Date of Award
Fall 12-2013
Degree Type
Honors College Thesis
Department
Accounting
First Advisor
Amber B. Hatten
Advisor Department
Accounting
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine the technology expectations of Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firms and to evaluate whether or not accounting curriculums adequately prepare students to meet the firms’ hiring expectations. A total of 28 participants - 19 sole practitioners and 9 CPA firms - completed an online survey designed to determine the technological skills CPA firms require of new hires, the extent to which recent new hires have met the firms’ expectations, and the accounting software and programs that firms typically use. The researcher also analyzed the accounting curriculums of 22 four-year public universities to gather information regarding the technology-related classes that each university offered. CPA firms use a variety of accounting software programs to complete accounting, tax, audit, and/or financial reporting tasks. The majority of CPA firms require new hires to have research and word processing skills. They also require that new hires have the ability to use e-mail, the Internet, and spreadsheets. Most of the CPA firms agreed that new hires have met the technological expectations of the firm in the past three to five years. The curriculum analysis showed that every university included in this study offered at least one technology-related course in their accounting curriculum. The results presented in this thesis suggest that students are being adequately prepared to meet the hiring expectations of CPA firms.
Copyright
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Recommended Citation
Wilson, Kristy N., "Technology Expectations Of CPA Firms: Hiring and the Accounting Curriculum" (2013). Honors Theses. 192.
https://aquila.usm.edu/honors_theses/192