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Professional Skills and Capabilities of Accounting Graduates: The New
Zealand Expectation Gap?
Article in Accounting Education · December 2009
DOI: 10.1080/09639280902719390 · Source: RePEc
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Professional Skills and Capabilities of
Accounting Graduates: The New
Zealand Expectation Gap?
Authors: Paul Wells a; Philippa Gerbic a; Ineke Kranenburg a; Jenny Bygrave a
Affiliation: a Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
DOI: 10.1080/09639280902719390
Publication Frequency: 5 issues per year
Published in:
Accounting Education
First Published on: 03 August 2009
Volume 18 No 4
Abstract
Much has been written about teaching and learning deficiencies in accounting
education. Universities have grappled with the challenge and developed a number of
strategies to address the concerns raised. Many of the recommended strategies for
addressing these deficiencies have included a focus on the development of
professional capabilities and skills. This paper reports on a study which has identified
the capabilities which are considered to be the most important for successful practice
in accountancy during the first years after graduation and identified the extent to
which New Zealand universities have focused on these in the delivery of their study
programmes. Most attempts to measure the nature and extent of change to
accountancy degree programmes have collected data from current or graduating
students or from the university itself. This study instead collected feedback from
accountancy graduates employed in public practice with three to five years post
graduation professional experience and from their workplace supervisors. This paper
reports on the results of the graduate feedback, provides a useful insight into where
progress has been made and identifies where further improvement is necessary.
Keywords: Professional capabilities; teaching and learning quality; accounting
education reforms
Introduction
Much has been written about the teaching and learning deficiencies of accounting
education (AAA, 1986; Accounting Education Change Commission, 1990; Albrecht
& Sack, 2000; Arthur Andersen et al., 1989) in preparing students for accounting
practice in the twentieth century. Howieson (2003) suggests that the new millennium
will require even greater changes in accounting practice to meet the changing business
environment and that this in turn will further influence the future directions of
accounting education.
Suggested strategies for addressing the identified deficiencies have focused on
broadening the curriculum and developing alternative delivery strategies. These
suggestions have been endorsed by academia (Garner and Dombrowski, 1997), and
the professional bodies (IFAC, 1996). A key focus of these suggestions is the
development of intellectual, interpersonal and communication skills in the
undergraduate accounting programme, the purpose being to ‘enable the professional
accountant to make successful use of the knowledge gained through education’ (IFAC,
1996, p. 16). It was also noted that these skills are not usually acquired from specific
courses but, rather, they are derived from the total effect of the educational
programme and professional experience (IFAC, 1996). Through the encouragement
and financial support of the Accounting Education Change Commission (AECC),
change to accounting pedagogy has occurred in many of the university accounting
programmes in the USA (Sundem, 1999).
Research undertaken by Adler and Milne (1998) questions the extent of pedagogical
change in New Zealand. In response to these findings, this paper seeks to investigate
the validity of these claims in New Zealand by surveying recent graduates with work
experience in public practice. This study identifies the capabilities which are
considered by employers in public practice to be the most important for successful
practice in accountancy during the first years after graduation, and discovers the
extent to which recent high performing graduates believe that New Zealand
universities have focused on these capabilities in the delivery of their programmes.
Background
Prior research on graduate skills and capabilities has tended to focus on identifying
the perceived generic skills and capabilities required of accountants in practice as
perceived by
1. recruiters and employers (Gammie, Gammie, & Cargill, 2002; Hassall, Joyce,
Montano, and Anes, 2003; Morgan, 1997; Schmutte, 1998; Warnock, 1997);
2. graduates (de Lange, Jackling, and Gut, 2006);
3. graduates with professional experience/practitioners (Carr, Chua, & Perera,
2006; Deppe, Sonderegger, Stice, Clark, & Streuling, 1991);
4. students (Hassall et al., 2003; Oswick, Barber, & Speed, 1994; Reed &
Kratchman, 1989; Schmutte, 1998; Usoff & Feldman, 1998);
5. high school teachers and counsellors (Berry, O’Bryan, & Swanson, 2001;
Hardin, O’Bryan, & Quirin, 2000; Wells and Fieger, 2006); and
6. academics (Kavanagh and Drennan, 2007; Morgan, 1997).
