The importance of soft skills in accounting: student´s and employer´s expectations

The trend of new information and communication technologies, the increase in globalization and competitiveness leads to the need and to the increase of the importance of new skills that are placed on employees. In different sectors of the economy, there is a need to develop different skills of employees. For this reason, universities face the challenge of ensuring that their graduates have the required skills. This article deals with research on soft skills in accounting and is aimed at the perspective of future graduates of accounting and finance programs and employers. The aim of the article is to explore how employers and future graduates perceive the importance of soft skills in accounting. The research questions were "Which soft skills do students and employers perceive as important?" "How are soft skills developed according to students' and employers' opinions in universities?" "What are the differences between students' and employers' perceptions of soft skills?" A questionnaire survey which was conducted was attended by 101 future graduates from universities in the Czech Republic and 44 employers in the Czech Republic. It was found that team work is the most important skill for employers. While for students it was problem solving ability. Overall, the opinions of students and employers do not differ much, but even so, certain differences can be seen between them in the case of soft skills.