The Adequacy of Accounting Education in the Development of Transversal Skills Needed to Meet Market Demands

Abstract

With the ongoing digital transformation, accountants will need a more technological profile and greater mastery of transversal skills. In this context, higher education institutions (HEIs) assume a fundamental role, as they must adapt the teaching methodologies of accounting courses to meet new market demands. This study aims to identify the transversal skills most needed by accounting professionals to meet market demands and analyze the suitability of higher education in Portugal for the development of those skills. To this end, semi-structured interviews were carried out with people who directly or indirectly deal with accounting professionals and focus groups that included lecturers, students, and recent graduates. Conclusions indicate that communication is the most valuable transversal skill to respond to the new requirements of the profession, followed by being proactive, showing initiative, successful teamwork, and the ability to adapt to new contexts. Accountants are also required to invest more time in information and communication technologies (ICT) training. Evidence indicates that accounting education in Portugal does not seem to adequately prepare students with these skills, continuing to rely on traditional approaches to teaching and assessment.

1. Introduction

Digital transformation is constantly changing workflow and accounting processes [1]. The accounting profession places less and less emphasis on recording operations in order to become more involved in management support and decision-making [2]. In addition to process automation, digital technologies will generate large amounts of data. Thus, in order to contribute to the creation of value and the sustainability of entities, accountants must expand their skills, particularly in data analysis, so as not to run the risk of being replaced by professionals from other areas [3,4]. As such, it is expected that in the future, accountants will need to have a more technological profile, with a more active role in supporting management and decision-making, requiring a greater mastery of transversal skills [4,5,6,7].

Accounting faculties should continue to focus on their area of expertise—technical accounting issues [8]. However, the results of some studies show that accounting graduates are technically prepared for the workplace, but there is room for improvement in the area of soft skills [9,10,11]. Indeed, graduates are not totally aware of what skills employers consider to be important: students are still focused on technical skills, while employers have been increasingly concentrating on transversal skills [12]. There is some evidence that employers often prioritize soft skills over technical ones in the accounting profession [12,13,14].

Although these skills may be transversal to other modern professions, the literature available on the topic highlights some specific skills as being the most required by accountants and valued by the market, and that may even be decisive in the recruitment process [13]. For example, the authors of [12] have confirmed the growing demand for accounting graduates who possess teamwork abilities and good communication and interpersonal skills. Likewise, other studies [9,13] demonstrated that compared to other business professionals, accounting students did not feel that their study programs improved their leadership abilities, oral and written communication, and critical thinking. Accounting programs need to be positioned to develop those soft skills that are deemed important by accounting students [15,16] and working professionals [16,17].

Thus, the current challenge for higher education institutions (HEIs) that teach accounting courses is to identify the skills and tools relevant to the profession, and how and when to incorporate them into the academic curricula [18,19].

Although the implementation of some active methodologies in the teaching approach of accounting is apparent, as supported by the evolution of information and communication technologies (ICT), the recent literature has highlighted the existence of a gap between the knowledge and performance of recent graduates and the expectations of employer entities [14,19,20,21,22,23,24]. Recent graduates consider that the curriculum is not sufficient for the current labor market, as it only partially corresponds to market requirements, and there is a lack of connection between theory and practice [12].

The literature also shows that, increasingly, accounting training must combine hard with soft skills, which will be decisive in the future profiles of accountants [9,13]. For the acquisition and development of those skills, HEIs assume a fundamental role; they are the ones that have to adapt the teaching approach of accounting courses to integrate those skills that the market requires from accounting professionals. In fact, IFAC itself recommends, in its International Education Standard (IES) 3—Professional Skills [25], that higher education institutions should design their professional accounting education programs so that graduates achieve an intermediate level of proficiency in four professional skill sets: intellectual, interpersonal and communication, personal, and organization.

It is necessary for accounting educators to revisit their curriculum to see whether it meets the needs of the accounting/business environment, focusing on the development of soft skills [14]. Our study intends to contribute to this development, providing guidance on the specific soft skills perceived to be important by graduates, educators, and companies in Portugal. It is important to assess whether the current programs and pedagogical models are prepared and are adequate to respond to those challenges, as there are limited studies available on this issue, particularly in Portugal.

