Selection techniques within the accountancy profession in Scotland

Abstract

The ever‐increasing cost of seeing a graduate training contract through to its successful completion has made the selection decision, and indeed the choice of selection techniques used, increasingly vital. This paper identifies the selection methods currently used by the Scottish accountancy profession to recruit graduate trainees, compares these against best practice and highlights a number of areas where improvements to current practice would be recommended. Analysis of the selection literature revealed the range of selection techniques on offer, and from a consideration of the validity and reliability of each technique, it was possible to identify best practice in graduate selection. Data was collected by sending a questionnaire to 79 firms of Scottish Chartered Accountants. The targeted firms constituted the entire population of Scottish firms seeking to recruit a graduate trainee to commence in Autumn 2002 (as detailed within the annual ICAS Directory of Training Vacancies). Using the results of the primary and secondary data, the skills currently being sought by firms of Chartered Accountants in their graduate trainees were identified. The methods used by firms to identify these skills were then examined with each method being examined in terms of its current use as well as its value and effectiveness in practice. It was found that there have been significant changes to the skill‐set sought by firms in the early 21st Century as compared with a decade ago, with less emphasis on numeracy and more interest in softer skills such as communication and problem‐solving. As regards the techniques currently employed by firms to identify these skills, it was found that there has been some progress made over the last decade. However, the majority of firms are still reluctant to let go of what is now considered to be the more traditional interview‐based approach to selection, favouring this above what might be considered the more innovative techniques on offer. Further, it was found that few firms have designed their selection process specifically to identify the skill‐set that they have delineated. Thus, a consequent lack of consistency throughout the selection decisions was evidenced.

An investigation into the development of non-technical skills by undergraduate accounting programmes

“…Interpersonal and communication skills are skills, which enable accountants to effectively work with each other, allow information to be received and transmitted effectively and reasoned judgement and effective decisions to be made (IFAC, 2010). Research has confirmed the importance of being able to work effectively with others (Berry, 1993;Ravenscroft, 1997;Arquero et al, 2001;Hassall et al, 2003;Gammie et al, 2004;ACCA, 2008;Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008;Hancock et al, 2009;Jackling and de Lang, 2009;Crawford et al, 2011, Howecraft, 2017. Furthermore, team working was identified as one of the most important skills sought by ICAS employers when recruiting graduate trainees (Gammie et al, 2004).…”

“…Research has confirmed the importance of being able to work effectively with others (Berry, 1993;Ravenscroft, 1997;Arquero et al, 2001;Hassall et al, 2003;Gammie et al, 2004;ACCA, 2008;Kavanagh and Drennan, 2008;Hancock et al, 2009;Jackling and de Lang, 2009;Crawford et al, 2011, Howecraft, 2017. Furthermore, team working was identified as one of the most important skills sought by ICAS employers when recruiting graduate trainees (Gammie et al, 2004).…”

“…Substantial worldwide research has been undertaken to assess how employers (Morgan, 1997;Arquero, Antonio, Hassall and Joyce, 2001;Gray et al, 2001;Gammie, Cargill and Gammie, 2004;ACCA, 2008, Riley andSimons, 2016), professional bodies (Gray et al, 2001) and academics (Morgan, 1997;Hill and Milner, 2006;Gammie, Hamilton and Cargill, 2010;Howcroft, 2017) perceive the development of non-technical skills on accountancy degrees. Outside the UK, the opinion of graduates has also been sought (Deppe, Sonderegger, Stice, Clark and Steuling, 1991;Zaid and Abraham, 1994;Jackling and de Lange, 2009;Wells, Gerbic, Kranenburg and Bygrave, 2009) but no comparison to nonaccounting graduates has apparently been undertaken.…”

Using a stakeholder developed case study to develop soft skills

“…Despite recent innovations in accounting education, this field continues to be criticised on the grounds that its technical content encourages rote learning (Gammie et al , 2010; Turner and Baskerville, 2013; Phillips and Graeff, 2014; Bayerlein and Timpson, 2017; Moilanen, 2017). This narrow focus results in accounting graduates who are ill-equipped to face the challenges of a changing business environment driven by factors such as globalisation, ongoing technological advances, increasing and rapidly changing regulations, increased focus on environmental, social and governance issues and evolving markets (Mohamed and Lashine, 2003; Gammie et al , 2010; Watty et al , 2014). For example, “new global business models and the digital age” (Jackling and De Lange, 2009, p. 371) have transformed the role of the accountant from simply preparing financial information to analysing and interpreting it (Ballantine and McCourt Larres, 2007).…”

“…An extensive international literature reviews the extent to which soft skills have been incorporated into university accounting education (see, for example, Boyce et al , 2001; Crebert et al , 2004; de Villiers, 2010; Gammie et al , 2010; Barac and du Plessis, 2014). Included in this literature are the innovative learning methods used to develop soft skills.…”