COVID-19’s Implications for Accounting Courses’ Competence Development: The Case of Portugal

Abstract

Over the past few decades, higher education in accounting has been criticized for its focus on developing technical competences at the expense of general competences. The objective of this study is to analyze the general competences developed by the final-year students of accounting courses at Portuguese public polytechnics and to compare them with the most evident ones identified through a literature review for the current accounting profession. The study adopts a quantitative approach, carried out through a survey of 137 final-year students in the 2019/2020 academic year and using the techniques of descriptive and multivariate statistics. Among the main results, it was found that the ability to use information and communication technologies and lifelong learning were the most developed general competences. The results obtained allow us to conclude that the new practices developed through distance learning facilitated the development of technological competences, producing new reflections for improving the training of accountants.