Studies found that high school teachers and counsellors did not consider generic skills
and capabilities important for accounting practice (Berry et al., 2001; Hardin et al.,
2000; Wells and Fieger, 2006). However, undergraduate students’ perceptions of the
required generic skills and capabilities of accountants developed as they progressed
through their studies (Reed and Kratchman, 1989; Warnock, 1997). Despite the
development of these perceptions, it was found that a gap still existed between
students and employers/recruiters regarding the perceived skill requirements of
2
accountants (Gammie et al., 2002; Hassall et al., 2003; Schmutte, 1998; Usoff and
Feldman, 1998; Warnock, 1997).
Universities commonly obtain feedback from current students, graduates or employers
on the extent to which a programme prepares graduates for professional practice.
However, the authors were only able to locate two such studies and these provided
conflicting findings. In the first study (Donelan and Reed, 1992) carried out in the
USA, the researchers found that students believed that the accounting programmes
provided the required emphasis on generic skill and capability development. In the
second study (Gammie et al., 2002) carried out in the UK, the researchers found that a
skill development gap existed between the expectations of employers and those of
graduates.
The disadvantage of sourcing data from current students and graduates is that they do
not have the benefit of professional practice to inform their views. Alternatively,
employers often have many years of professional experience and, while they tend to
have a clear understanding of the requirements of professional practice, a significant
period of time has elapsed since their own tertiary study and their first years of
professional practice.
In 2001 the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) initiated a research programme
which sought to address these issues. This programme is based on the assumption that
those in the best position to assess the relevance and usefulness of tertiary study are
graduates who have three to five years’ professional practice after graduation. As a
consequence, Scott, Yates and Wilson (2001) sought to backward map (Elmore,
1979) from such a group in order to identify how the undergraduate curriculum and
the corresponding assessment strategies might be improved. Backward mapping
involves identifying an intended outcome and then the steps necessary to achieve this
outcome (Elmore, 1979).
In their study, Scott and Yates (2002) sought to identify:
1. the capabilities that are most important for successful professional practice
during the first few years after graduation;
2. the extent to which the universities of the participating graduates focused on
these capabilities; and
3. key ways of improving the content, delivery, support and assessment of the
undergraduate programmes in the light of the study’s findings. The study used
an online survey questionnaire with the questions focused around two research
frameworks: professional capability and educational quality.
Professional Capability Framework
The Professional Capability Framework (Scott et al., 2001) was developed, tested and
refined using: (1) research on professional competence and expertise by Sch n
(1983), Morgan (1988), Gonczi, Hager and Oliver (1999), Tennant (1991), Gardiner
(1995), Goleman (1998), Scott (1996), and Harvey, Moon and Geall (1997); (2)
3
research undertaken on professional leadership and effective teachers in education
(Scott, 1999); and (3) studies of what distinguishes the most effective performers in
the Skill Olympics (Workskill Australia, 1995). The recurring findings from this
research, which are consistent with the recommendations of Arthur Andersen and Co.
et al. (1989), Accounting Education Change Commission (1990), Deppe et al. (1991),
and IFAC (1996), were that professional capability is comprised of five interlocking
components. These are represented in Figure 1.
[Enlarge Image]
Figure 1. Professional capability components (Scott et al., 2001)
While this framework identifies the importance of generic and job or profession
specific skills (D & E), such skills are not sufficient for effective professional
performance. What is of equal importance is that the employee also possesses (Scott
et al., 2001, p. 4):
•
•
•
•
a high level of social and personal emotional intelligence (A);
a contingent way of thinking, an ability to ‘read’ what is going on in each new
situation and ‘match’ (B);
a capacity to deftly trace out and assess the consequences of alternative
courses of action (B);
a set of ‘diagnostic maps’ (C) developed from handling previous practice
problems in the unique work context.
4
It is these maps which enable the person to accurately ‘read the signs’ and figure out
what is really going on in each new situation and to determine when and when not to
deploy different generic and technical skills. Scott and Yates’ (2002) pilot study
indicates that it is when things go wrong—when a troubling problem or dilemma
emerges—that professional capability is most tested.
