Accounting Students' Perceptions of Important Skills for Career Success

Abstract

Given numerous calls from the accounting profession to emphasize nontechnical skills in accounting programs, it seems appropriate and important to ascertain whether that message has reached students. In this study, we surveyed approximately 270 students attending undergraduate and graduate accounting classes at the same college to assess their perceptions of the importance of nontechnical and technical accounting skills. We related students' perceptions to student characteristics. Analyses of the responses show some differences across demographic groups. The results indicate that undergraduate students could benefit from greater awareness of the importance of nontechnical skills and that female students should be more aware of the importance of leadership skills.