Purpose

Technological advances have led to accounting roles shifting from transaction focussed tasks to using data generated by technology to inform stakeholder strategies, resulting in changing skill requirements. This study aims to investigate how early career accountants (ECAs) and organisations value different skills among ECAs, how technology is impacting on these skills and the preparedness of ECAs for future technological work in different organisational settings.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted a multi-stakeholder, mixed-method approach, surveying 315 ECAs and 175 managers/recruiters and interviewing 10 from each group. The sample drew from different industry sectors and organisation types in Australia, with all states represented.

Findings

There was broad agreement among ECAs and managers on requisite skills for technology. Most ECAs and managers believed new technology is influencing the skills required in accounting, yet the impact was considered greater among ECAs and effects varied by organisational setting. Overall, the research did not support ECAs as “digital natives” and illuminated the importance of exposure to technology, a change mindset and lifelong learning to better prepare them for new technology.

Originality/value

This study makes an important contribution to understanding how and why skills for success in accounting are evolving in the context of new technology and how prepared ECAs are for technology from both their own and managers/recruiters’ perspectives. It highlights the need for greater dialogue, benchmarking and evaluation of performance in technology-related skills among new accountants and their managers. Further, it identifies areas where ECAs would most benefit from targeted support, aiding personal career success and organisational competitiveness.

中文翻译：

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早期职业会计师的新技术和所需技能

目的

技术进步导致会计角色从以交易为重点的任务转变为使用技术生成的数据为利益相关者战略提供信息，从而导致技能要求不断变化。本研究旨在调查早期职业会计师 (ECA) 和组织如何重视 ECA 之间的不同技能、技术如何影响这些技能以及 ECA 对不同组织环境中未来技术工作的准备情况。

设计/方法/方法

该研究采用了多利益相关者、混合方法的方法，调查了 315 名 ECA 和 175 名经理/招聘人员，并采访了每组中的 10 名。样本来自澳大利亚不同的行业部门和组织类型，所有州都有代表。

发现

ECA 和管理人员就必要的技术技能达成了广泛共识。大多数 ECA 和经理认为新技术正在影响会计所需的技能，但 ECA 之间的影响被认为更大，并且影响因组织环境而异。总体而言，该研究不支持 ECA 作为“数字原住民”，并阐明了接触技术、改变思维方式和终身学习以更好地为新技术做好准备的重要性。

原创性/价值

本研究对理解在新技术背景下成功的会计技能如何以及为何不断发展，以及从他们自己和经理/招聘人员的角度来看，ECA 如何为技术做好准备，做出了重要贡献。它强调了新会计师及其经理之间在技术相关技能方面进行更多对话、标杆管理和绩效评估的必要性。此外，它确定了 ECA 最能从有针对性的支持中受益的领域，有助于个人职业成功和组织竞争力。