These are the motivations for our empirical study, the objectives of which are to identify the transversal skills most required by the market for accounting professionals and to analyze the suitability of higher education in Portugal for the development of those skills.

To meet these objectives, we carried out an in-depth exploratory study of a qualitative nature, conducting fourteen semi-structured interviews with people who, directly or indirectly, deal with accounting professionals, as well as two focus groups in which a total of twelve lecturers, students, and recent graduates participated.

This study contributes to the literature on the new requirements and profile of the accounting profession, as well as to the published research on soft skills, both topics that are still understudied, especially in the Portuguese context. The results also contribute to accounting practice, particularly for the HEIs that teach accounting courses, by presenting employers’ preferences in terms of the soft skills of accounting graduates in Portugal, advising which skills should be considered in a timely manner when updating the curricula of those institutions.

This study is divided into six main sections. After this introduction, Section 2 presents a literature review on the two central topics of this study. Section 3 presents the methodology and research questions that enable the objective of the study to be addressed. In Section 4 and Section 5, the results obtained are presented and discussed, respectively. In Section 6, the main conclusions of the study are presented.

2. Literature Review

2.1. The Transversal Skills Required by Accounting Professionals

The current literature shows that the areas of financial accounting, management accounting, and taxation will continue to be important in the initial training of accountants in the future, not neglecting the transformations that are taking place in the profession, essentially at a technological level [8,14]. In fact, the constant evolution of ICT has had a strong impact on society and, consequently, on the accounting profession, in such a way that part of the functions performed by accountants will be automated [4,5,26,27,28]. In addition to process automation, digital technologies will generate large quantities of data. One of the great challenges of accounting will be to collect all the relevant data, process them and transform them into information. For this process, technologically advanced systems are needed, provided with real-time processing capacity and sophisticated algorithms, which will require different abilities, qualifications, and new functions [1].

The future will require accountants to utilize technologies and develop new skills in tools that improve strategic analysis and decision-making [2,5,27,29]. For example, the authors of [27] consider that professionals, in order to keep up to date, must develop cognitive technology, that is, develop skills in cloud computing, big data, business intelligence, data mining, AI, data analytics, and blockchain, among others. In other words, in order to contribute to the creation of value for entities, accountants must expand their skills in the area of ICT, namely, in data analysis [3,4,30].

These changes may contribute to a reduction in costs and a better quality in performing the most routine tasks, allowing the accountant to participate more in the strategic management of organizations and in decision-making, which implies the need to develop new skills [8,26]. Thus, in addition to the development of basic technical skills, accountants need to strengthen their ICT and transversal skills [3,6,14,20,23,27,29,31].

Many studies highlight the need for accounting students to acquire skills in these areas, to respond to the new requirements of the profession [3,10,14,20,27,31,32,33,34].

Thus, the future of the profession will depend on the use of technologies; this is an opportunity for accountants to reinvent themselves, enjoy the advantages and maximize the potential of ICT. As such, certain transversal and ICT skills will constitute emerging skills in the profession that must be incorporated into the teaching–learning process.

Education is, perhaps, one of the main sources responsible for making the academic community aware of the development of transversal skills (also called soft skills in the literature). While hard skills focus on the technical knowledge needed for the job—know-how—soft skills combine interpersonal skills and personal characteristics [35,36], transferable to various areas and professional activities and with a synergistic effect, which contribute to professional effectiveness [36,37]. Soft skills differentiate and empower subjects for maximum performance; they may be characteristics inherent to the person but may also be learned through education and training [14,37].

The World Economic Forum [7] published a list of emerging soft skills for 2025, which can be systematized into four types: problem-solving; self-management; teamwork; and the use and development of technology. Despite being transversal skills that are relevant to several professional areas, these soft skills are related to the emerging skills of the accountants of the future [4] and should, therefore, be developed in their training through new teaching methodologies [22].

