A critical thinking competency framework for accounting students

ABSTRACT

Critical thinking is considered a vital skill in the twenty-first century workforce, yet it is still viewed as an under-developed skill in accounting students. This exploratory study set out to explore the critical thinking competencies required of accounting students. To achieve this, a qualitative research methodology was followed by firstly identifying critical thinking competencies as part of a review of the literature. Terms, concepts, skills, attributes, dispositions and abilities needed for critical thinking in general were identified from seminal works on critical thinking, and then progressively analysed by the researchers to group similar concepts. Secondly, the principles of interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) were applied to obtain participants’ views on the critical thinking competencies required of accounting students. This study provides a comprehensive critical thinking competency framework suitable for the changing environment in which accountants need to function to remain relevant in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

KEYWORDS:

• Critical thinking competencies
• cognitive skills
• dispositions
• accounting students
• interactive qualitative analysis
• curriculum development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In the context of this study, accounting students refer to students studying towards becoming professional accountants and auditors. Accounting degrees generally include, among others, modules on taxation, auditing, financial accounting, management accounting and ethics.