IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joaced/v32y2014i2p113-129.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards an understanding of excel functional skills needed for a career in public accounting: Perceptions from public accountants and accounting students

Author

Listed:
  • Ragland, Linda
  • Ramachandran, Usha

Abstract

Public accounting firms (e.g., Grant Thornton, 2012) are stressing an interest in recruiting accounting students with a proficiency in Excel. The purpose of this study is to investigate which Excel functions are perceived to be important and useful for new hires to understand prior to starting a job in public accounting. We collect survey data from four large public accounting firms as well as undergraduate and graduate accounting students (i.e., potential new hires) to gauge perceptions of Excel importance, knowledge, and usage in public accounting. We find that employees at the firms believe the most important Excel functions are: basic formula, filter and sort data, vertical (horizontal) lookup, formatting of documents, and If/Then statements. In a comparison of new hires at public accounting firms with accounting students, results suggest that accounting students underestimate the importance and usage of some of these Excel functions. In addition, results suggest that new hires’ perceived knowledge on how to use specific Excel functions in their accounting job is statistically different than students’ perceived knowledge on how to use some of the same Excel functions. Our research contributes to educational accounting literature by documenting which Excel functions employers in public accounting want new hires to know prior to starting a job in public accounting. Also, this research informs accounting educators that students’ perceptions are not the same as public accounting employers’ expectations with respect to analytical skills using Excel technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Ragland, Linda & Ramachandran, Usha, 2014. "Towards an understanding of excel functional skills needed for a career in public accounting: Perceptions from public accountants and accounting students," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 113-129.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joaced:v:32:y:2014:i:2:p:113-129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jaccedu.2014.03.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0748575114000268
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jaccedu.2014.03.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lin Mei Tan & Michael Fowler & Lindsay Hawkes, 2004. "Management accounting curricula: striking a balance between the views of educators and practitioners," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 51-67.
    2. Marie H. Kavanagh & Lyndal Drennan, 2008. "What skills and attributes does an accounting graduate need? Evidence from student perceptions and employer expectations," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 48(2), pages 279-300, June.
    3. Gregory Stoner, 2009. "Accounting Students' IT Application Skills over a 10-year Period," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 7-31.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Apostolou, Barbara & Dorminey, Jack W. & Hassell, John M. & Rebele, James E., 2015. "Accounting education literature review (2013–2014)," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 69-127.
    2. Bradbard, David A. & Alvis, Charles & Morris, Richard, 2014. "Spreadsheet usage by management accountants: An exploratory study," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 24-30.
    3. Ayres, Douglas & Stanfield, Jason, 2019. "Pulling it all together: ACME trailers, a costing case," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 72-88.
    4. Sarkar, Sumantra & Gray, Joy & Boss, Scott R. & Daly, Emmet, 2021. "Developing institutional skills for addressing big data: Experiences in implementation of AACSB Standard 5," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Chiara Mio & Luciana Oranges Cezarino, 2023. "Competencies for Sustainable Development Goals Accounting: Educating public management for disclosure and reporting," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(2 Suppl.), pages 133-160.
    6. Nanja Kroon & Maria do Céu Alves, 2023. "Fifteen Years of Accounting Professional’s Competencies Supply and Demand: Evidencing Actors, Competency Assessment Strategies, and ‘Top Three’ Competencies," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-23, February.
    7. Apostolou, Barbara & Dorminey, Jack W. & Hassell, John M. & Rebele, James E., 2017. "Accounting education literature review (2016)," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 1-31.
    8. Susanne Leitner-Hanetseder & Christoph Eisl & Carina Knoll & Othmar M. Lehner, 2021. "Need For Advanced It Skills For Accountants €“ What Does Accounting Education Literature Tell Us?," Business Education and Accreditation, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 13(1), pages 57-69.
    9. Karmańska Anna, 2023. "Coding Skills in the Automation of Accounting Processes," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 23(1), pages 107-123, June.
    10. Willis, Veronda F., 2016. "A model for teaching technology: Using Excel in an accounting information systems course," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 87-99.
