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Do accounting graduates’ skills meet the expectations of employers? A matter of convergence or divergence
Beverley F Jackling,
RMIT University
Paul De Lange, RMIT University
ABSTRACT. This study investigated the emphasis placed on technical and generic skills developed during undergraduate accounting courses from both the graduate and employer perspective. It is motivated by two issues. First, calls by the accounting profession and international education committees regarding the professional adequacy of graduates. Second, by the challenge facing educators and professional bodies to ensure accounting courses equip graduates with the necessary skills to add value to business. Data obtained from 174 recent graduates is compared with the perceived needs of a sample of employers. Major findings suggest that while both groups perceive the importance of technical accounting skills, employers require a broad range of generic skills that graduates indicated were not being adequately taught in their under graduate programs. Against this backdrop of skills convergence, the greatest areas of skills divergence from the employers’ perspective were those of team skills.
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