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Soft skill change perceptions of accounting majors: Current practitioner views versus their own reality

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  • Berry, Reanna
  • Routon, Wesley

Abstract

Calls for greater inclusion of both soft and technical skills exist within the field of accounting education. Yet, what skills do students perceive they are gaining? Rebele and St. Pierre (2019), in the lead paper for this special issue, argue that greater soft skills development may be difficult to achieve within accounting classes. We provide a unique contribution for this discussion by examining whether the professionals calling for increased soft skills development actually believe they developed these soft skills along with technical skills during completion of their own accounting education. We analyzed a sample of over 440,000 students from more than 600 American colleges and universities to investigate the skills graduates perceive they acquired during pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in accounting. To determine if those calling for skill development actually achieved this development during their own college careers, we examined data from 1994 to 2006, which corresponds to students who are now mid-career professionals. We found that the majority of accounting majors reported increased skills in 14 of 15 categories analyzed. However, after holding constant relevant student, collegiate experience, and institutional characteristics, accounting majors’ skill gains only outperformed those of other business majors in 2 of 15 categories, mathematics and “knowledge of your field,” and outperformed non-business majors in only 3 of 15 categories, mathematics, “knowledge of your field,” and computer skills. Overall, findings were positive in that accounting students reported significant gains in most skill categories. Conversely, the findings also suggest accounting educators should remain vigilant in developing curriculum content and determine whether they are still being outpaced by other business fields and non-business majors, especially given our efforts in the area of soft skill development.

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  • Berry, Reanna & Routon, Wesley, 2020. "Soft skill change perceptions of accounting majors: Current practitioner views versus their own reality," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joaced:v:53:y:2020:i:c:s0748575120300476
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jaccedu.2020.100691
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    References listed on IDEAS

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