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Tertiary Institutions Accounting Program and Employability of Accounting Graduates in Nigeria

Received: 8 March 2023    Accepted: 6 April 2023    Published: 6 September 2023
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Abstract

There is increasing evidence that Nigerian University graduates, particularly graduates of accounting programs lack employable skills that are essential to the real world and competencies that are needed in growing knowledge industries, complex business environments and globalized capital markets. The issue of employability has long been debated in literature in various countries, pointing out that the issue is not peculiar to a particular country but is rapidly becoming an area of concern globally and in all disciplines including accounting. The accounting curriculum has long been criticized for being too narrow, outmoded and defective; as it has failed to equip students sufficiently for employment in the business environment. The primary aim of this study is to examine Tertiary Institutions Accounting Programs and the employability of accounting graduates considering the skills expectation-performance gap in Nigeria. Three objectives were formulated in this regard. The study adopted a survey and experimental research design focusing on students from selected universities students in Lagos and Professional Accountants from the Big 4’s accounting firms. Based on the analyses, the Management information system is a significant determinant of data literacy skills and tech-savviness of accounting graduates, Accounting courses sharpen students’ analytical and innovation skills of graduates and other social and academic events significantly enhance the quality of accounting graduates in Nigeria. The study therefore concluded that the accounting curriculum to a large extent affects the employability of accounting graduates. It was recommended among others that tertiary institutions should extensively improve the curriculum, curriculum should be designed in line with requisite industry requirements. Tertiary institutions which have not included internships in the curriculum should consider its inclusion.

Published in Journal of Business and Economic Development (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12
Page(s) 83-93
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Accounting Curriculum, Employability, Tertiary Institutions

References
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[4] Bureau of Labour Statistics. (n.d). Accountants and Auditors. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm
[5] Cigar, D. N. (2017): Employability skills required by accounting graduates for careers in accounting. Journal of Science, Technology and Education, 5 (2), 27-36.
[6] Derekoy, F. (2019). What skills accounting students need: Evidence from students' perceptions and professionals' expectations. Journal of Economics, Finance and Accounting, 6 (4), 184-191. http://doi.org/10.17261/pressacademia.2019.1149
[7] Emeka-Nwokeji, N. A. (2015). Restructuring accountancy program of Nigerian universities for the changing environment: Strategies for sustainable development. European Journal of Business, Economics and Accountancy, 3 (2).
[8] Hoyos, C. (2017). Accountants (and others) must adapt to advance. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/7bd3af5e-de54-11e6-9d7c-be108f1c1dce
[9] Jenkins, R. (2015). Learning and teaching in action. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 32, 156–160.
[10] Khouloud, S. & Tahar, R. M. (2020). Expectation-performance gap in knowledge and competencies in accounting graduates: Evidence from Tunisia. European Journal of Teaching and Education, 2 (1), 109-124.
[11] Krakoff, S. (2020). Skills for accountants: Honing your technical accounting skills & abilities. Retrieved from https://online.champlain.edu/blog/accountant-key-skills
[12] Lolita, A. P. (2017). Closing the skills expectations-performance gap. Retrieved from https://www.academicbriefing.com/scholarship/pedagogy/skills-expectation-gap/
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[16] Muhammad R., Yahya Y., Shahimi. S. &Mahzan N. (2009). Undergraduate internship attachment in accounting: The Interns perspective. International Education Studies: 2 (4).
[17] Ogundana, O., Ibidunni, S., &Jinadu, O. (2015). ICT integration in accounting education: Evidence from two private higher institutions in Nigeria. Acta Universitatis Danubius: 9 (2), 114-126.
[18] Okolie, U. C., Igwe, P. A, Eneje, B. C., Nwosu, S., &Mlanga, S. (2019). Enhancing graduate employability: Why do higher institutions have problems with teaching generic skills? Policy Futures in Education, DOI: 10.1177/1478210319864824.
[19] Onyeike, V. C. & Onyeagbako, S. O. (2014). Enhancing employability through university education: The Role of National University Commission (NUC). Global Journal of Educational Research, 13 (1): 109-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/gjer.v1312.7
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ogundeko Sodiq Temitayo, Sholuade Grace Temitope. (2023). Tertiary Institutions Accounting Program and Employability of Accounting Graduates in Nigeria. Journal of Business and Economic Development, 8(3), 83-93. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12

