Assessing the accounting skills of accountancy graduates in industry

Abstract

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study are (i) to understand what skills accounting graduates perceived as important when they were students, (ii) to identify what skills graduates developed during their accounting studies in comparison to their perceived level of priority of accounting skills noted in objective 1, (iii) to analyse what skills were eventually required when working in industry, (iv) to examine what employers in industry look for when employing accounting graduates and to compare their views with those of graduates as identified in objective 3, and (v) to put forward recommendations for a smoother transition into industry for accounting graduates by reducing any identified gap in skills. DESIGN: To achieve the objectives of this study, a qualitative approach was chosen. Twenty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted, the interviewees being twelve accounting graduates who graduated during the last five years, and twelve employers who work in industry. FINDINGS: Findings show that as students, accounting graduates perceived technical skills as being the most fundamental for their careers, with accounting knowledge being given an adequate level of priority during their studies, while software skills were not. Moreover, the perception of graduates on the importance of accounting knowledge changed following commencement of work. Accounting graduates and employers agreed that intellectual skills and software skills were the most fundamental skills necessary for an accountant working in industry, while at the same time, they were the skills that graduates lacked the most when starting their career. Finally, interviewees recommended part-time work, as well as further development of software skills and intellectual skills in accounting courses, to smoothen the transition for accounting graduates moving into industry. CONCLUSIONS: This study concludes that graduates are aware of what employers require of them, as their opinions were similar to those of the employers. Findings show that graduates feel that the extent of accounting knowledge needed decreases over time as they specialize in particular industries. They also show that the extent of generic skills that graduates demonstrate when they start working depends on the academic route that the graduate followed. Lastly, employers working in industry tend to favor generic skills over technical skills. IMPLICATIONS: This study hopes to raise awareness on the accounting skills graduates should be equipped with when starting their careers as professionals in industry. Moreover, it seeks to smoothen their transition from theory to working in industry.