Some studies reveal that accounting professors are satisfied with the level of technical skills acquired by students throughout their degree [9,20]. Therefore, the hard skills should continue to be worked on; however, more attention should be paid to the development of soft skills [9,13,20,22,38] for recent graduates about to enter the labor market with the expected level of qualifications [21,38].

In

Table 1. Transversal skills to be developed in accounting students.

Skills	Studies
Communication	[6,12,13,14,20,22,38,39,40]
Technological	[3,6,14,20,23,27,31,34]
Teamwork	[12,14,20,23,38,39]
Critical thinking	[13,14,21,22,38]
Problem-solving	[12,14,22,38]
Leadership	[12,14,22,39]
Time management	[12,20,38]
Ethics	[20,38]

Source: prepared by the authors.

, we systematize the transversal skills indicated in the literature, the development of which during academic training, specifically in accounting courses, is revealed to be of greater importance. This table was prepared based on the most relevant and current articles that support the framework of our study, in terms of the most important skills to be developed in the teaching of accounting.

Communication and the technological component are the transversal skills most mentioned in empirical studies. However, successful teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking were other skills that were highlighted in the studies, as they are essential for current and future accountants to properly perform their duties.

Therefore, we can conclude that increasingly, accounting training must combine hard with soft skills. Accountants will need to develop more analytical transversal skills, such as critical and strategic thinking, leadership, communication skills, successful teamwork, and problem-solving skills, in line with IES 3 [25].

2.2. The Current Teaching and Learning Model in Higher-Education Accounting Courses

One of the challenges that schools are constantly faced with, namely, in higher education, is to rethink teaching methodologies and programs; they must meet, and even anticipate, market needs [41]. The need to adapt the accounting curricula to market needs has been pointed out for many years by academics [10,30,42,43], as well as by trade organizations and accounting associations [4,25]. For example, the IFAC has been updating its standards based on market needs, with the most recent amendment being published in 2019 [25].

The most recent change in the educational paradigm in higher education took place in 1999, with the signing of the Bologna Declaration [44]. The so-called Bologna process (BP) is associated with the phenomenon of globalization in education and was designed in order for higher education to respond to the challenges and opportunities that emerged in a context of growing economic integration on a European scale, through a student-centered teaching and learning model, focusing on the assessment of learning objectives.

Active learning is a teaching methodology that places the student at the center of the entire teaching and learning process, promoting greater involvement and participation in the process of acquiring knowledge [41]. Over time, a large diversity of active teaching and learning methodologies emerged that depart from the traditional method, from which we would like to highlight team-based learning [45], peer instruction [46], the flipped classroom [47,48], problem-based learning (PBL) [49] and project-based learning [47], and game-based learning or gamification [50,51].

All these methodologies are considered to be constructivist approaches, preparing students and developing skills considered essential for the 21st century [49]. Another teaching approach that is currently in place, and which has been widely used by HEIs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic we are currently experiencing, is blended learning, which corresponds to the link between face-to-face lectures and distance learning [52,53].

In Portugal, since the Aula de Comércio in 1759, accounting teaching has focused primarily on the traditional approach, that is, on a teaching method centered on the teacher, who is the holder of the knowledge that is transmitted to the student through expository classes [54,55].

However, more recently, new teaching techniques and methodologies have started to be applied that seem to better develop students’ learning ability [50,51,55]. In Portugal, for several years, the most widely applied active teaching and learning methodology has been PBL. This is because this methodology is applied to a curricular unit, called “Business Simulation” or “Business Simulation Project”, which integrates the academic curricula of several higher-education courses in Portugal. This curricular unit is recognized by the Order of Certified Accountants (OCC) as replacing the curricular internship to gain access to the profession, as required by the OCC.

PBL emerged in the 1960s at McMaster University Medical School, Canada [56]. Despite having its origins in the teaching of medical sciences, PBL quickly expanded to the teaching of other areas, such as engineering, law, and accounting.

