The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is anticipated to have a significant impact on the future generation of professional accountants. Accordingly, current and aspirant accountants are expected to acquire and develop soft skills, which will enable them to add value as responsible business leaders and thrive within Industry 4.0.
The overarching purpose of this study was to elicit the perceptions of entry-level chartered accountants in South Africa (CAs [SA]) on the development of soft skills during a university accounting programme, specifically those soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0.
Limited research appears to exist with specific focus on the perceptions of entry-level CAs(SA) regarding the development of soft skills during a university accounting programme.
University accounting programmes accredited with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) were the focus of the empirical work. A questionnaire was used to obtain the exploratory results, which yielded a response rate of 40.77%.
The quantitative results indicated that the particular accounting programme in question was perceived to have developed most of the soft skills required by Industry 4.0.
One of the implications of this study is that the university accounting programme providers should place more emphasis on the development of soft skills, specifically those related to Industry 4.0.
The results of this research contribute to the existing body of knowledge by articulating the views of entry-level CAs(SA) on the development of Industry 4.0 soft skills.
The environment in which professional accountants work and function is subject to constant change. In the last decade, these changes were primarily attributed to advances in information technology and the globalisation of economies on a large scale (Tan & Laswad
Over the last decade, extensive research has been conducted on the soft skills expected from accounting graduates (Chen
Various authors often suggest that the accounting programme is seen as being primarily responsible for the development of soft skills (Ballantine & McCourt Larres
Entry-level accountants are key stakeholders in accounting education, and they can offer a unique perspective in identifying the soft skills that an accounting programme has developed (Barac
To explore the perceptions of South African entry-level chartered accountants (CAs[SA]) regarding the development of soft skills, we formulated the following research questions:
Are entry-level CAs(SA) aware of the required soft skills in terms of Industry 4.0?
What are the perceptions of entry-level CAs(SA) about the role which a university accounting programme plays in developing Industry 4.0 soft skills?
Is the university accounting programme perceived by entry-level CAs(SA) to develop the soft skills required by Industry 4.0?
To what extent do entry-level CAs(SA) perceive a university accounting programme to have developed the soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0?
One of the limitations of the study is its focus on the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA)-accredited university accounting programme providers and accounting graduates aspiring to become CAs(SA) (see the ‘Study framework’ section). Consequently, the findings may not be representative of the views of non-SAICA-accredited programme providers or graduates not entering the CA(SA) profession, for example, the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA). However, because of the global standing of the SAICA, the findings could be of interest to non-SAICA-accredited accounting programmes in South Africa.
This study contributes to the extant knowledge on entry-level accountants’ soft skills (specifically those related to Industry 4.0) by exploring their views on the development of these skills during an accounting programme. Heeding the suggestion that graduates’ perceptions play an important role (Barac
The contribution of our study is therefore threefold: it provides useful insights into (1) the value that entry-level CAs(SA) accord to the development of soft skills within a university environment, (2) the extent to which they perceive the soft skills to be developed and (3) supporting academics who believe that certain soft skills are better developed outside the accounting programme, for example, during an SAICA-accredited training programme of 3 years prior to entering the CA(SA) profession. The findings should also be of interest to accounting professional bodies and the academic community at large, as a university accounting programme has a social responsibility to meet the demands of employers of future accountants (Tan & Laswad
The article is organised as follows. The next section reviews the literature dealing with the impact of Industry 4.0 on entry-level accountants’ soft skills development and where such skills could be best developed. This is followed by a discussion of the framework used. The research method and findings are then presented. The final section concludes with implications for educating future generation CAs(SA), with specific focus on well-developed soft skills.
The literature review covers three broad topics: (1) the demands of Industry 4.0, (2) the impact of developing entry-level accountants’ soft skills and (3) the importance of developing such skills by a university accounting programme.