Educational Quality Framework
The educational quality (teaching and learning) framework was developed from a
research base1 which identifies the criteria used by students to determine that one
tertiary education course is of high quality whereas another is not. The recurring
findings can be summarised as a set of quality checkpoints for university programs
(Scott et al., 2001). They indicate that students positively evaluate their university
courses when they are perceived as being relevant and consistently link theory with
practice, provide opportunities for active learning, provide a learning path which is
clear and unambiguous and effectively manage students’ expectations from the outset.
Purpose of the Study
This study utilises the two research frameworks described above to report on the
views of graduates with three to five years’ experience who were regarded as high
performing by their employers—chartered accountants in public practice in New
Zealand. High performing graduates were characterised by employers as providing
high levels of client, supervisor and colleague satisfaction with their work, and
delivery of projects on time and to a high standard. The purpose of the study was to
ascertain:
1. the capabilities which are regarded as being most important for successful
professional practice in accountancy during the first years after graduation;
2. the extent to which the universities at which the participating graduates had
studied focused on these issues, thereby heeding the accounting education
reform recommendations with respect to skill development; and
3. key ways to improve the content, delivery, support and assessment of the
undergraduate accounting programmes.
Research Design
This study extended the UTS study and was undertaken by researchers at a New
Zealand university in partnership with the UTS Quality Development Unit and New
Zealand firms of chartered accountants. The questionnaire used in this study
originated from the UTS study and comprised items relating to professional capability
and educational quality. The questionnaire comprised 49 items which were sorted into
5
five capability scales (emotional intelligence: personal; emotional intelligence:
interpersonal; intellectual capability; profession-specific skills and knowledge; and,
generic skills and knowledge) and one educational quality scale (see Appendix). A
two-phased approach (Parlett and Dearden, 1977) was used to establish the validity of
the survey instrument and confirm the ability of the professional capability and
educational quality frameworks to accommodate the survey response data.
Phase One
The purpose of this initial phase was to ensure that the questionnaire described above
was valid for the professional accounting and New Zealand context. First, the items
were critiqued in focus groups comprising representatives from the accounting
profession. All survey items and the criteria for high performance were confirmed as
being relevant to the profession. Four additional items were added to the
questionnaire, namely items 29, 30, 41 and 42. Two of these related directly to
meeting clients’ needs and requirements, one identified the need for courage and
persistence, and the other to having an understanding of current professional issues.
The focus group members also provided names of accounting firms which could be
approached for the selection of the participant graduates. A target sample of 30
graduates from both regional and urban locations throughout New Zealand was
established for this study. Approximately 80 chartered accountancy firms were
contacted to identify graduates who were between three to five years out from
graduation and were identified as high performers by their supervisors. The
researchers needed to canvass a large number of firms because a shortage of graduates
with three to five years’ experience became apparent. This shortage was due to the
tradition of extended overseas travel following graduation.
The second Phase One activity also sought to validate the questionnaire items in the
online survey. Two graduates (one male and one female) and their workplace
supervisors were interviewed individually using a semi-structured interview schedule
based on the questionnaire and its items. The data generated were summarised and
scrutinised by the research team. The four additional items previously identified by
the employers were confirmed and positioned within the professional capability
frameworks.
Phase Two
An online survey instrument based on the results of Phase One was completed by 30
graduates. Respondents were asked to rate each of these items, first on their
importance to successful professional practice, and second on the extent to which the
university at which they studied had addressed them (performance). They were then
invited to explain their ratings and suggest ways of improving undergraduate learning,
assessment and support programmes.
6
The data gathering instrument, sample size, and response rate for both phases of the
research programme are summarised in Table 1.
Data gathering
Phase instrument
graduates
Semi-structured
One interview
schedule
Online interview
Two
schedule
Table 1. Data collection
Sample size
Response
Sample size Response rate
successful
rate
supervisors supervisors
graduates
successful
2
100%
30 (n = 26) 86%
2
100%
26 (n = 12) 46%
A good response rate (86%) to the online survey by the selected graduates was
achieved because they had been invited, as high performing graduates, to complete
the online survey.
Participants
The participants have been categorised by geographical location, type of work
undertaken, degree studied and graduating university. Eighty-eight per cent of the
respondents described their work as being predominantly in financial statement
preparation, auditing and taxation. Sixteen per cent of the graduates held honours
degrees in accounting, a further 16% had completed double degrees with one degree
in accounting, and the balance had completed a business degree with a single major in
accounting. While 54% of the graduates worked in Auckland, the remaining
respondents worked in Wellington (19%), Hamilton (12%), Dunedin (12%) and
Tauranga (4%). Graduates from seven of New Zealand’s eight universities
participated in the survey.
