Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation
for Professional Graduate Business School

Ohara Graduate School of Accounting

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: Private

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2020
Accreditation Status: accredited （Accreditation Period: April.1.2021 – March.31.2026）

Ohara Graduate School of Accounting

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Ohara Graduate School of Accounting

The Accounting Program in Ohara Graduate School of Accounting is an accounting
professional graduate school with only one program, one graduate division, founded in2006 by its parent institution Ohara Academy (Ohara Gakuen) in response to increased
specialization within the profession. The Program’s educational mission is to “trainadvanced accounting specialists equipped with knowledge acquired through academic
research, expertise required for business, and high professional ethics.” With “practiceof academic research,” “acquisition of skills required for practice,” and “cultivation ofstrong professional ethics” as the pillars of education, the Program aims to contributeto society by training more specialized accounting professionals. Based on this mission,
the Program aims to develop accounting professionals who require a high level ofexpertise through providing education that cultivates deep knowledge and outstanding
ability to train capable students who can respond to social needs. Specifically listed ascapable students responding to social needs are (1) certified public accountants, (2)licensed tax accountants, and (3) specialists in the finance department of companies
and public institutions, and the Program has a distinct purpose as a professional
graduate school of business management.
To realize its distinct objectives, the “First Medium- to Long-Term Vision” wasformulated in April 2013, and the Program has engaged in practical reforms such as
aiming to improve the insufficient enrollment numbers of tax accountants by converting
its traditional educational plan with its focus on the training of certified public
accountants and striving to train tax accountants. To further maintain and develop thefirst phase initiatives, the “Second Phase Medium- to Long-Term Vision and Action Plan”
was formulated in April 2019, and the Program has been working on five objectives:“(1) Aim to achieve educational objectives effectively in response to diversifying needs,”“(2) Work to improve the quality of education,” “(3) Strive to further enhance
educational and research facilities,” “(4) Strengthen connections with schools in theOhara Academy Group and train a large number of advanced accounting professionals,”and “(5) Secure a financial foundation for continuous business activities.”
As for the distinctive features of the Program, the Graduate School has
established an extra-curricular learning system that allows students to take courses runby Ohara Academy, the parent organization, for free. This system reduces the financial
burden of the students and supports career development. Many of the administrative1

Ohara Graduate School of Accounting

staff have educational experience and knowledge in the accounting field and are able toadvise students with expertise regarding their courses and qualifications. Suchendeavors are commendable.
On the other hand, although the Program is currently implementing the“Second Phase Medium- to Long-Term Vision and Action Plan,” appropriate
improvements are necessary for the following points.
First, concerning the faculty, as there are no full-time female faculty members,
diversity must be considered in structuring the faculty. In addition, there is only one fulltime teacher in the management accounting system, although the policy for structuring
educational organizations states there must be two. Improvements to appropriate facultyorganization that adhere to the self-defined policies are necessary. Additionally, theestablishment of a faculty assessment system is desirable to regularly assess the research
activities of the full-time faculty members and their contributions to the management
within the organization. In relation to the research environment, although considerations
are made to ensure average teaching loads because the burden of class time has increased
for some teachers in order to respond to the day and night class system, consideration isdesired for research time and preparation for education.
Next, regarding student support along with education and research environment,
although the collection of books in the library is being supplemented, further
improvement of literature such as academic papers is necessary for preparing master's
theses on the tax accountant examination. Regarding the facility, although the Programis working on being barrier-free to address people with disabilities, it is partly dependent
on the human system. Further improvement is desired. Moving forward, sufficient
support granted to the graduates is expected, including the establishment of the alumni
association, and organizing a network of graduates.
Finally, the Program has established an “External Review Committee” basedon the past Accreditation Results of the Certified Evaluation and Accreditation forProfessional Graduate Business School, but it has not held a meeting since then. Since
the Curriculum Collaborative Council was newly established in response to thelegislative amendments in AY 2019, organizing a means for listening to external
opinions is a must. On top of this, although the Curriculum Collaborative Council holds
meetings to hear opinions, because there is no system in place to incorporate these
opinions in designing the curriculum, there is a need to properly integrate the opinionsfrom external people in the industrial and accounting fields into the curriculum.
In recent years, the enrollment quota for the Program has gradually increased
with the increasing number of students aspiring to become tax accountants. Since the2Ohara Graduate School of Accounting

quota is increasing from 35 to 45 in AY 2021, it is necessary to systematically work on
further development and strengthening of the research supervision system, including theabove mentioned provision of the books and materials as well as the thesis guidancenecessary for partial exemption from the tax accountant examination. Also, as some of
the items mentioned in these Accreditation Results were mentioned in the results of theprevious Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for Professional Graduate Business
School, it is hoped that while considering and implementing improvement measures, theProgram will proactively develop measures that highlight the distinct features of theProgram and contribute to the further enhancement and development of education.

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