The late 18th century marked the first industrial revolution, with steam power revolutionising the industry (Davis
The WEF defines Industry 4.0 as ‘the possibilities of billions of people connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity and access to knowledge as unlimited’ (Schwab
Undoubtedly Industry 4.0 will have a profound impact on the world, business and how humans conduct their daily jobs − it will be ‘the future world of work’ (Schwab
Globally, accountancy professional bodies are well aware of the need to change in order to remain relevant and, as the institutions responsible for developing accountants’ professional competence, it has begun to ask critical questions to address the anticipated changes of Industry 4.0. For example, in South Africa, the SAICA has asked the following questions: (1) what competencies should aspirant CAs(SA) be equipped with to ensure that they remain relevant once they enter the profession and workplace?, (2) how should existing CAs(SA) change their skills mix in order to remain relevant?, (3) what impact will changing technology have on the future role of CAs(SA)? and (4) what will happen to the accounting profession if the necessary steps are not taken to remain relevant?
It is still uncertain, however, as to exactly what skills set aspirant CAs(SA) will need to acquire to ensure their future relevance. The SAICA’s CA 2025 project is therefore investigating what these qualities, skills and competencies are likely to be (Olivier
Over the last decade, many researchers have argued that the traditional role of a professional accountant as a ‘score keeper’ is no longer relevant (Picard, Durocher & Gendron
The changes being brought on by Industry 4.0 could once again create tension between employers and education providers as the job market is likely to continue to expect accounting programme providers to equip accounting graduates with the requisite soft skills. This is particularly relevant within the context of the soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0.
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) affirms that the expectations of accounting graduates as a result of Industry 4.0 emphasise the need for greater soft skills development (Burrows
The importance of soft skills is also recognised by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in its publication,
Globally, there are several skill frameworks provided by governments, business communities, professional bodies and academics (Tan & Laswad
As with numerous accounting professions, South Africa has its own framework which specifically deals with the competencies of the CA(SA) profession. The SAICA’s competency framework specifically emphasises the development of soft skills (SAICA
The IAESB of the IFAC historically reviewed its standard on skills to meet the challenges of the changing business world in which professional accountants work and function (IFAC
The WEF predicts the ‘top 10 skills [for entry-level/aspirant CA(SA)’s] to thrive in Industry 4.0 by 2020’ as (1) complex problem-solving, (2) critical thinking, (3) creativity, (4) people management, (5) coordinating others, (6) emotional intelligence, (7) judgement and decision-making, (8) service orientation, (9) negotiation and (10) cognitive flexibility (World Economic Forum
It is clear that soft skills are regarded as crucial and directly linked to the career success of future professional accountants to be responsible business leaders. Various studies argue that ‘accountancy education has failed to deliver suitably qualified entry-level accountants, who meet the expectations and requirements for entering the profession’ (Jackling & De Lange
[
As the founding member body of the Chartered Accountants’ Group of Eight (CAGE), the SAICA (
[
Hence, the SAICA’s soft skills are ‘the professional qualities and skills that all CAs are expected to bring to all tasks – the “how” of a CA’s work’ (SAICA
The SAICA’s competency framework acknowledges the requirements for entry-level accountants entering the profession (SAICA
The meaning of South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ levels of proficiency used as a benchmark.
Level | Description |
---|---|
Level 1 | Not developed |
Level 2 | Developed to the basic level of proficiency which requires an awareness of the key ideas and principles within a specific area of competence. Demonstration of technical expertise or detailed knowledge in this area is not required. The candidate identifies and explains the significance of the competency and the types of circumstances in which it would arise or be applied. |
Level 3 | Developed to the intermediate level of proficiency. At this level, the candidate needs to demonstrate an understanding of the requirements of the task and identify and apply the required professional skills, including basic quantitative and qualitative analysis, to perform the task on a preliminary basis (recognising that a review by more senior staff may still be necessary). An intermediate understanding of the subject matter is required. Complex calculations are not required. Integration with other competencies is straightforward and is of limited complexity. Level 3 includes Level 2 proficiency. |
Level 4 | Developed to the advanced level of proficiency which requires a candidate to complete all elements of a specified task successfully; therefore, an advanced understanding of the subject matter is needed. Relevant soft skills and reflective capacity should be demonstrated at the advanced level. Technical skills expected to be demonstrated at this level include performing complex calculations and deciding on an appropriate course of action. Proficiency at Level 4 is demonstrated when the problem is clearly identified and thoroughly analysed or when a situation is evaluated, and useful recommendations are made. This level of proficiency includes proficiency levels 2 and 3. |
During the 1990s, Birkett (
The CAGE member bodies include, amongst others, NZICA and ICAA; as a result, the SAICA’s competency framework also incorporates Birkett’s (
In summary, most competency frameworks applicable to the accountancy profession share some common elements regarding the basic or fundamental skills, people-related skills, conceptual or thinking skills, personal skills, and attributes and skills related to the ‘real world of business’ and community at large (Tan & Laswad
Additionally, we take into consideration the framework developed by Birkett (
Cognitive skills are sub-categorised into two further dimensions:
Routine/technical skills – described as following defined routines with some mastery (e.g. tasks to be performed are defined and performance involves exercising pre-focused and pre-developed skills).