The Results
The responses by the graduates to the online survey were used to prepare a scatter
graph which shows the mean rating given by respondents on the importance of each
item for their successful professional practice and the extent to which the university at
which each respondent studied had addressed that item.
Items high on importance and high on performance represent areas of good practice
(the top-right quadrant of Figure 2). Items high on importance but low on
performance (the lower-right quadrant of Figure 2) identify potential areas for
improvement or follow-up. Items in the top-left and bottom-left quadrants raise
questions of relevance.
7
[Enlarge Image]
Figure 2. Graduate capabilities—importance versus performance
These quantitative results have been complemented by a thematic analysis of the
qualitative data generated during the interviews in Phase One and from graduate
comments on their ratings in the online survey.
Professional Capability
Top 15 Professional Capability Items—Ranked by Importance
Respondents rated these items based on the ‘importance of this capability for
successful performance in my current professional work’. These items are set out in
Table 2.
Table 2. Top 15 professional capability items—ranked by importance
Importance Performance
Category Item
ranking
ranking
8
Table 2. Top 15 professional capability items—ranked by importance
Importance Performance
Category Item
ranking
ranking
Being able to understand and
36 Intellectual
30 respond to clients’ requirements in
1
a timely manner
Being able to set and justify
2
4 Intellectual
27
priorities
Being able to organise my work
3
2 Generic
40
and manage time effectively
The ability to empathise with and
4
8 Interpersonal
12 work productively with people
from a wide range of backgrounds
Wanting to produce as good a job
5
1 Personal
7
as possible
Being willing to face and learn
6
26 Personal
1 from my errors and listen openly
to feedback
Being able to develop and use
7
16 Interpersonal
14 networks of colleagues to help me
solve key workplace problems
Being able to remain calm under
8
20 Personal
4
pressure or when things go wrong
Being willing to take
9
5 Personal
8 responsibility for projects,
including how they turn out
Being able to identify from a mass
10
7 Intellectual
21 of detail the core issue in any
situation
Being able to develop and
11
6 Interpersonal
19 contribute positively to teambased projects
Having a high level of current
Profession12
9
31 technical expertise to my work
specific
area
The ability to use previous
experience to figure out what is
13
22 Intellectual
22
going on when a current situation
takes an unexpected turn
Being able to use IT effectively to
14
3 Generic
32 communicate and perform key
work functions
Having the courage and
15
17 Personal
29 persistence to follow a course of
action to its conclusion
9
Eight out of the top 15 ranked items relate to personal or interpersonal capabilities,
four are intellectual and only one is concerned with profession-specific technical
expertise. These top ranked items relate to the management of self and work and to
working with others. These sentiments were also reflected in the responses from
graduates who commented:
Although IT skills are critical they should not devalue the interpersonal skills which I
believe are more important
The balance should be more towards group work than individual. There is very little
work I do now on my own. Interpersonal skills are very important
Hence these results generally endorse calls by the profession to broaden the
undergraduate accounting programme to include the development of intellectual,
interpersonal and communication skills.
Top 15 Professional Capability Items—Ranked By Performance in
University Courses
Respondents rated these items based on the ‘extent to which my university course
performed on this capability’. These items are set out in Table 3. Graduate participants
agreed that university courses did make a contribution to the development of
professional capabilities, but could do so more effectively. Nine of the top 15 items
ranked for importance for professional capability were also in the top 15 for
performance in university courses. These items are shaded in Tables 2 and 3. In
addition, 14 of the items with a mean importance rating of 4.0 or higher were also
ranked in the top 15 for focus/performance thus suggesting that the universities are
taking heed of the calls for curriculum reform.
