Employability Skills for Accounting Graduates: Analysis of Skills Employers Want

This report discusses the employability skills required for accounting graduates to succeed in their careers. It analyzes the skills that employers want in their employees and provides a SWOT analysis for students to evaluate their skills. The report also suggests ways to improve communication, problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork skills.

Running Head: EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS 0
[Academic AND Employment skills]
Student Name:
Student University:

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Employability Skills...................................................................................................................2
Skills Companies Want..........................................................................................................2
Skills Employers Want...........................................................................................................2
SWOT Analysis.........................................................................................................................4
Skills to be improved.............................................................................................................4
Analysis......................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The skill of receiving and observing acceptable work is known as employability.
Employability skills are when individuals want to gain employment and be successful in their
chosen jobs through accomplishments, identifications and special qualities. In the context of
an employer and the broad economy, employability skills are the set of knowledge, skills, and
qualities that the entire workforce in the market should own to confirm their value at work for
benefits. The other names of employability skills can be transferable, personal and career
management skills. To gain academic skills, individuals need more development and
attention (Osmani, et al., 2017). The emphasis is mainly on individuals’ critical thinking or
problem-solving and adaptability or flexibility skills. The other skills of employees include
teamwork, innovation, application of IT and variety. It is important to give opportunities to
employees for gaining and learning these skills for applying them in practical and work
situations of life (Wels, 2013). In this academic report, for getting an appropriate job, the
employability skills individuals need to receive opportunities and the perspective of an
employer trying to recruit talented employees are to be discussed.
Employability Skills
Employability skills provide the relation between academic studies and advance employment.
To measure these skills, it is important to communicate, require teamwork, the ability to
solve a problem, need self-management, planning and organizing for making decisions,
technology innovation, learning, and advantages and creativity for gaining opportunities
(Topan, 2014).
Skills Companies Want
The key skills employers look for in graduate employees including work ethics and
personality are communication skills, teamwork skills, problem-fixing skills, self-
management skills, arranging and planning skills, technology skills, learning for life-long
skills, and undertaking and creativity skills.
Skills Employers Want
 The employability skills needs for an account manager are to manage more
responsibility systematically in the company such as transaction handling, to meet the
important dates and deadlines, and to make sure of fulfilling all the duties as per the
abilities. The tools used are calendars, day planners, alphabetized folders, post-it notes

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and color-coded highlighters, programs, and apps intended to help staying highly
structured in the short-term and long-term. The employer looks for consistency,
experience and able to get the job done skills in an employee, so it is important for
them to be well-organized and confident.
 Another skill considered is time-management with bold company competences, there
is more workload on an accountant but it is important for them to achieve the goal
with less time consumption. They should be capable enough to meet the deadlines and
reach the maintained target for balancing and being productive.
 The accounting industries are extensively active, so they need the ones who can
quickly and easily adjust the advantages. It is important to provide better services to
the clients where individuals keep on growing and learning to adjust in their jobs as
they face new challenges as their opportunity for testing their skills. The account
managers look for accepting change and are proactive. They need to put extra effort
into all the works they do regarding changes but after working effortlessly, they will
be paid-off, earn respect and will be ideals for the co-workers (Warwick & Howard,
2015).
 The communication is a strong skill every employer expects from employees as a
valuable part of writing as well as in-person to get a job; better teamwork,
interactions, and professionalism.
 Honesty and reliability are valuable for accountants at the workplace where they need
to follow strict ethical standards. It is easy to accept and trust accountants to fulfil
interests; they need to maintain the transparency in decision-making for improving
working relationships in the surroundings to respect and cooperation. Further, trusting
them while working on larger teams can be excessive as this habit sometimes leads to
actionable concerns for making big decisions.
 It is important to be available and approachable for the people they are responsible for
to balance which takes patience, confidence and ability to represent qualities not
presented in every individual. Accountants need to think strategically and plan for the
long-term to adjust their leadership skills. Some offer advice and solutions in business
for improving operations of the company and abilities for future advantages.
Successful account managers are known for ideas for making logical decisions with
creativity to show their working to improve clients' present and future.

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The negative points employees think can be lack of self-confidence; to feel insecure and
fearful; thinking of being ignored and hurt; no pride in their achievements and to feel
embarrassed by compliments. The positive points employee think are to accept themselves as
the way they are; accepting others; feeling secure and confident; having reasonable pride and
achievements; to feel secure and confident and accepting compliments happily.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT is helpful in identifying their areas for development and analyzing their strengths and
weaknesses by looking towards their opportunities and threats they can face. It helps to focus
on strengths and minimize the weaknesses to gain maximum opportunities. It is used for
supporting mission, vision, and objectives. It helps you to set personal morals and standards
and to live with respect in the future. This personal SWOT Analysis is based on the
employability skills needed by the employers and the companies:
Strengths:
 Good managing and teamwork skills
 Building ideas to make plans
 Self-management with consuming
less time and easily achieve the target
 Well in learning things and put efforts
to learn
 Technology skills
Weaknesses:
 No part-time or job experience
 Problem-handling difficulties where it
is not easy to provide a solution
 Weak communication skills because
of introvert nature
Opportunities:
 Part-time job opportunities for
updating CV with new skills
development
 Work experience
 Possibility of getting a good job
 Various favoured measures for other
countries to learn
Threats:
 Competition is increasing with quick-
tempered growth
 Employment pressure of job-hunting,
shortage of careers and jobless
graduates
SWOT helps the students in the evaluation of skills they pursue for their position and to think
that which skill they have and which not, and what needs to be developed to involve them in
the career they want to. The goals need to be established should be specific, measurable,
accountable, real and less time-consuming.