Intellectual skills – a combination of Birkett’s analytical and appreciative skills, relating to the ability to solve problems, make decisions and exercise professional judgement.
Behavioural skills are sub-categorised into three further dimensions:
Personal skills – the ability to handle oneself in challenging, stressful or conflicting situations as well as situations exposed to time pressure and change (e.g. having a positive, proactive and reflective attitude about one’s own performance).
Interpersonal skills – involves the ability to achieve outcomes through interpersonal interactions (e.g. people skills, listening, empathy, communication, motivation, and team work and management).
Organisational skills – entails the ability to achieve outcomes though the use of organisational networks (e.g. accessing and using power and culture, building and activating intra- and inter-organisational networks or representing an organisation).
Industry 4.0 skills framework.
It is important to note that this study does not include the development of aspirant CA(SA)’s technical skills in accountancy depicted by Birkett’s (
The research questions were addressed by following a two-pronged approach. Firstly, a literature review was performed exploring Industry 4.0 and its impact on the education of aspirant CAs(SA) as well as the changes in the required skills set of future generation professional accountants. Accordingly, it was revealed in the framework of the study that a university accounting programme should focus more on the development of soft skills as these are the skills demanded by Industry 4.0. It was further determined that the current accounting programme fails to deliver entry-level CAs(SA) who display competence in soft skills.
A questionnaire was used to gather data. This method is supported by Henning, Van Rensburg and Smit (2004: 3, as quoted in Marx
Because of the high standing of the SAICA’s Assessment of Professional Competence (APC – the final assessment prior to aspirant CA(SA)’s entering the CA(SA) profession) (SAICA 2017) as well as the SAICA’s support of this study, the questionnaire was distributed to all entry-level accountants in South Africa who successfully completed the SAICA November 2016 APC. Accordingly, the target population consisted of the 2247 students who passed the November 2016 APC. It was assumed that this cohort would have a sound grasp of what would be expected from them to demonstrate professional competence in terms of the SAICA’s soft skills, as these are assessed as part of the APC. It was thus accepted by the researchers that ‘respondents would exercise the necessary diligence and due care in completing the questionnaire’ (Marx
Teaching soft skills includes the ‘use of appropriate Information Technology software tools’ (SAICA
The use of a questionnaire as a method of gathering data is sometimes discouraged as it could result in a low response rate (Creswell et al.
Response rate.
Description | Number | % |
---|---|---|
Target population (Total) | 2247 | 100.00 |
Received | 916 | 40.77 |
Partially completed | 0 | 0.00 |
Not completed | 1331 | 59.23 |
We used IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24, a statistical analysis software package, to generate the frequency and mean analysis. Accordingly, descriptive statistical analysis was performed to address research question 1: ‘are entry-level CAs(SA) aware of the required soft skills in terms of Industry 4.0?’
Research question 2, ‘what are entry-level CA(SA)’s perceptions of the role which a university accounting programme plays in developing the Industry 4.0 soft skills?’, was approached by analysing descriptive frequencies and mean analysis. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to refine the soft skills included in this study into the categories proposed by Birkett (
This article followed all ethical standards for a research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This section discusses the results of the study. It firstly explores respondents’ awareness about the soft skills required by Industry 4.0 and the role which the accounting programme is perceived to play within this context. This is followed by a discussion of the extent to which the soft skills are being developed, using the SAICA’s levels of proficiency as a benchmark (see
Our findings showed that all respondents were aware of the need for well-developed soft skills in order to be successful in today’s changing world of business. However, only 58.50% of respondents were aware of the impact of Industry 4.0 on their future world of work. A large proportion of respondents (41.50%) were unaware of the specific soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0, while those who were aware stated that it was only during their practical experience (in the form of a traineeship) that this awareness was created. Hence, it can be concluded that the awareness of the soft skills was not created by the university accounting programme.
