Accounting students' IT applicaton skills over a 10-year period

Stoner, G. (2009) Accounting students' IT applicaton skills over a 10-year period. Accounting Education, 18(1), pp. 7-31. (doi: 10.1080/09639280802532224)

[img] Text
4971.pdf

507kB

Publisher's URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09639280802532224

Abstract

This paper reports on the changing nature of a range of information technology (IT) application skills that students declare on entering an accounting degree over the period from 1996 to 2006. Accounting educators need to be aware of the IT skills students bring with them to university because of the implications this has for learning and teaching within the discipline and the importance of both general and specific IT skills within the practice and craft of accounting. Additionally, IT skills constitute a significant element within the portfolio of employability skills that are increasingly demanded by employers and emphasized within the overall Higher Education (HE) agenda. The analysis of students' reported IT application skills on entry to university, across a range of the most relevant areas of IT use in accounting, suggest that their skills have continued to improve over time. However, there are significant differential patterns of change through the years and within cohorts. The paper addresses the generalizability of these findings and discusses the implications of these factors for accounting educators, including the importance of recognising the differences that are potentially masked by the general increase in skills; the need for further research into the changing nature, and implications, of the gender gap in entrants' IT application skills; and the low levels of entrants' spreadsheet and database skills that are a cause for concern.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Education; information technology (IT); computer applications; skills; computer literacy; gender/sex
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Stoner, Professor Greg
Authors: Stoner, G.
Subjects:L Education > LC Special aspects of education
Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources
College/School:College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Accounting and Finance
Journal Name:Accounting Education
Publisher:Taylor and Francis
ISSN:0963-9284
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2009 Taylor and Francis Group
First Published:First published in Accounting Education 18(1):7-31
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record