The soft skills of accounting graduates: perceptions versus expectations

TLDR

Rapid business changes, new technology, and increased competition have created a demand for new skills. The study investigates whether accounting graduates’ perceptions of soft skills align with employers’ expectations. 251 Italian accounting graduates and 74 Italian companies completed a self‑report questionnaire. Graduates rate task orientation, motivation, self‑awareness, valorisation, and interpersonal relationships as most important, but they underestimate other soft and some technical skills and overestimate others; their views only partially match employers, indicating a need for improved accounting education and academic involvement.

Abstract

In recent years, changes in business, new technology, and greater competitiveness and dynamism have all resulted in a need for new skills. This study focuses on soft skills in accounting education, exploring the viewpoints of both graduates and employers. Our main question is to better understand if there is a right match between graduates’ perceptions and companies’ expectations of the skills that are needed. 251 Italian graduates (Department of Management) and 74 Italian joint-stock companies completed a self-report questionnaire. Graduates attributed a higher level of importance to the following macro-areas of skills: task orientation, motivation, self-awareness, valorisation, and interpersonal relationships. Graduates, compared to companies, underestimated the importance of other soft skills and one specific technical skill, and overestimated other technical skills. Graduates’ views are partially in accordance with employers’ views; accounting education still needs to progress and the engagement of academics is fundamental to enhance the skills required by employers.