The findings also suggested that the accounting programme could improve on the way it develops soft skills. This is because only 58.52% of respondents indicated that it was the accounting programme which made them aware of the soft skills specific to the SAICA competency framework. Moreover, the majority of respondents (51.09%) stated that the accounting programme only played a moderate role in developing soft skills. A small percentage of respondents (9.17%) viewed the accounting programme as playing a crucial role in this regard. This is explained by most respondents (66.81%) considering their practical experience (in the form of a traineeship) as playing a crucial role instead. These findings appear to be generally in line with what various authors have suggested, that is, practical experience is more effective to develop soft skills.
Based on the aforementioned discussion, this study makes the following recommendations:
Accounting programme providers should place greater focus on making aspirant CAs(SA) aware of the importance of developing soft skills effectively, as stipulated in an accountancy professional body’s competency framework
Accounting programme providers should place greater focus on making aspirant CAs(SA) aware of Industry 4.0, and specifically its impact on their future world of work.
Extent to which entry-level chartered accountants in South Africa perceive the development of soft skills during a university accounting programme – Frequency and percentage per level of proficiency as well as the mean for respondent population.
Soft skill | Advanced | Intermediate | Basic | Not at all | Mean | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FQ |
FQ |
FQ |
FQ |
||||||
Problem-solving | 284 | 31.00 | 428 | 46.72 | 176 | 19.21 | 28 | 3.06 | 3.06 |
Leadership | 24 | 2.62 | 188 | 20.52 | 412 | 44.98 | 292 | 31.88 | 1.94 |
Professionalism | 80 | 8.73 | 252 | 27.51 | 360 | 39.30 | 224 | 24.45 | 2.21 |
Strategic thinking | 232 | 25.33 | 408 | 44.54 | 212 | 23.14 | 64 | 6.99 | 2.88 |
Time management | 444 | 48.47 | 376 | 41.05 | 64 | 6.99 | 32 | 3.49 | 3.34 |
Verbal communication | 100 | 10.92 | 312 | 34.06 | 352 | 38.43 | 152 | 16.59 | 2.39 |
Listening | 332 | 36.24 | 360 | 39.30 | 168 | 18.34 | 56 | 6.11 | 3.06 |
Writing | 408 | 44.54 | 384 | 41.92 | 108 | 11.79 | 16 | 1.75 | 3.29 |
Team work | 96 | 10.48 | 248 | 27.07 | 328 | 35.81 | 244 | 26.64 | 2.21 |
Influencing others | 60 | 6.55 | 172 | 18.78 | 368 | 40.17 | 316 | 34.50 | 1.97 |
Critical thinking | 308 | 33.62 | 396 | 43.23 | 168 | 18.34 | 44 | 4.80 | 3.06 |
Ethical awareness | 80 | 8.73 | 252 | 27.51 | 360 | 39.30 | 224 | 24.45 | 2.21 |
Creativity | - | - | - | - | 449 | 49.02 | 467 | 50.98 | 1.49 |
Emotional intelligence | - | - | - | - | 449 | 49.02 | 467 | 50.98 | 1.49 |
, Frequency of ‘yes’ for a particular level of proficiency (extent).
,
Both creativity and emotional intelligence appear to be the least developed skills (mean for both these skills = 1.49). This is because of the majority of respondents stated that these skills were not developed by the university programme. In both cases, 50.97% of respondents indicated that these skills were not developed, whereas the remainder (49.02%) were of the opinion that these were only developed to the basic level of proficiency (Level 2 – see
Complex problem-solving, listening and critical thinking were perceived to be developed to the intermediate level of proficiency (mean = 3.06 for each of the three skills). For complex problem-solving, which is the most important soft skill in terms of Industry 4.0, the majority of respondents (46.72%) indicated that their ability to solve complex problems was developed to the intermediate level of proficiency. Some respondents (31%), however, indicated that this skill was developed to the advanced level. Only 3.06% considered that the accounting programme had not developed their complex problem-solving skills at all. The majority of respondents (39.30%) viewed the university accounting programme as developing their ability to listen to the intermediate level of proficiency, whereas 43.23% were of the opinion that their ability to think critically was developed to the intermediate level. Only 36.24% and 33.62%, respectively, indicated that such a programme developed their ability to listen and think critically to the advanced level of proficiency.
