Requirements for Information Technology with Newly Hired Management Accounting Graduates

The purpose of this paper is to determine what employers require newly hired management accounting graduates to have in terms of information technology knowledge and skills. The management accounting curriculum literature was examined along with pronouncements from relevant professional associations. CFOs at some of the largest New Zealand firms were interviewed. These CFOs were consistent on the IT knowledge and skills required by management accounting graduates, i.e., intermediate proficiency in some Microsoft tools (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and familiarity with an ERP system to understand transaction processing. Of those requirements Excel for analysis was by far the most important. Our contribution challenges the literature and the professional associations, and clarifies what educators should provide to management accounting students.

[1]  James E. Hunton,et al.  Blending Information and Communication Technology with Accounting Research , 2002 .

[2]  G. Stoner.  Accounting Students' IT Application Skills over a 10-year Period , 2009 .

[3]  Greg Stoner.  IT is part of youth culture, but are accounting undergraduates confident in IT? , 1999 .

[4]  Markus Granlund,et al.  On the Interface Between Management Accounting and Modern Information Technology - A Literature Review and Some Empirical Evidence , 2007 .

[5]  C. Janie Chang,et al.  Accounting education, firm training and information technology: a research note , 2003 .

[6]  Philip Cooper.  Adapting management accounting knowledge needs to functional and economic change , 2006 .

[7]  Alan Sangster,et al.  Management Accounting in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems , 2009 .

[8]  R. Bloom.  Accounting Education: Charting the Course through a Perilous Future , 2002 .

[9]  Jan Mouritsen,et al.  Special section on management control and new information technologies , 2003 .

[10]  M. A. Pearson,et al.  Improving the curriculum for aspiring management accountants: The practitioner's point of view , 1990 .

[11]  Dong-Woo Lee,et al.  Perspectives of “Fortune 500” Executives on the Competency Requirements for Accounting Graduates , 1999 .

[12]  Krish N. Bhaskar.  Use of Computers in Accountancy Courses , 1982 .

[13]  Joan Ballantine,et al.  Evaluating the validity of self-assessment: measuring computer literacy among entry-level undergraduates within accounting degree programmes at two UK universities , 2003 .

[14]  W. Orlikowski.  The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations , 2014 .

[15]  T. Hassall,et al.  Vocational skills in the accounting professional profile: the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) employers' opinion , 2001 .

[16]  S. Dutta,et al.  Analysis of accounting academe's response to structural changes in the profession using the disruptive technology framework , 2010 .

[17]  Neil Marriott,et al.  Using computerized business simulations and spreadsheet models in accounting education: a case study , 2004 .

[18]  Binh Bui,et al.  The Expectation-Performance Gap in Accounting Education: An Exploratory Study , 2010 .

[19]  Jeffrey S. Forrest,et al.  A Nation Transformed by Information , 2001 .

[20]  Robert Bromley,et al.  More Accounting Theory or More Information Technology , 2010 .

[21]  Krish N. Bhaskar.  Computers and the Choice for Accountancy Syllabuses , 1983 .

[22]  Benjamin S. Bloom,et al.  Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals. , 1957 .

[23]  Lin Mei Tan,et al.  Management accounting curricula: striking a balance between the views of educators and practitioners , 2004 .