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This article examines the academic trajectory of an accounting professor and researcher who transitioned from professional practice at Big Four audit firms to academia, highlighting a non-traditional route to entering the university field. Using a reflective narrative approach, the study analyzes how prior professional experience influences the construction of academic identity, teaching practices, and research agendas, particularly in contexts characterized by tensions in the academic pipeline and a shortage of accounting faculty. The work draws on literature about professional identity, career trajectories, and alternative academic training, integrating elements of academic autoethnography and contextual analysis of the contemporary university system. It argues that the transition from professional auditing to the role of professor and researcher not only broadens access to academia but also enriches teaching and the production of accounting knowledge through a stronger connection between theory and practice. The findings suggest that non-traditional pathways, such as those based on significant professional experience and applied doctoral training, can contribute substantially to the sustainability of the accounting field, the strengthening of university teaching, and the diversification of academic profiles. The article concludes by proposing implications for higher education institutions, accrediting bodies, and academic communities, emphasizing the need to rethink traditional academic career models in accounting.