對于那些有計劃在會計行業取得成就的人來說，獲得一個會計學位是最自然不過的了。會計學的包含面非常廣，其包括了四個模塊，分別是：金融會計，管理會計，審計和稅務。（曼塞爾，2011）有一些會計學位也提供工作實習的機會，這能夠為學生提供額外的經驗和技能。（佩斯利等人，2009）因此，學習會計的學生們可能會發現，在不久的將來當他們想要選擇一個具體的專業是十分容易的。盡管有許多的大學都提供會計學位的課程，但是仍然有一個非常關鍵的問題，那就是：“會計學位的課程為學生提供必需的就業技能嗎？”

 

就業技能通常被稱為核心工作技能。（澳大利亞莫納什大學，2012）杰奎琳博士認為，這一些技能是可以傳授的。這些基本的技能對獲取工作，保持工作和做好工作非常有必要。就業技能十分重要，因為它可以幫助個人在找工作時更加安全和成功，為自身的福利而挑選合適的工作，也是為公司，社會和經濟。（萊斯特大學，2012）

 

For those who plan to pursue a career in accounting, it would be natural for one to obtain an accounting degree. The coverage of an accounting degree is very broad; it covers the 4 basic modules, namely financial accounting, management accounting, audit and taxation. (Mansell, W., 2011) Some of the accounting degrees also provide work placement which will be able to provide additional skills and experiences. (Paisley et al, 2009) Thus, students studying for an accounting degree may find it easier should they want to choose a specialization in the near future. Even though there are many universities offering courses of accounting degree, one of the key questions still remains: “Does the accounting degree provide the required employability skills to the student?”

 

Employability skills are known as core or workplace skills. (MONASH University, 2012) According to Dr. Jacquelyn P. Robinson (2000), the skills are teachable. These are the basic type of skills that are necessary for getting, keeping, and doing well on a job. Employability skills are important as it helps an individual to be more secure and successful in their chosen job to the benefit for themselves, the workforce, the society and the economy. (University of Leicester, 2012)

 

According to McLaughlin, (1995) there are many types of employability skill; the three main branches are Academic, Personal Management and lastly, Team Working Skill. Each of these skills is important as is able to help the young adults before entering the workforce.

 

The first employability skill under the three main branches is Academic Skill. This skill provides the basic foundation for one to get, keep, and progress on a job in order to achieve optimum outcome. As an employer, it is important to have employees that can communicate, think critically and adopt a learning attitude. (McLaughlin, 1995) Subject such as Personal and Professional Development in the accounting degrees is able to provide the students with such skills.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

The second main skill is Personal Management Skill. This skill is defined as the combination of skills required to get, keep, and progress on a job and to achieve the best results at the same time. Employees must be able to demonstrate a positive attitude and behavior such as being responsible and adaptable. (McLaughlin, 1995) For instance, students are able to acquire such skill through the Cost Accounting in an Ethical and Organizational Context programme module.

 

The last skill under the three main branches is Team Working Skill. Obtaining this skill allows one to achieve the best results by working with others on a job. With this skill, employees are able to contribute to the organization by making decisions with others, respecting others’ opinions and to use a team approach when solving problems. (McLaughlin, 1995) For example, theory such as “Belbin Team Roles” in the Cost Accounting syllabus discusses the nine team roles that are required in a team, therefore improving the students’ team working skill. (Belbin Associates, 2012)

 

Even though there are many universities offering accounting degrees, the degrees differ from one another as each of the accounting degrees has a different syllabus. One of the ways to distinguish is through the availability of work placement in the degree’s module.

 

According to Paisley et al, (2009) studies show that students who undertake degree with work placement outperform those without any working experience. Thus, they are able to develop wide range of skills. In Paisley’s article, there are 6 types of knowledge which can be developed through internship; namely situational knowledge, knowledge of people, knowledge of practice, conceptual knowledge, process knowledge and lastly control knowledge. All of these knowledge areas are job specific and are different from the ones that are acquired through formal education.

 

Degrees with internship have certain benefits. From the students’ point of view, work placement allows the students to develop a greater comprehension of the academic studies. Besides, it also helps the students to develop skills such as communication, teamwork and problem solving effectively. Such gain will be able to increase the students’ motivation as they will learn to appreciate the knowledge that can be acquired in the workplace. (Paisley et al, 2009)

 

Employers on the other hand benefit as they are able to fulfill their corporate social responsibility through work placement. By hiring new graduates, they are able to minimize cost and help new graduates by easing the transition from the university education to the workplace. Besides, work placement is able to create a learning environment in the company, thus enhancing communication and team working skills. (Paisley et al, 2009)

 #p#分頁標題#e#

The research material concludes by stating that the type of accounting degree does matters. Students with work placement degrees are highly career orientated and are able to acquire skills that are available through internship, therefore making it easier for a student to gain suitable employment upon graduation.

 

As accounting degrees provide employability skills, the priority of these skills are subjected to several factors, namely the location of employers, the type of profession and the size of the firm.

 

Employers in different areas and regions have different views on prioritizing skills. According to Hassall et al (2005), research studies were made to identify the importance of skills in Spain and United Kingdom. These two countries were seeking ways to improve their higher educational system and to reduce the expectation gap in relation to the employer demands.

 

The result of the research concludes that employers in Spain place more emphasis on “commitment to life-long learning” and “having a comprehensive and global vision on the organization”. “Problem solving skills” were also valued by the Spanish employers. On the other hand, employers in United Kingdom felt that “oral, written and communication skills” are important. The British employers also values “effective listening” and “pressure and time management skills”. Even though the employers in both countries have different priority of skills, both of them agreed that educational institutions do not pay enough attention to the development of non-technical skills and knowledge areas. (Hassall et al, 2005)

 

Besides, the type of profession will also affect the priority of skills. Although there are many accounting degrees in the market, some of the accounting degrees are more suitable for certain jobs due to the syllabus. For instance, a person working in auditing and a person in taxation have different priorities and focuses due to the nature of the job, thus different skill sets are required for these two individuals. (Hassall et al, 2005)

 

Lastly, the size of the firm will also affect the priority of skills. The curricular module for most of the accounting degrees focus more on the needs of larger public accounting firms as compared to small and medium organizations. Therefore, certain skills are given more importance by the educational system. For instance, the analysis by Hassall et al shows that the Spanish employers working for small and medium firms (SME) gave more importance to vocational and non-technical skills. (Hassall et al, 2005)

 

Universities need to pay attention to work place requirement when designing the course syllabus. Reformation in curriculum content and delivery may be necessary to develop the skills that are needed by the employers. (Hassall et al, 2005) Carmona (2012) also agrees that reformation would be required in order to instill “critical” thinking in the students as accounting degrees should not be taught merely to develop technical skills.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

In conclusion, accounting degrees are not able to provide all the relevant skills a student requires in order to gain suitable employment upon graduation, as each of the accounting degrees modules is different. In general, students are able to obtain some employability skills upon graduation.