New technology and desired skills of early career accountants

Abstract

Purpose Technological advances have led to accounting roles shifting from transaction focussed tasks to using data generated by technology to inform stakeholder strategies, resulting in changing skill requirements. This study aims to investigate how early career accountants (ECAs) and organisations value different skills among ECAs, how technology is impacting on these skills and the preparedness of ECAs for future technological work in different organisational settings. Design/methodology/approach The research adopted a multi-stakeholder, mixed-method approach, surveying 315 ECAs and 175 managers/recruiters and interviewing 10 from each group. The sample drew from different industry sectors and organisation types in Australia, with all states represented. Findings There was broad agreement among ECAs and managers on requisite skills for technology. Most ECAs and managers believed new technology is influencing the skills required in accounting, yet the impact was considered greater among ECAs and effects varied by organisational setting. Overall, the research did not support ECAs as “digital natives” and illuminated the importance of exposure to technology, a change mindset and lifelong learning to better prepare them for new technology. Originality/value This study makes an important contribution to understanding how and why skills for success in accounting are evolving in the context of new technology and how prepared ECAs are for technology from both their own and managers/recruiters’ perspectives. It highlights the need for greater dialogue, benchmarking and evaluation of performance in technology-related skills among new accountants and their managers. Further, it identifies areas where ECAs would most benefit from targeted support, aiding personal career success and organisational competitiveness.

Technology and Information System Expertise Demand for Accounting Professionals: A Requirements Analysis of Job Advertisements

“…Technology and information systems skills are very important for the accounting profession. Key technology trends impacting the accounting profession include intelligent automation, blockchain, and cloud-based software [16]. In line with this statement, this research also identifies the need for expertise in the field of cloud accounting.…”

“…The impact of current technological advances encourages business organizations to expand the use of digital technology and automation to support accounting and finance tasks. In addition to accounting technical skills, a professional accountant must also have technology and information systems skills [16]. Technology and information systems skills are the types of skills that contribute to the effective execution of tasks and responsibilities.…”

“…According to the ACCA, it is very important for accounting and finance professionals to have digital technology skills [3]. Currently, clerical accounting tasks have begun to be replaced by the application of digital technology [16]. Digital technology trends are predicted to cause transaction processing tasks to be reduced by up to 40% [17].…”

Guest editorial: Accounting in transition: influence of technology, sustainability and diversity

“…They suggest that to implement "smart audit systems", it is crucial for the accounting firms to appoint transformation managers, recruit technologysavvy graduates and provide extensive data analytics training to their employees. Consistent with Wang (2022) and Jackson et al (2022), the authors emphasise the importance for accounting graduates to possess the aptitude to become "citizen data scientists".…”

“…Technological advances have, thus, led to changing skills requirements of accountants. Jackson et al (2022) aim to find out how and why technology is impacting the skills requirements of early career accountants (ECAs) and the preparedness of ECAs for future technological work. They adopted a multi-stakeholder, mixed method approach to survey and interviewed ECAs and managers/recruiters from different industry sectors and organisation type in Australia.…”