PBL is based on the principle of using contextualized problems of a professional nature for both the acquisition and integration of knowledge [56]. In fact, PBL helps students to assume responsibility, independence, and creativity in their own learning [52,57], as well as develop critical thinking and decision-making skills, especially in understanding and applying academic concepts [58]. In other words, with this methodology, HEIs can improve learning, establishing the relationship between theory and practice, by solving problems based on real scenarios, and developing such transversal skills.

In Portugal, several studies on the implementation of the PBL methodology in the teaching of accounting were carried out [59,60], and the conclusions are unanimous regarding the importance of PBL in the development of technical and transversal skills of accountants: it has an interdisciplinary nature and can be applied to different subjects; it reduces the distance between theory and practice; it promotes the active participation of the student in the creation of their own knowledge; it enhances the development, not only of hard skills but also of soft skills, which are increasingly required by the labor market. These conclusions are in line with those of studies carried out in other countries [49,57].

Despite the implementation of active methodologies in the teaching of accounting, many of them supported by the evolution of ICT, recent literature has highlighted the existence of a gap between the knowledge and performance of recent accounting graduates and employers’ expectations [14,19,20,21,22,23]. Recent graduates consider that the curriculum is not sufficient for the current labor market, with only a partial correlation with employers’ expectations and a lack of connection between theory and practice [12].

This maladjustment is due, at least in part, to a resistance to change in some HEIs [61]. For example, in Portugal, there are few HEIs with nationwide initiatives to develop strategies for pedagogical innovation that promote the development of transversal skills in accounting students [41]. The proper linkage between theory and practice could be developed using different methods, such as case studies, role-plays, experiential learning, teamwork tasks, and extracurricular activities [62]. As pointed out by the authors of [32], educators need to make increased efforts to inculcate soft skills by using real-life, practical examples in their core subjects because integrating core subjects can enhance the acquisition of pervasive skills. It is also important to use methods such as case studies, mentorship, and internship programs for equipping candidates with pervasive skills [63]. For example, very recently, one study [24] provided evidence that accountancy students can develop employability skills through their involvement in two extracurricular activities: community accounting and an accountancy club. Conversely, and in response to the need to adapt to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, an e-learning internship model was implemented with very positive results [64]. This new model may constitute an alternative to traditional internships in the future.

Therefore, it is necessary to discuss those changes and make efforts to adapt to them, since it is the responsibility of HEIs to ensure that educational content and teaching strategies meet the needs of the market [6,61]. Those responsible for teaching accounting must identify the relevant learning objectives to be developed during training and define the best methodologies to achieve them, namely, in terms of transversal skills, which are increasingly valued by the market of the accounting profession [8].

3. Methodology

From the literature review, we concluded that increasingly, accounting training must combine hard with soft skills, which will be decisive in the future profile of the trained accountant. There should, therefore, be more emphasis on providing training in new technologies and transversal skills, such as critical and strategic thinking, communication skills, successful teamwork, and problem-solving skills, in line with what is prescribed by IAS 3 [25].

For the acquisition and development of these skills, HEIs play a fundamental role and should assess whether the current programs and pedagogical models are prepared and adequate to respond to those challenges. If they are not, it is necessary to reflect on how they can become so. It is therefore justified to carry out our empirical study, the objectives of which are to identify the transversal skills most required by the market for accounting professionals and to analyze the adequacy of higher education in Portugal for the development of those skills.

To respond to the objectives of this study, we formulated three research questions:

• What essential transversal skills do accountants need to meet market demands?
• How can the current model of teaching and learning in higher education accounting in Portugal be characterized?
• How should teaching adapt to the development of those transversal skills that accounting professionals need to meet market demands?

Our empirical study is exploratory in nature, given the scarcity of works within the scope of our research [65]; that is, works that study and relate to market needs regarding the transversal skills of accountants and the development of these skills in higher education. In contrast, as the aim is to study those issues in more depth, without sufficient knowledge and answers in the literature, especially vis-à-vis the Portuguese reality, we opted for a qualitative approach [66], utilizing interviews and focus groups.

Thus, to answer the first research question, market perceptions were collected via interviews with people who, directly or indirectly, deal with accounting professionals. To answer the second research question, we conducted two focus groups consisting of lecturers and students of higher education in the field of accounting. To address the third question, we used the data sourced from the interviews and the two focus groups, combining perspectives from the market with that of academia (

Table 2. Research design.

