Financial Accounting Theory Coursework 2021/22 Weighting 30%

Background
Many students assume that an accounting degree is primarily – even exclusively – concerned with acquiring technical skills, that is, with learning the rules of accounting. University accounting syllabi focus on acquisition of these skills and exam exemptions for degree courses also focus on these skills. However, there is research evidence that many employers of accounting students want to recruit students with other skills, that might be referred to as generic or professional employment skills, that is on the kind of transferrable skills that are not focused entirely on technical skills. The emphasis on technical skills may result in the neglect of these other skills in an accounting degree course. This is not the approach taken in the accounting and finance degree course at our University. A number of our modules focus on the achievement of generic or professional skills of the transferrable kind and some of the assessments for our courses are designed to develop these skills. Given the importance attached to these skills it is important to be able to demonstrate to prospective employers that you have acquired them in the course of your undergraduate studies.

In order to help you prepare for job applications, you are asked to

Write a reflective statement in which you reflect upon how the Financial Accounting ‘pillar’ of your degree has assisted you in achieving the generic and professional skills needed for employment in the area of financial accounting.

Articles on accounting education and training and the generic and professional skills needed for employment in the area of financial accounting can be found in the journal
‘Accounting Education’, for example, but you can find others. This is available from the A-Z e- journals Service link on the Library pages.
You can use google scholar search
You can search on accounting education journals

 

Task
You are required to:
Identify and describe the generic or professional skills that employers require in the area of financial accounting. You should consult:

Discuss whether you think that these generic skills should form a greater part of an Accounting degree than has been your experience.