    11. Grimm, Stephanie Dehning & Blazovich, Janell L., 2016. "Developing student competencies: An integrated approach to a financial statement analysis project," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 69-101.
    12. Parra, Fernando & Jacobs, Aimee & Trevino, Laura L., 2021. "Shippy Express: Augmenting accounting education with Google Sheets," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    13. Domino, Madeline A. & Schrag, Daniel & Webinger, Mariah & Troy, Carmelita, 2021. "Linking data analytics to real-world business issues: The power of the pivot table," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    14. Lee, Lorraine & Shifflett, Eileen & Downen, Tom, 2019. "Teaching excel shortcuts: A visualization and game-based approach," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 22-32.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ballantine, Joan & Boyce, Gordon & Stoner, Greg, 2024. "A critical review of AI in accounting education: Threat and opportunity," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Hamood Mohammed Al-Hattami, 2021. "University Accounting Curriculum, IT, and Job Market Demands: Evidence From Yemen," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, April.
    3. Lin Mei Tan & Fawzi Laswad, 2018. "Professional skills required of accountants: what do job advertisements tell us?," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 403-432, July.
    4. Khaldoon Al-Htaybat & Larissa von Alberti-Alhtaybat & Zaidoon Alhatabat, 2018. "Educating digital natives for the future: accounting educators’ evaluation of the accounting curriculum," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 333-357, July.
    5. Susan O'Shea, 2017. "Characteristics and Skills Necessary in Accountancy," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 13(1), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Bernadette Smith & William Maguire & Helen Haijuan Han, 2018. "Generic skills in accounting: perspectives of Chinese postgraduate students," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(2), pages 535-559, June.
    7. Necmi K. Avkiran & Direnç K. Kanol & Barry Oliver & Tom Smith, 2016. "Knowledge of campaign finance regulation reduces perceptions of corruption," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 56(4), pages 961-984, December.
    8. Rikhardsson, Pall & Yigitbasioglu, Ogan, 2018. "Business intelligence & analytics in management accounting research: Status and future focus," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 37-58.
    9. Diaeldin Osman & Conor O’Leary & Mark Brimble & Dave Thompson, 2019. "Factor That Impact Attrition And Retention Rates Among Accountancy Diploma Students: Evidence From Saudi Arabia," Business Education and Accreditation, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 11(1), pages 89-110.
    10. Carla Carvalho & Ana Carlos Almeida, 2022. "The Adequacy of Accounting Education in the Development of Transversal Skills Needed to Meet Market Demands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    11. Wyness, Lynne & Dalton, Fiona, 2018. "The value of problem-based learning in learning for sustainability: Undergraduate accounting student perspectives," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-19.
    12. repec:bfv:journl:037 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. NICOLAESCU Cristina & DAVID Delia & FARCAS Pavel, 2017. "Professional And Transversal Competencies In The Accounting Field Do Employers’ Expectations Fit Students’ Perceptions? Evidence From Western Romania," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 12(3), pages 126-140, December.
    14. Plant, Kato & Barac, Karin & Sarens, Gerrit, 2019. "Preparing work-ready graduates – skills development lessons learnt from internal audit practice," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 33-47.
    15. Antra Singh & Seema Singh, 2021. "Do Employability Skills Matter in Placement: An Exploratory Study of Private Engineering Institutions and IT Firms in Delhi NCR," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(4), pages 1093-1113, December.
    16. Bradbard, David A. & Alvis, Charles & Morris, Richard, 2014. "Spreadsheet usage by management accountants: An exploratory study," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 24-30.
    17. Philip Cooper, 2006. "Adapting management accounting knowledge needs to functional and economic change," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(3), pages 287-300.
    18. Tracey J. Riley & Kathleen A. Simons, 2016. "The written communication skills that matter most for accountants," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 239-255, June.
    19. Phil Hancock & Bryan Howieson & Marie Kavanagh & Jenny Kent & Irene Tempone & Naomi Segal & Mark Freeman, 2009. "The Roles of Some Key Stakeholders in the Future of Accounting Education in Australia," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 19(3), pages 249-260, September.
    20. Asghar Ali & Iqbal Ahmad & M. Anees-ul-Husnain Shah, 2017. "Exploring Factors Influencing Employability ofVocational Training Graduates in Pakistan:A Factor Analysis," Global Regional Review, Humanity Only, vol. 2(1), pages 389-404, June.
    21. Zongsheng Chen & Cristinel Petrișor Constantin, 2024. "Sustainable Marketing Strategies for Incoming Students to Chinese Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-17, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joaced:v:32:y:2014:i:2:p:113-129. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-accounting-education .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.