Table 3. Top 15 professional capability items—ranked by performance in
university courses
Performance Importance
Category Item
Ranking
Ranking
Wanting to produce as good a job
1
5 Personal
7
as possible
Being able to organise my work
2
3 Generic
40
and manage time effectively
Being able to use IT effectively to
3
14 Generic
32 communicate & perform key
work functions
Being able to set and justify
4
2 Intellectual
27
priorities
Being willing to take
5
9 Personal
8 responsibility for projects,
including how they turn out
6
11 Inter-personal 19 Being able to develop and
10
Table 3. Top 15 professional capability items—ranked by performance in
university courses
Performance Importance
Category Item
Ranking
Ranking
contribute positively to teambased projects
Being able to identify from a mass
7
10 Intellectual
21 of detail the core issue in any
situation
The ability to empathise with and
8
4 Inter-personal 12 work productively with people
from a wide range of backgrounds
Having a high level of current
Profession9
12
31 technical expertise to my work
specific
area
Knowing that there is never a
fixed set of steps for solving
10
31 Intellectual
20
workplace problems or carrying
out a project
Being able to make effective
11
39 Generic
35
presentations to clients
A willingness to listen to different
12
23 Interpersonal
13 points of view before coming to a
decision
A willingness to persevere when
13
21 Personal
6 things are not working out as
anticipated
An ability to trace out and assess
the consequences of alternative
14
25 Intellectual
24
courses of action and, from this,
pick the one most suitable
Being able to manage my own
15
26 Generic
33 ongoing professional learning and
development
It is also noteworthy that three of the five professional capability items considered
most important in Table 2 (Items 27, 40, 7) also featured in the top five focus ranking
in Table 3, thus again suggesting a degree of congruence between the calls from the
profession and the response by the universities. These conclusions are further
supported by the following graduate comments:
The key strength of the university I went to was the emphasis on team-work,
presentations and interpersonal skills.
The group-based work at university aimed to develop the interpersonal aspects to a
high level. This is critical in my work.
11
Of particular note is the absence (with one exception) of profession-specific skills in
both the top 15 importance and performance rankings. This is despite two of the five
items (41, 42) in the profession-specific skills and knowledge category specifically
being added by employers in Phase One of the project. In addition, only one item
from the top 15 most important items, Being able to understand and respond to
clients’ requirements in a timely manner received a mean focus/performance rating of
less than 2.5. This suggests that, while universities are seeking to focus on the
development of their students’ professional capabilities, there is a gap between the
expectations of graduates and what university programmes provide regarding
responsiveness to clients’ requirements (the item added by employers).
These views are illustrated by a graduate who commented:
University has provided a very sound platform for technical growth and using IT for
client support/service. However, university does not really deal with project
management, mentoring, or workflow management or client meetings/interaction
Lowest 5 Professional Capability Items—Ranked By Performance in
University Course
Table 4 identifies the five capabilities that graduates consider universities to be ‘least
successful in developing’ in their programmes. This category was examined to
ascertain the extent of congruence between the performance ranking and importance
ranking at the lower end. This examination revealed two items with significant
divergence between importance and focus/performance: an ability to help other learn
in the workplace; and being able to work with senior staff without being intimidated.
Table 4. Lowest 5 professional capability items—ranked by performance in
university course
Performance Importance
Category Item
ranking
ranking
An ability to help others learn in
38
19 Generic
38
the workplace
Being able to motivate others to
39
38 Interpersonal
18
achieve great things
Being able to work with senior
40
22 Interpersonal
16
staff without being intimidated
An ability to communicate and
Professionsell a range of services offered by
41
42
42
specific
the firm according (or tailored) to
the needs of the client.
ProfessionUnderstanding how organisations
42
34
39
specific
like my current one operate
In addition, two of the five items are from the Emotional Intelligence: Interpersonal
skills category and two are from the Profession-Specific Skills and Knowledge
12
category. While the graduate participants are questioning the effectiveness of the
universities’ learning and assessment strategies to develop profession-specific skills, it
is unclear from these findings whether there was a lack of learning activities involving
teamwork or a lack of focus on assessing teamwork skills in learning activities
undertaken.
These findings are further supported by the mean focus/performance scores for the
items. Of the five professional capability categories, the three categories with the
greatest number of items receiving a focus/performance mean of less than 2.5 are
Emotional Intelligence: Interpersonal (four out of eight items), and ProfessionSpecific Skills and Knowledge (four out of five items). This included three of the four
items added to the inventory from Phase One of the study. Of particular note, four
items in the emotional intelligence: interpersonal category (items 15-18) required
active employee interventions to interpersonal situations rather than passive responses
and potentially relate to conflict resolution.
