gender diversity in corporate boards can be used to expand efforts to promote gender equality in the workplace.

Digitalization has radically impacted the role of the accountant from bookkeeping, to accounting standardization and consulting. The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the accounting profession is shaping a new context and the need to acquire analytical thinking and decision-making skills. This study was conducted using desk-based research methodology, to examine the impact of artificial intelligence in the accounting sector. The findings suggest a strong positive contribution of artificial intelligence, mainly through reducing data processing time, improving the accuracy of results, and enhancing predictive capabilities. However, several challenges were identified, such as lack of training, ethical data management, and the high cost of integrating AI applications. It was found that the successful adoption of complementary technologies, such as blockchain and the development of personalized reports, are directly dependent on the technological infrastructure, the continuous education of accountants, and the effective resolution of both technical and ethical issues.

Cloud accounting offers unprecedented flexibility and accessibility, revolutionising financial data management. Accountants are adopting these technologies to streamline operations and enhance client service. Real-time data access improves decision-making and efficiency. The need for dynamic, scalable and secure processes drives this adoption. As a result, the accounting profession is transforming towards more innovative practices. The purpose of this study is to investigate the opinions of Greek accountants regarding the adoption of cloud accounting systems. A questionnaire was used on a convenient sample of 104 accountants to implement the research based on the technology acceptance model (TAM). Results showed a positive correlation between the TAM variables such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and intention to use. Additionally, the research uncovers that while accountants recognise the benefits, data security and privacy concerns can hinder acceptance. This research offers actionable insights for developers, policymakers and firms to address these concerns and promote the benefits, facilitating broader adoption of cloud accounting practices.