An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the soft skills included in this research using maximum likelihood extraction and direct oblimin rotation to determine the unidimensionality of each of these skills. Hence, exploratory factor analysis explored and identified similar behaviour of the individual soft skills included in the total data set (Field
The appropriateness of performing an exploratory factor analysis was determined with reference to the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity. It indicated that the data applicable to the development of soft skills were appropriate for exploratory factor analysis because the KMO was 0.878, which is above the benchmark of 0.6, while Bartlett’s test of sphericity was 0.000 (i.e.
The question remains whether the soft skills included in this research were unique and consequently form specific factors.
Communalities of each soft skill in the factor analysis.
Soft skill | Communality extraction |
---|---|
Problem-solving | 0.480 |
Leadership | 0.731 |
Professionalism | 0.571 |
Strategic thinking | 0.699 |
Time management | 0.357 |
Verbal communication | 0.533 |
Listening | 0.754 |
Writing | 0.610 |
Team work | 0.632 |
Influencing others | 0.692 |
Critical thinking | 0.602 |
Creativity | 0.004 |
Soft skills relating to professionalism, ethical awareness, creativity and emotional intelligence resulted in a combination of similar responses. As shown in
Identification through correlation and descriptive analysis (see
Exploratory factor analysis outputs.
Description of factor | Eigenvalue | Number of factors | Cronbach’s alpha | Factor load | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leadership Professionalism Verbal communication Team work Influencing others |
43.306 |
5.197 |
1 |
0.879 |
- |
Time management Listening Writing |
55.848 |
1.505 |
1 |
0.763 |
- |
Problem-solving Strategic thinking Critical thinking |
65.088 |
1.109 |
1 |
0.807 |
- |
, Above the threshold of 1, hence considered to be one factor.
, Above the threshold of 0.7, hence reliability is considered satisfactory.
As evident from
The factor analysis showed that Factor 1 consisted of leadership, professionalism, verbal communication, team work and the ability to influence others, whereas Factor 2 was made up of skills relating to time management and ability to listen and write. Lastly, Factor 3 consisted of problem-solving skills as well as the ability to think strategically and critically. The skill relating to creativity did not load onto any of the factors and could be ascribed to the low communality extraction of 0.004 as shown in
We used Birkett’s (
Leadership, professionalism, verbal communication, teamwork and the ability to influence others all form constructs of Factor 1 and in effect represent ‘skills which entail the ability to secure outcomes through the use of organisational networks’ (e.g. accessing and using power and culture, building and activating intra- and inter-organisational networks, and representing an organisation). Hence, Factor 1 is labelled as respondents’ behavioural organisational skills (organisational skills).
The same applies to the labelling of Factor 2. For example, Factor 2 consists of soft skills relating to respondents’ ability to manage their time and to listen and write. However, time management is regarded by Birkett (
In the next step, we performed a two-step cluster analysis to further examine, by means of clusters, the extent to which the three factors identified in this research were perceived to be developed by a university accounting programme. Hence, the cluster analysis was an explorative analysis technique that attempted to identify structures within the data for further analysis. The purpose of a cluster analysis is to maximise heterogeneity between segments (Hair et al.
Silhouette measure of cohesion and separation of the different clusters based on the extent to which entry-level chartered accountants perceive soft skills to be developed by a university accounting programme.