To Identify the Transversal Skills Most Needed by Accounting Professionals to Meet Market Demands
Interviews	What essential transversal skills do accountants need to meet market demands?
To Analyze How Effective Higher Education in Portugal Is for the Development of Those Skills
Interviews	How can the current model of teaching and learning in higher education accounting in Portugal be characterized?
Focus groups	How should teaching adapt to the development of those transversal skills that accounting professionals need to meet market demands?

).

The interviews were semi-structured as this allows a wealth of answers to be generated and offers a better understanding of the subject under analysis. They are based on a number of guiding questions, which are used as a reference, are suitable for questions requiring an opinion to be given, and are compiled based on the literature review.

Given the exploratory nature of our study, and as we do not intend to extrapolate its conclusions to the wider population, we opted for the non-random technique of intentional convenience sampling. In the selection of interviewees, all the categories identified in

Table 3. Characterization of the interviewees.

Code	Entity	Category and Function	Educational Background	District
DFC1	Company listed on the Stock Exchange	Financial Director—Consolidation, Reporting, and Compliance Manager	Management	Porto
G1	Industrial company	Manager—CEO	Engineering	Aveiro
G2	Industrial company	Manager—CEO	Chemical Engineering	Coimbra
A1	CPA	Auditor	Accounting	Porto
CCE1	Industrial company	Certified Accountant	Economics	Évora
CCG1	Accounting office	Certified Accountant	Economics	Porto
CCG2	Accounting office	Certified Accountant	Accounting	Aveiro
President	OCC	Member of the OCC—Chairman	Accounting	Lisbon
DFC2	Industrial company	CFO	Economics	Aveiro
CCE1	Industrial company	Certified Accountant	Public Administration	Braga
CCG3	Accounting office	Certified Accountant	Accounting	Lisbon
CCP1	Public sector—Autarchy	Certified Accountant	Accounting/Economics	Aveiro
A2	Big 4	Auditor	Management	Porto
OCPA	OCPA	OCPA member	Economics	Porto

Source: prepared by the authors.

were represented, and the following criteria were also respected: accountants of large and medium-sized companies; private and public sector accountants; accountants in accounting offices; managers or administrators; “Big 4” and “non-Big 4” reviewers or auditors; one member of the governing bodies of the OCC and another from the Order of Certified Public Accountants (OCPA).

As a result of the selection process, in Table 3, we present the characteristics of the fourteen interviewees, in the order in which the interviews were carried out.

The interviews were conducted online during April and May 2021 and were recorded with the permission of the interviewees, with an average duration of 45 min. The total time of the interviews was 10 h and 10 min.

The focus group is a data collection technique that allows group interaction within a structured discussion, encouraging the progressive sharing of ideas, leading to the development of new information and knowledge [67]. Therefore, we considered the focus group to be the best data collection technique to analyze the need and the adequacy of accounting teaching in the development of transversal skills required by accountants.

To conduct the focus group, a guide was previously prepared, consisting of open and short questions that were easy to understand, following a logical sequence that would lead participants to reflect on the subjects to be analyzed [67].

As with the interviews, the focus group was based on an intentional sample, consisting of twelve participants. This sample was divided into two homogeneous groups, with six elements each, the characteristics of whom are shown in

Table 4. Characterization of the participants in the focus groups.

Group	Code	Category	Teaching Area
Focus group A	D1	Accounting professor	Financial Accounting
	D2	Accounting professor	Financial Accounting, Auditing, Taxation
	D3	Accounting professor	Financial Accounting
	M1	Specialist in teaching methodologies	-
	E1	Student	-
	E2	Recent graduate	-
Focus group B	D4	Accounting professor	Management Accounting
	D5	Accounting professor	Financial Accounting
	D6	Accounting professor	Taxation
	M2	Specialist in teaching methodologies	-
	E3	Student	-
	E4	Recent graduate	-

Source: prepared by the authors.

.