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Skills to be improved
Communication skills can be improved through active participation in organized activities by
school groups, connect to people, and take step towards making contacts, do not feel anxious
while talking to strangers and participate in class discussions. Problem-solving skills can be
improved by applying for volunteering opportunities to easily solve a problem by meeting the
requirements (Jackling & Natoli, 2015). Creativity and advantage skills improvement by
finding part-time jobs, or become a volunteer, work as a trainee in a company. Teamwork
skills can be developed by working on group assignments; organization and planning skills
for making decisions by making every day plans and do work accordingly. Self-management
skills can be improved by developing knowledge and summing up the gaps; learning skills
that are helpful at the time of recruitment by employers. Technology skills are helpful by
learning new concepts related to computers to think innovatively. It is the duty of an
employee to turn negatives into positives and converting weaknesses into strengths or threats
into opportunities. To achieve these skills to move forward, it is important for employees to
keep working by measuring the goals.
Analysis
Employability of graduate is intellectual skills, career management skills and innovative
outlooks which help in employment of graduates including encouraging qualified networks,
winning employers in the program and with developing employers’ knowledge of the
university. Graduates need to get involved in the school activities for self-development, to
make their academics strong and being proactive with getting involved in volunteering,
sports, etc. (Stoner & Milner, 2010). Development in personal skills likes communicating,
organizing and other skills as well. They need to be sure about their careers according to their
skills and abilities; search for the careers which need to be valuable like a job of account
managers; the CV needs to be updated which adds up your achievements and certifications.
Employability skills are important for student’s employability. It is a continuous learning
process and important to get a job as well. The factors considered by employers at the time of
recruiting graduates are based on teamwork, positive attitude, problem-solving, degree
subject and result, university rank and work experience.

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Source: (Radhakrishnan & Sudha, 2015).
Accounting employers are demanding employability skills in their employees where
employers are also relating it to emotional intelligence (EI). As studied, EI skills are critical
in the accounting profession for success. The EIs which are valuable are promotions that help
in making profitability by an individual to promote money. It helps with promotions within
public accounting and profitability within accounting. The level of the promotion of an
accountants are in one to three years from staff to senior, senior to manager, and manager to
partner where they work under the senior supervision who will be having three to six years of
experience and responsibilities including reviewing tax returns or directing an audit where
manager approves the audit work and tax returns. Job duties can vary from one firm to
another which includes working with others in providing customer service, leading client
meetings, communicating with clients, managing, networking, managing projects and

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reviewing all aspects of work. In the start as an accounts manager; technical skills, tax
professionals, interpersonal and communication skills were very important where the
leadership skill also followed. Now, non-technical skills are given much priority which
involves partners and promotions. EI including social competencies ad awareness and
relationship management are related to interpersonal skills which help in increasing profits in
accounting firms where the skills of partners are given priority which are self-management
skill, social skills, and self-regulation skills. According to employer, the structure is
maintained by skilled workforce, employability skills, human capital theory, and EI as
employer expects variety of general skills where human capital theory depicts that individuals
gain knowledge and skills through education for earning increment and qualified employees
(Sandifer, 2018). Summarising, skills employer expects for a job as an accounts mangers are
that they need to have general business knowledge, expert in up-to-date technology, effective
communication skills, and leadership abilities, customer-service leaning, and dedicated
experience (Half, 2018).
Conclusion
The challenge is to make employable all the graduate students in the academic and
employability skills support them with quality delivery and assessment strategies for the
development of students according to the employer's expectations and to meet the
competition. Students learn these employability skills through academic work, connecting
socially, community and life experiences which require teaching staff with skilled resources
and awareness about current practices. It strengthens students' work experiences with quality
work and learning programs. It is important for every student to apply SWOT analysis
personally for understanding where they stand and where is the need to fill the gap and
necessities.
Bibliography

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Half, R., 2018. Accounting Skills You Need to Succeed On the Job. [Online]
Available at: https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/salaries-and-skills/the-accounting-job-skills-
you-need-to-succeed
[Accessed 25 August 2019].
Jackling, B. & Natoli, R., 2015. Employability skills of international accounting graduates.
Education + Training, 57(7), pp. 757-773.
Osmani, M., Hindi, N. & Al-Esmail, R., 2017. Examining graduate skills in accounting and
finance: The perception of Middle Eastern students. Industry and Higher Education, 31(5),
pp. 318-327.
Radhakrishnan, M. & Sudha, S., 2015. ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS OF
UNDERGRADUATE ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN VIEW OF EMPLOYERS
PERSPECTIVES. ARPN Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 10(20), pp. 9304-
9308.
Sandifer, L., 2018. Knowledge, Technical Skills, and Employability Skills Required of
Accounting Graduates: Perceptions of Certified Public Accountants in Mississippi. [Online]
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2534&context=dissertations
[Accessed August 2019].
Stoner, G. & Milner, M., 2010. Embedding Generic Employability Skills in an Accounting
Degree: Development and Impediments. Journal Accounting Education, 19(1-2), pp. 123-
138.
Topan, R., 2014. 6 Skills You Need To Succeed In Accounting. [Online]
Available at: https://talentegg.ca/incubator/2014/09/08/6-skills-succeed-accounting/
[Accessed 25 August 2019].
Warwick, J. & Howard, A., 2015. A Note on Structuring Employability Skills for Accounting
Students. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences,
5(10), pp. 165-174.
Wels, B., 2013. 8 essential employability skills. [Online]
Available at: https://career-ready.blogs.latrobe.edu.au/2013/08/16/8-essential-employability-
skills/
[Accessed 25 August 2019].

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