The cluster analysis provided a solution of two clusters, with 58.50% (536) of respondents grouped into cluster 1 and 41.50% (380) grouped into cluster 2. Accordingly, all respondents were clustered into either cluster 1 or 2 and showed similar characteristics within each of the clusters for the respondent population. The hierarchical output for the cluster analysis is shown in
Outputs from two-step cluster analysis
Cluster | Yes | No | Moderate | Mean | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Size | - | - | - | - | 58.5 | 536 |
Awareness of Industry 4.0 and impact on soft skills demanded (%) | 100 | - | - | - | - | - |
Industry 4.0 soft skills’ awareness created by university accounting programme (%) | 100 | - | - | - | - | - |
Role of university accounting programme in developing soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0 (%) | - | - | 53 | - | - | - |
- | - | - | - | - | - | |
Factor 2: Extent of development of personal and interpersonal skills | - | - | - | 3.34 | - | - |
Factor 3: Extent of development of intellectual skills | - | - | - | 3.09 | - | - |
Factor 1: Extent of development of organisational skills | - | - | - | 2.23 | - | - |
- | - | - | - | - | - | |
Male | - | - | - | - | 53.7 | - |
Female | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Awareness of Industry 4.0 and impact on soft skills demanded (%) | - | 100 | - | - | - | - |
Industry 4.0 soft skills’ awareness created by university accounting programme (%) | - | 100 | - | - | - | - |
Role of university accounting programme in developing soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0 (%) | - | - | 48.4 | - | - | - |
- | - | - | - | - | - | |
Factor 2: Extent of development of personal and interpersonal skills | - | - | - | 3.07 | - | - |
Factor 3: Extent of development of intellectual skills | - | - | - | 2.87 | - | - |
Factor 1: Extent of development of organisational skills | - | - | - | 2.03 | - | - |
- | - | - | - | - | - | |
Male | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Female | - | - | - | - | 55.8 | - |
As shown in
The cluster analysis suggested that the perceived level of proficiency could be explained by the awareness of Industry 4.0 and its required soft skills as well as some demographic information and the role which a university accounting programme was perceived to play in their development. Hence, we used MANOVA as an inferential statistical analysing tool to explore the effect of the key identified variables (i.e. independent variables from the cluster analysis in
Multivariate analysis was regarded as the appropriate analysis as the alternative to a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). This is because we were specifically interested in the interactive effects of the independent variables on the extent to which respondents viewed a university accounting programme to develop soft skills (Everitt et al.
The focus of the identification of meaningful effects was based on the Wilks’ lambda (λ) and its statistical significance in conjunction with the partial
The individual Wilks’ lambda (λ) value for the independent variables included in the multivariate analysis of variance to explore the effect on the development of respondents’ organisational, personal and interpersonal as well as intellectual skills.
Description of independent variable | Multivariate test results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Value ( |
Sig. | Partial eta-squared | Variance explained (1 – |
||
Gender | 0.977 | 6.832 | 0.000 |
0.023 | 0.023 |
Awareness of Industry 4.0 and impact of soft skills demanded | 0.944 | 17.029 | 0.000 |
0.056 | 0.056 |
Industry 4.0 soft skills’ awareness created by university accounting programme | 0.978 | 6.582 | 0.000 |
0.022 | 0.022 |
Role of university accounting programme in developing soft skills demanded by industry 4.0 | 0.882 | 12.322 | 0.000 |
0.041 | 0.118 |
,
Our research further reveals that the majority of respondents were aged between 26 and 30 years (50.70%). For all three categories of soft skills (i.e. organisational, personal and interpersonal, and intellectual), gender appears to affect the extent to which respondents perceived these skills to be developed (
The majority of respondents (58.50%) were aware of Industry 4.0 and its impact on their soft skills. Room for improvement was evident as a large proportion of respondents (41.50%) were not aware of such an impact. However,
MANOVA test results – Impact of independent variables on organisational (factor 1), personal and interpersonal (factor 2) and intellectual (factor 3) skills
Description of independent variable | Soft Skill (dependent variable) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Organisational Skills (Factor 1) | Personal and Interpersonal Skills (Factor 2) | Intellectual Skills (Factor 3) | |||||||
F | Sig. | F | Sig. | R-Squared |
F | Sig. | R-Squared |
||
Gender | 11.155 | 0.001 |
0.013 | 16.302 | 0.000 |
0.018 | 11.841 | 0.001 |
0.013 |
Awareness of Industry 4.0 and its impact of soft skills demanded | 0.985 | 0.321# | 0.001 | 10.02 | 0.002 |
0.011 | 11.314 | 0.001 |
0.013 |
Industry 4.0 soft skills’ awareness created by university accounting programme | 2.154 | 0.143# | 0.002 | 4.709 | 0.030 |
0.005 | 18.792 | 0.000 |
0.021 |
Role of university accounting programme to develop Industry 4.0 soft skills | 8.544 | 0.000 |
0.029 | 2.218 | 0.085# | 0.008 | 24.228 | 0.000 |
0.077 |
,
,
, Partial Eta Squared.
