Wards Accounting Seminar Series "Skills, success, and society: Employer views about graduate accountants in the digital age"
Published: 24 April 2025
16 May 2025 Dr Meredith Tharapos RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia
Dr Meredith Tharapos, RMIT, University of Melbourne
"Skills, success, and society: Employer views about gradute accountants in the digital age"
Friday, 16 May 2025. 12:00-13:30
Room 253 Wolfson Medical School
Abstract:
This study examines the knowledge and skills required by graduates for contemporary accounting roles, as identified by employers, with a focus on changes driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging technologies. Data collection comprises in-depth interviews with employers from a range of Australian organisations, with analysis being framed by Barnett’s critique of the separateness of universities from the wider world, driven in part due to an emphasis on instrumentalism. While interviewees acknowledged the importance of addressing broader social contexts and values, the evidence suggests a reactive approach to sociopolitical agendas, rather than a more reflective consideration of the goals of university education. Our findings indicate that the skills sought by employers of accounting graduates have expanded to reflect recent developments, with a stronger emphasis on professional skills, business skills and proficiency in new technologies. Thisstudy contributes to accounting education literature by elucidating the skills required by gradates in the contemporary business environment. It also contributes to the broader accounting literature by applying the critical lens of Barnett (1990, 1994, 2018, 2023) to examine whether there is evidence of instrumentalism and whether it contradicts the tentative expectation that a focus on skills ipso facto ‘shuts out’ the broader purposes of university education. Through our critical analysis of employer views about specific forms of competence and skills, and their perceived economic and vocational relevance, we contribute to this body of work by searching for evidence of a broader and more nuanced approach to skills, including the recognition that ‘skills’ reflect particular social interests and values.
Key words: graduate skills; professional skills; emerging technologies; post-COVID-19; Ethics Skills
Bio:
Meredith is an Associate Professor and Head of the Accounting Department at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
Meredith’s research is broadly concerned with behavioural issues within the field of accounting, and includes educational, cultural and accountability aspects. Her research interests include cultural diversity management, student satisfaction, graduate employability, transnational education and accountability.
Meredith is the Australian Chair of the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) Accounting Education Special Interest Group (SIG) and was a previous convenor of the RMIT Accounting Educators’ Conference for six years. She holds editorial roles on several international accounting education journals and is an active member of accounting professional bodies CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ).
For further information, please contact business-seminar-series@glasgow.ac.uk.
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First published: 24 April 2025
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