Accounting Undergraduates’ Action Plans in Designing their First Career

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the accounting undergraduates' action plan in designing their first career to increase their chances to be employed immediately after they graduate. This is essential given that the growing unemployment rate were reported in the nation. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted involving five finalyear students and five work supervisors/managers in Melaka, Malaysia. The study discovered that undergraduates' initial decision about which career path to pursue will influence their internship placement. To guarantee post-graduation employment, undergraduates should be prepared for real-world challenges, equipped with computer skills, soft skills, interpersonal skills, good time management, and be able to integrate internship experiences with academic knowledge. Employers expect undergraduates to comprehend accounting standards and guidelines like MFRS, MPERS, and MPSAS and possess good attitudes and interpersonal skills. Hence, discovering undergraduates' action plan may provide opportunities to explore areas for improvement in internship practices from the perspectives of key stakeholders including university department leaders, work supervisors/managers, lecturers as well as final year students. It is vital as work-based experiences have become increasingly important in education prior to beginning a career as it allows students to develop skills and competencies that determine their employability. Future research should include more public and private universities as it will provide more generalizability of insights into Malaysian accountancy undergraduates' action plans in designing their first career as well as involving more participants.