Most of the respondents (51.10%) indicated that a university accounting programme played a moderate role in developing the soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0, whereas 23.10% of respondents stated that such a programme had a significant role. Only 9.20% were of the opinion that the programme played a crucial role in this regard, whereas 16.60% believed that it played no role at all. Our research further revealed that both organisational and intellectual skills were influenced by the perceived role that a university programme plays in the development of the Industry 4.0 required soft skills (
The inter-relationship between the independent variables (see
The inter-related Wilks’ lambda (λ) value for the independent variables included in the multivariate analysis to explore the effect on the development of respondents’ organisational, personal and interpersonal as well as intellectual skills.
Description of independent variable (permutated combinations) | Multivariate test results | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Value (λ) | Sig. | Partial eta-squared | Variance explained (1 – λ) | ||
Gender × Role of university accounting programme in developing Industry 4.0 soft skills | 0.979 | 2.014 | 0.034 |
0.007 | 0.021 |
Industry 4.0 soft skills awareness created by university accounting programme x Role of university accounting programme in developing Industry 4.0 soft skills | 0.940 | 6.025 | 0.000 |
0.020 | 0.060 |
Awareness of Industry 4.0 and the impact of soft skills demanded x Role of university accounting programme to develop Industry 4.0 soft skills | 0.905 | 9.730 | 0.000 |
0.033 | 0.095 |
Gender x Industry 4.0 soft skills awareness created by university accounting programme | 0.980 | 6.004 | 0.000 |
0.020 | 0.020 |
Gender x Awareness of Industry 4.0 and its impact on soft skills demanded | 0.985 | 4.389 | 0.004 |
0.015 | 0.015 |
Industry 4.0 soft skills awareness created by university accounting programme x Awareness of Industry 4.0 and its impact on soft skills demanded | 0.992 | 2.434 | 0.064 |
0.008 | 0.008 |
F, level of significance.
,
,
As evident from
Multivariate analysis of variance test results – Impact of inter-relation of independent variables on organisational (Factor 1), personal and interpersonal (Factor 2) and intellectual (Factor 3) skills.
Description of inter-related independent variable (permutated combinations) | Organisational skills (Factor 1) | Personal and interpersonal skills (Factor 2) | Intellectual skills (Factor 3) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sig. | R-Squared |
Sig. | R-Squared |
Sig. | R-Squared |
||||
Gender × Role of university accounting programme in developing Industry 4.0 soft skills | 0.283 | 0.838 |
0.001 | 0.091 | 0.965 |
0.000 | 2.825 | 0.038 |
0.010 |
Industry 4.0 soft skills awareness created by university accounting programme x Role of university accounting programme in developing Industry 4.0 soft skills | 0.625 | 0.599 |
0.002 | 1.182 | 0.315 |
0.004 | 8.802 | 0.000 |
0.030 |
Awareness of industry 4.0 and its impact of soft skills demanded x Role of university accounting programme in developing Industry 4.0 soft skills | 9.739 | 0.000 |
0.033 | 15.892 | 0.000 |
0.052 | 3.026 | 0.029 |
0.010 |
Gender x Industry 4.0 soft skills’ awareness created by university accounting programme | 0.898 | 0.344 |
0.001 | 11.417 | 0.001 |
0.013 | 2.147 | 0.143 |
0.002 |
Gender x Awareness of industry 4.0 and its impact on soft skills demanded | 0.260 | 0.610 |
0.000 | 1.262 | 0.262 |
0.001 | 10.950 | 0.001 |
0.012 |
Industry 4.0 soft skills awareness created by university accounting programme x Awareness of industry 4.0 and its impact on soft skills demanded | 0.001 | 0.973 |
0.000 | 4.510 | 0.034 |
0.005 | 3.839 | 0.050 |
0.004 |
F, level of significance.
,
,
,
, Partial eta-squared.