The participants were selected in order to guarantee the homogeneity of the group and had the following characteristics: three professors from different schools, who offer accounting courses in both forms of higher education systems (polytechnic and university), who teach in different areas of accounting, and who either have accounting teaching as their research area or apply active teaching approaches; a professor from another scientific area, with extensive experience in applying new teaching and learning methodologies; a recent accounting graduate, with between three and five years’ experience in the labor market. These participants were chosen with the aim of gathering perceptions about teaching and the practical context and included a current accounting student, to provide insight into current teaching.

Each focus group lasted two hours, taking place online in May 2021, and each was filmed and audio-recorded with prior authorization from the participants.

Regarding the treatment of the data obtained from interviews and focus groups, qualitative content analysis was used through the systematic transcription of the recorded speech to a content analysis grid.

4. Results

4.1. The Essential Transversal Skills Needed by Accountants to Meet Market Demands

Several interviewees highlighted the fact that soft skills are increasingly important and fundamental for the accounting profession, and they will allow professionals to distinguish themselves in the market and should therefore be invested in for the future. In fact, some interviewees even considered that if an accounting professional masters certain transversal skills, these skills will help them to develop and improve their own technical skills.

Regarding the most important transversal skills of accounting professionals, in

Table 5. Main transversal skills, as identified by interviewees.

Skills	DFC1	G1	G2	A1	CCE1	CCG1	CCG2	B	DFC2	CCE2	CCG3	CCP1	A2	OCPA
Communication	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x	x		x			x
Being proactive/Showing initiative	x	x	x			x		x		x		x	x
Teamwork		x					x		x			x	x	x
Ability to adapt	x	x	x			x				x			x
Ability to solve problems	x		x					x	x		x
Critical thinking	x					x				x			x
Leadership					x				x				x	x
Working under stress					x		x							x
Organization/Time management				x					x		x
Positioning/Presentation				x				x						x
Empathy					x						x
Resilience					x							x
Assertiveness										x	x
Humility										x		x

Source: prepared by the authors.

, we present a summary of those attributes most mentioned by the interviewees. Communication is the skill considered essential by most interviewees, followed by being proactive and showing initiative, successful teamwork and the ability to adapt and solve problems, critical thinking, and leadership.

In the interviewees’ opinion, communication is important due to the daily interaction that accountants have with their peers, such as talking to clients and entrepreneurs, knowing how to explain information to them, and giving them advice, among other reasons mentioned. Being proactive, on the other hand, is closely related to showing the initiative to keep up to date, to train, and the desire to learn and anticipate situations that may arise. Also associated with being proactive is the ability to solve problems from the perspective of being able to anticipate scenarios, analyze information, and identify the best solutions for each specific situation.

On the one hand, teamwork is important to promote mutual help, as the accounting professional does not work alone. On the other hand, constant legislative and technological changes justify the importance given to the ability to adapt that an accountant must have, as well as knowing how to adapt to other contexts.

Critical thinking when analyzing information is listed by some interviewees as the opinion that accountants must “(…) stop to look at the data and see if there is something that is not right” (CCE2), “(…) because in a job that becomes routine, it is important to have the critical ability to examine the information received or produced” (DFC1).

Leadership is related to knowing how to work in a team, how to manage people, and how to communicate with them. Some interviewees believe that assertive and empathetic accountants will know how to better position themselves before others. Positioning is, in fact, a skill that is highlighted by two participants, the President and A1; they mention that it is increasingly important for accountants to know how to position themselves in relation to the client, to know how to present themselves, and to follow the evolution of their own activity. This skill is associated with the ability to organize tasks and time. The ability to work under stress is a skill mentioned by three interviewees.

Although indicated by fewer respondents, resilience and humility were also considered to be essential transversal skills needed by accounting professionals.

Notwithstanding the transversal skills mentioned, it is important to emphasize that ICT was explicitly indicated by almost all the interviewees as being one of the most important skills to be developed, given the impact it will have on the accountant’s functions. Most respondents believe that future accounting professionals should have a more technological profile, with knowledge of blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence, and digitalization. For auditors and those who work in the industrial sector, it is essential to master tools for processing and analyzing large amounts of data, such as business intelligence, business analytics, Power BI, machine learning, and data mining.

