Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers

Research findings suggest that graduates lack various qualities that are important in today’s job market. These include knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics that might directly influence their job performance. This phenomenon is not only common in developed countries, but also i...

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Main Author:	Tan, Chee Phin
Format:	Thesis
Language:	eng eng
Published:	2014
Subjects:	HF5549-5549.5 Personnel Management Employment
Online Access:	https://etd.uum.edu.my/4922/1/s91583.pdf https://etd.uum.edu.my/4922/2/s91583_abstract.pdf
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id	my-uum-etd.4922
record_format	uketd_dc
institution	Universiti Utara Malaysia
collection	UUM ETD
language	eng eng
advisor	Fadzil, Faudziah Hanim
topic	HF5549-5549.5 Personnel Management Employment
spellingShingle	HF5549-5549.5 Personnel Management Employment Tan, Chee Phin Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers
description	Research findings suggest that graduates lack various qualities that are important in today’s job market. These include knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics that might directly influence their job performance. This phenomenon is not only common in developed countries, but also in developing countries like Malaysia. In Malaysia, for example, graduates from local universities and colleges are struggling for employment due to lack of essential skills. It is due to the lack of studies involving the qualities of accounting graduates in Malaysia that this study was carried out to fill this gap. The main objective of this study was to determine the level of Malaysian accounting graduates’ qualities from the perspective of employers and the effect on their job performance. Graduates’ qualities were measured using knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics. 325 employers from auditing firms in Malaysia were selected as the respondents in this study. Data was managed and analyzed using SPSS version 18.0. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents strongly perceived that certain qualities should be given high priority in the accounting curriculum. This study provides evidence that accountants and employers perceived alike on fundamental qualities that must be incorporated in the curriculum such as financial accounting, managerial accounting and auditing/assurance services, global/international business, taxation, accounting application system, written and oral communication skills, applying analytical techniques, critical thinking, assertiveness, flexibility, self-confidence and decisiveness. The findings also suggest that there were significant relationships between accounting graduates’ qualities and their job performance. It was found that accounting graduates’ qualities which contribute more than three-quarters to their job performance, become the most important predictor. This study suggests that the higher the qualities of the accounting graduates, the greater their performance in the workplace. The findings of this study hope to shed important information on accounting graduates’ employability issues and ways to perhaps improve the situation in the future.
format	Thesis
qualification_name	Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Tan, Chee Phin
author_facet	Tan, Chee Phin
author_sort	Tan, Chee Phin
title	Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers
title_short	Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers
title_full	Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers
title_fullStr	Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers
title_full_unstemmed	Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers
title_sort	qualities of malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers
granting_institution	Universiti Utara Malaysia
granting_department	Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business
publishDate	2014
url	https://etd.uum.edu.my/4922/1/s91583.pdf https://etd.uum.edu.my/4922/2/s91583_abstract.pdf
_version_	1776103659068719104
spelling	my-uum-etd.49222023-01-17T00:42:43Z Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers 2014 Tan, Chee Phin Fadzil, Faudziah Hanim Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business HF5549-5549.5 Personnel Management. Employment Research findings suggest that graduates lack various qualities that are important in today’s job market. These include knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics that might directly influence their job performance. This phenomenon is not only common in developed countries, but also in developing countries like Malaysia. In Malaysia, for example, graduates from local universities and colleges are struggling for employment due to lack of essential skills. It is due to the lack of studies involving the qualities of accounting graduates in Malaysia that this study was carried out to fill this gap. The main objective of this study was to determine the level of Malaysian accounting graduates’ qualities from the perspective of employers and the effect on their job performance. Graduates’ qualities were measured using knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics. 325 employers from auditing firms in Malaysia were selected as the respondents in this study. Data was managed and analyzed using SPSS version 18.0. The results indicate that the majority of the respondents strongly perceived that certain qualities should be given high priority in the accounting curriculum. This study provides evidence that accountants and employers perceived alike on fundamental qualities that must be incorporated in the curriculum such as financial accounting, managerial accounting and auditing/assurance services, global/international business, taxation, accounting application system, written and oral communication skills, applying analytical techniques, critical thinking, assertiveness, flexibility, self-confidence and decisiveness. The findings also suggest that there were significant relationships between accounting graduates’ qualities and their job performance. It was found that accounting graduates’ qualities which contribute more than three-quarters to their job performance, become the most important predictor. This study suggests that the higher the qualities of the accounting graduates, the greater their performance in the workplace. 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Qualities of Malaysian accounting graduates and their job performance from the perspective of employers

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