Respondents’ awareness of Industry 4.0 and its impact of the required soft skills as well as the role of a university accounting programme in developing them appears to impact the development of respondents’ organisational, personal and interpersonal as well as intellectual skills (
The awareness that a university accounting programme creates specific to the Industry 4.0 soft skills and the relationship with respondents’ awareness of Industry 4.0 and its impact on the demanded soft skills, as shown in
The main contribution of this study was to elicit the perceptions of entry-level CAs(SA) on the soft skills acquired through the accounting programme, specifically within the context of Industry 4.0. Empirical evidence was provided, indicating that the accounting programme, to some extent, develops Industry 4.0 soft skills. The question remains, however, as to the level of proficiency (extent) to which these skills should be developed. Accordingly, this research used the SAICA levels of proficiency as a benchmark to gauge the extent to which South African accounting programme providers were perceived to develop the soft skills demanded by Industry 4.0.
The study found that the accounting programme was perceived to have developed entry-level CA(SA)’s soft skills relating to their ability to solve complex problems, think critically, manage people effectively, coordinate others, apply judgement and decision-making, display a service orientation, negotiate effectively and display cognitive flexibility. However, the development of their creativity and emotional intelligence was lacking. This conclusion is based on the perception that these skills are not addressed in the current version of South African accountancy curriculum and professional accountancy body competency frameworks. Specific to the soft skills contained in the SAICA’s competency framework, a skills mix is presented in
From the aforementioned, within the context of Industry 4.0, room for improvement is clearly evident. In particular, there is a need to (1) improve the extent to which the Industry 4.0 soft skills are developed and (2) further develop professional competency in soft skills relating to creativity and emotional intelligence. It is recommended that further research should be conducted on (1) the level of proficiency which entry-level CAs(SA) are expected to master in the soft skills required by Industry 4.0, (2) the extent to which the accounting programme providers should develop these skills, (3) the methods which could be used by the accounting programme providers to impart these skills, specifically those related to creativity and emotional intelligence, and (4) the impact which the soft skills required by Industry 4.0 may have on the education of entry-level CAs(SA).
The authors would like to acknowledgment all prospective Professional accountants that complete the questionnaire as well as the SAICA for the support and sending out the questionnaire on behalf of the reseachers.
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
All authors contributed equally to the writing of this article.
The research included in this study was not funded under any grant; however, the assistance of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in distributing the research questionnaire is greatly acknowledged.
The response data set used in the discussion of this article is available from the corresponding author upon request.
The views and arguments articulated in this study are those of the authors and not that of the journal nor that of the University of Johannesburg.
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ current soft skills requirements in relation to the World Economic Forum’s prediction for 2020.
World Economic Forum soft skills for 2020 (World Economic Forum |
SAICA’s current soft skill requirements (SAICA |
---|---|
Complex problem-solving | Problem-solving (Alison et al. |
Critical thinking | Critical thinking (Australian Government |
Creativity | None |
People management | Leadership (Bayerlein & Timpson Influencing others (Australian Government Professionalism (IFAC Team work (IFAC Verbal communication (IFAC Time management (IFAC Ethical awareness (IFAC |
Coordinating others | Influencing others (Australian Government Professionalism (IFAC Team work (IFAC Verbal communication (IFAC |
Emotional intelligence | None |
Judgement and decision-making | Problem-solving (Australian Government Critical thinking (Australian Government Leadership (Bayerlein & Timpson Influencing others (Australian Government Professionalism (IFAC Team work (IFAC Verbal communication (IFAC Strategic thinking (IFAC Listening (Butler Writing (Dale-Jones, Hancock & Wiley Time management (IFAC Ethical awareness (IFAC |
Service orientation | Problem-solving (Apostolou et al. Critical thinking (Australian Government Leadership (IFAC Influencing others (Australian Government Professionalism (IFAC Team work (IFAC Verbal communication (IFAC Strategic thinking (IFAC Listening (Butler Writing (Dale-Jones et al. Time management (IFAC Ethical awareness (IFAC |
Negotiation | Problem-solving (Alison et al. Critical thinking (Australian Government Leadership (IFAC Influencing others (Australian Government Professionalism (IFAC Team work (IFAC Verbal communication (IFAC Strategic thinking (IFAC Listening (Butler Writing (Dale-Jones et al. |
Cognitive flexibility | Problem-solving (Alison et al. Critical thinking (Australian Government Leadership (IFAC Influencing others (Australian Government Professionalism (IFAC Team work (IFAC Verbal communication (IFAC Strategic thinking (IFAC Listening (Butler Ethical awareness (IFAC |
SAICA, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.