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    ACS Style

    Ogundeko Sodiq Temitayo; Sholuade Grace Temitope. Tertiary Institutions Accounting Program and Employability of Accounting Graduates in Nigeria. J. Bus. Econ. Dev. 2023, 8(3), 83-93. doi: 10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12

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    AMA Style

    Ogundeko Sodiq Temitayo, Sholuade Grace Temitope. Tertiary Institutions Accounting Program and Employability of Accounting Graduates in Nigeria. J Bus Econ Dev. 2023;8(3):83-93. doi: 10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12,
      author = {Ogundeko Sodiq Temitayo and Sholuade Grace Temitope},
      title = {Tertiary Institutions Accounting Program and Employability of Accounting Graduates in Nigeria},
      journal = {Journal of Business and Economic Development},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {83-93},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jbed.20230803.12},
      abstract = {There is increasing evidence that Nigerian University graduates, particularly graduates of accounting programs lack employable skills that are essential to the real world and competencies that are needed in growing knowledge industries, complex business environments and globalized capital markets. The issue of employability has long been debated in literature in various countries, pointing out that the issue is not peculiar to a particular country but is rapidly becoming an area of concern globally and in all disciplines including accounting. The accounting curriculum has long been criticized for being too narrow, outmoded and defective; as it has failed to equip students sufficiently for employment in the business environment. The primary aim of this study is to examine Tertiary Institutions Accounting Programs and the employability of accounting graduates considering the skills expectation-performance gap in Nigeria. Three objectives were formulated in this regard. The study adopted a survey and experimental research design focusing on students from selected universities students in Lagos and Professional Accountants from the Big 4’s accounting firms. Based on the analyses, the Management information system is a significant determinant of data literacy skills and tech-savviness of accounting graduates, Accounting courses sharpen students’ analytical and innovation skills of graduates and other social and academic events significantly enhance the quality of accounting graduates in Nigeria. The study therefore concluded that the accounting curriculum to a large extent affects the employability of accounting graduates. It was recommended among others that tertiary institutions should extensively improve the curriculum, curriculum should be designed in line with requisite industry requirements. Tertiary institutions which have not included internships in the curriculum should consider its inclusion.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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    AU  - Ogundeko Sodiq Temitayo
    AU  - Sholuade Grace Temitope
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    JF  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
    JO  - Journal of Business and Economic Development
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    SN  - 2637-3874
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jbed.20230803.12
    AB  - There is increasing evidence that Nigerian University graduates, particularly graduates of accounting programs lack employable skills that are essential to the real world and competencies that are needed in growing knowledge industries, complex business environments and globalized capital markets. The issue of employability has long been debated in literature in various countries, pointing out that the issue is not peculiar to a particular country but is rapidly becoming an area of concern globally and in all disciplines including accounting. The accounting curriculum has long been criticized for being too narrow, outmoded and defective; as it has failed to equip students sufficiently for employment in the business environment. The primary aim of this study is to examine Tertiary Institutions Accounting Programs and the employability of accounting graduates considering the skills expectation-performance gap in Nigeria. Three objectives were formulated in this regard. The study adopted a survey and experimental research design focusing on students from selected universities students in Lagos and Professional Accountants from the Big 4’s accounting firms. Based on the analyses, the Management information system is a significant determinant of data literacy skills and tech-savviness of accounting graduates, Accounting courses sharpen students’ analytical and innovation skills of graduates and other social and academic events significantly enhance the quality of accounting graduates in Nigeria. The study therefore concluded that the accounting curriculum to a large extent affects the employability of accounting graduates. It was recommended among others that tertiary institutions should extensively improve the curriculum, curriculum should be designed in line with requisite industry requirements. Tertiary institutions which have not included internships in the curriculum should consider its inclusion.
    VL  - 8
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Author Information
  • Department of Accounting, Lagos State University, Ojo, Nigeria

  • Department of Accounting, Lagos State University, Ojo, Nigeria

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