While eight of the ten Intellectual Capability items received a focus/performance
mean of more than 2.5, the remaining two items related to on-the-job processes (Items
25 and 30). The perceived importance of these items is reflected in the following
individual responses:
When things go wrong you need to be able to adapt and fix the situation. This tests
professional capability as clients come to us most of the time when they do not know
the answers and we are expected to provide them with the answers based on our
professional skills.
As a practitioner you are most challenged when things are going wrong. Things can
go wrong for a number of reasons, in and out of our control, and the test is whether
you are capable enough to deal with changes and problems as they occur while still
achieving clients’ objectives.
… in practice there is a strong focus on judgement, handling pressure, and being
confident enough to take on new projects,…
This did, however, prompt some of the graduates to question the appropriateness of
the university environment for the development of these skills as indicated by the
following comments:
… these skills are not able to be successfully achieved or developed in a university
environment
I don’t know how you would teach it—but the ability to take responsibility for a job
and put the effort in to complete a task in a timely manner is SO important. A real
lesson to learn is that if the task were straightforward, chances are the client wouldn’t
need us to perform it
Educational Quality
13
Top Five Education Quality Items—Ranking in Importance
Participants rated the educational items based on the ‘importance of this strategy in
making learning relevant, interests and engaging’. In considering how universities
could improve course content and delivery, the graduates wanted learning that was
‘real-life’, practical and relevant to New Zealand, and taught by academic staff with
current experience. All five of the top importance ranked education quality items
related to connecting learning with the real world. These items are set out in Table 5.
Table 5. 3Top 5 education quality items—ranking in importance
Importance
Performance
Item
ranking overall
ranking
Ensure that teaching staff have current
1
8 51
workplace experience
Make assessment more real-world and
2
4 52 problem-based and less focused on
memorising factual material
Include learning experiences based on real-life
case studies that specifically develop the
3
5 48
interpersonal and personal skills needed in my
particular profession
Use real-life workplace problems identified by
4
9 44 successful graduates as a key resource for
learning
Make work-placements which test out the
5
10 45 capabilities identified in this study a key focus
in each course
Lowest Five Educational Quality Items—Ranked by Effective
Use/Performance in University Courses
Participants rated these items based on the ‘extent to which my university course used
this strategy effectively’. Participants generally gave low rankings to the performance
of universities in effectively using relevant and interesting learning strategies. The
main issue for graduates was lack of real life, practical relevance in their learning. It is
also possible that concerns at the lack of focus by universities on item 48 Include
learning experiences based on real life case studies that specifically develop the
interpersonal and personal skills needed in my profession—influenced the focus
ratings on the remaining four items. These items are set out in Table 6. The most
significant finding with the educational quality items is the marked discrepancy
between the importance for professional capability development and focus of
university courses on each item. This is illustrated in Tables 5 and 6, where the three
shaded items which appear in the top five ranked most important quality items also
appear in the lowest five ranked delivered quality items.
14
Table 6. Lowest 5 educational quality items—ranked by effective
use/performance in university courses
Performance
Importance
Item
ranking overall
ranking
Decrease the amount of formal classroom
7
11 47 teaching of basic technical skills and use selfinstructional guides and IT to develop these
Ensure that teaching staff have current
8
1 51
workplace experience
Use real-life workplace problems identified
9
4 44 by successful graduates as a key resource for
learning
Make work-placements which test out the
10
5 45 capabilities identified in this study a key
focus in each course
Use successful graduates more consistently
11
9 46 as a learning resource in university courses
(e.g. as guest speakers)
Graduate participants provided the following comments on ways of improving
teaching and learning strategies
Universities must include more team-work and presentation skills in classes, in
addition to focusing classes on real examples and case studies.
University tends to have prescribed black and white answers whereas in practise(sic)
we start with grey and work our way to black or white. This involves professional
judgment, action planning, flexibility to modify the action plan, a dynamic and more
integrated approach to solving problems. University does not cater to this particularly
well
Have more case studies on real life New Zealand situations. Use successful graduates
as guest speakers, etc. Have part of the course being based around a work placement.
Encourage team skills and presentations.
… co
