Employability of Accountancy Students

Accountancy is a profession that requires specific education to train graduates for a

career of pursuing jobs in the field of business and accounting. This program encompasses the
study of financial accounting, taxation, management, auditing, and law (Kolawole and
Ogungbade, 2021). Higher education has traditionally focused on knowledge acquisition rather
than practical application in the workforce, but recent shifts emphasize the importance of shaping
them into potential professions that possesses the appropriate and desired employability skills.
According to Encio et al., (2016), generally, employers play a crucial role as key stakeholders of
colleges, serving as significant contributors by offering employment opportunities to graduates.
The primary objective of academic endeavors within these institutions is to hone and equip the
students with the necessary and appropriate knowledge, skills, and competencies demanded by
various industries. Concerns arise within the accounting profession regarding the skills of
graduates, as they often fall short of employers' expectations upon entering the workforce.
Accountancy graduates tend to face criticism for their perceived inefficiency due to lacking the
necessary skills required by employers, leading to some of them not acquiring jobs after
graduating (Heang et al., 2019). Therefore, it is crucial for accounting graduates to possess
professionally recognized skills and knowledge essential for the field, especially in navigating
the challenges of today's business environment (Hood, 2018; Islam, 2017).

Skills Required in Accountancy Profession: Generic and Technical Skills

According to Usha Mistry (2021), employability skills, considered a subset of
Professional and Personal Attributes (PPI), include soft, transferrable, and generic skills crucial
for various job roles. Employability is defined as the ability of an individual to secure and retain
employment while being able to adapt to new opportunities and lifelong learning for success in
business careers. Stakeholders prioritize integrating employability into higher education (Mistry,
2021). Employers in today's dynamic economic environment demand a diverse set of skills from
accounting graduates due to the increasing importance of the accounting profession in navigating
global markets. In order to secure a spot in the industry, the developing firms require more
experts with appropriate skills.

Generic Skills of Accountancy Students

Employers mostly requires accountancy graduates interested in applying to them to
possess a broad range of generic skills besides the technical accounting skills. Abayadeera and
Watty (2014) also supports this idea of emphasizing the importance to embody generic skills in
the accounting field. Generic skills, as described by them, are capabilities separate from technical
skills that accountancy graduates are required to have for employability and career success which
is not often possessed by accountancy graduates. The study showed that employers tend to give
more attention to graduates who has leadership potential, excellent in verbal communication, and
interpersonal skills. Ebaid (2021) also highlighted that the employers in the accountancy
profession places great value on the applicants possessing key generic skills. Such skills can be
shown by professionalism in conduct, interpersonal, and personal skills. This view is also shared
by Ghani et al. (2018) that employers perceive these skills as necessary to the industry.
However, a study in contrast to this, conducted by Afolabi in 2014, suggests that generic
skills should not be the main focus or desired qualities of employers when looking for applicants
from accountancy graduates but rather see such skills as complement only for the technical
skills.

Technical Skills of Accountancy Students

Employers also demand accountants with strong technical skills, emphasizing core
competencies outlined by international standards like the IES and AICPA's CPA Core
Competency Framework. In the Philippines, the BOA has set a Core Competency Framework for
accounting graduates. Studies show consistency in the importance of core competencies like
interpersonal communication and critical thinking across different sectors and job profiles for
professional accountants. In terms of technical skills, employers tend to lean more on applicants
who has a sound understanding of the fundamental technical accounting skills such as strong
foundation on the basics. But ability to apply it in actual practice is what the employer wants.
(Botes et al., 2016). More than half of the employers asked in the research of (name) believed
that colleges are preparing students for the workforce
According to Qasim (2015), both generic and technical skills are vital in the line of work
of accounting for an employee to effectively participate in thei\r specific roles in the
organization. Such skills include critical reasoning, problem solving and analysis, business
ethics, management, computer knowledge, oral communication, and leadership which are
important for an accountancy graduate to possess in order to give him a leverage when applying.
This is confirmed in the study of Shamsuddin A et al., (2016). Results show that the
employability skills of accounting graduates are categorized into functional, communication,
organizational, technical, and business management skills.
Usha Mistry (2021) Enhancing students’ employability skills awareness through the accounting
professional body on an undergraduate accounting degree, Accounting Education, 30:6, 578-600,
DOI: 10.1080/09639284.2021.1950016