Skills Needed by New Accounting Graduates in a Rapidly Changing Technological Environment

Abstract

Current research indicates that newly-hired accounting graduates may lack some of the skills necessary to be successful in their chosen profession. This paper examines recent research to determine what skills are needed by accounting graduates. A number of papers suggest that accounting graduates may not have the soft skills, such as analytical thinking skills and communication skills, necessary to succeed. This may be due in part to differences between Millennial students and students of prior generations This paper concludes by examining specific skills needed by accounting graduates and who should be responsible for providing those skills-universities, employers, or both.

Modern Technologies and their Impact on Educational Transformations in Preparing a Creative Specialist

“…Furthermore, providing access to modern technologies can help to bridge the gap between traditional teaching methods and the rapidly changing needs of the modern workforce (Bressler & Pence, 2019). In today's economy, the ability to adapt to new technologies and think creatively is a valuable skill that is highly sought-after by employers.…”

Construction and validation of the employability questionnaire for accounting graduates

“…The employability of accounting graduates has recently emerged as a hot topic for multiple reasons, including the adoption of IFRS (Senan, 2019) and the direct consequences of liberalization and globalization. Recent literature through multiple studies has repeatedly shown that the current accounting education fails to meet various stakeholders' requirements (Atanasovski et al, 2018;Bressler and Pence, 2019;Rastogi et al, 2019). Solutions to this compelling issue can be arrived at only through a different set of various stakeholders' approaches and mindsets.…”

“…Several experts have attempted to identify the skills required to enhance accounting employability (Bressler and Pence, 2019;Crawford et al, 2011;Paguio and Jackling, 2016;Phan et al, 2021;Silva et al, 2021). Most of these studies have delved around commercial awareness, analytical, teamwork, communication, presentation and problem-solving skills.…”

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

“…A study carried out by Domingos (2017) with accounting final-year students concluded that the five most developed general competences during their academic training were (i) teamwork, (ii) the ability to work under pressure, (iii) time management, (iv) interpersonal competences, and (v) organizational competences. Bressler and Pence (2019) asserted that accounting graduates may not have the necessary competences, particularly social competences, to succeed in the profession. The authors claimed that the reason may be related to the differences between millennial students and students from previous generations.…”

“…In the last two decades, research has suggested that education in this area is outdated and that curricula do not meet employers' expectations and needs; therefore, there is no harmony with real-world requirements (Albrecht & Sack, 2000;Aryanti & Adhariani, 2020;Derekoy, 2019;Getahun & Mersha, 2020;Jackling & de Lange, 2009;Kavanagh & Drennan, 2008;Lim et al, 2019). Faced with the new challenges of the accounting profession, other studies have focused on the competences that accounting graduates are currently required to have due to the rapid changes in the technological environment (Bressler & Pence, 2019;Dwaase et al, 2020;Pan & Seow, 2016).…”