4.2. The Current Teaching and Learning Model in Higher-Education Accounting Courses in Portugal

When invited to reflect on the first focus discussion topic groups regarding the characterization of the current accounting teaching in Portugal, most participants recognized that transition to the BP limited the in-depth study of some content. Lack of articulation between theory and practice is also mentioned, considering that the teaching and learning process has an excessive influence on mechanization processes.

Regarding the methodologies adopted, the professors admit that student-centered learning, as required by the BP, is not being implemented; institutions are applying the same teaching methodology as they did twenty years ago for students with a very different profile and learning style. Therefore, some of the teaching methodologies are inadequate for the current students’ profile, which leads to a lack of motivation and lack of proactivity in the learning process. As professor M1 says, “learning methodologies are as important as teaching methodologies. We often worry about teaching and not so much about the student”.

The students’ perspective coincides with that of the professors regarding the inadequacy of teaching methodologies. Two students (E1; E4) highlighted the resistance of some lecturers to accept the paradigm shift, a fact that was even more apparent in the context of distance learning during the pandemic, with lecturers who “did not teach because they did not know how to use digital platforms and present the answers to the exercises” (E1). Two professors (D4; M2), however, opposed these statements, arguing that there are professors who are concerned with monitoring the work of students and adapting to the specifics of each student. These lecturers, although there are not many, are the same ones who invest in pedagogical innovation and are more proactive within the HEIs.

In this regard, the assessment of the lecturers’ performance by the HEIs was discussed. In particular, in some cases, it was not determined to be the most valid argument since the research component is the most valued, discouraging professors from investing in training in new teaching methodologies.

Another professor brought to the discussion the lack of training in pedagogy of higher-education professors, who use the same methodology they experienced themselves, that is, an expository methodology (D6). This is due not only to the lecturers’ difficulties in adapting but also to the high number of students per class, preventing the lecturer from giving more individualized attention to students (D2; M1).

The lack of internship opportunities was a gap pointed out by many with an accounting degree, as the participants considered that some curricular units based on PBL are not structured to sufficiently develop soft skills, due not only to their complexity but also to the short assigned period in which they take place (D4; D6; E1). One of the students (E3) highly valued this curricular unit, mentioning that at his school, it was very well structured and that this unit is valuable for the development of numerous skills, especially transversal ones. Professor D1 considers that attending the PBL is preferable to curricular internships, during which students often do archival work and do not develop the skills expected of an accounting professional.

Professor M2 advocates that there are transversal skills that must be developed outside the academic context, and the student must actively look for the respective training in those areas. In this regard, the professors highlighted the lack of proactivity and autonomy that students in accounting degrees currently have, assuming a passive attitude toward teaching that makes it difficult to integrate more active methodologies.

It was agreed that assessment in higher education in general, and in accounting degrees in particular, is still very much focused on tests, sometimes on just one test, an aspect that is not appreciated by students. In addition, these tests often consist of multiple-choice questions, a scenario that may have been enhanced by online teaching during the pandemic period. The lecturers also considered that this is not the most appropriate assessment model, since all the learning carried out over a semester is concentrated on a single test and is very focused on technical skills. The students agreed, emphasizing that assessment through exams does not allow the soft skills acquired during the course to be assessed (E1; E2).

4.3. The Adequacy of Teaching in Terms of the Development of the Transversal Skills Needed by Future Accounting Professionals to Meet Market Demands

4.3.1. Market Perspective

Regarding the opinion of the market (represented by the interviewees) as to how HEIs should adapt their teaching, the respondents considered that HEIs should diversify their teaching and learning approaches to better develop the transversal skills of future accountants. In

Table 6. Teaching approaches, as recommended by the respondents.

Linking Theory and Practice	“New technologies should be more practical, in the sense of testing and working with these tools” (President). “Theory is important, but it must have a strong practical component (…) practical and real situations should be simulated to solve problems” (DFC1). “More frequent contact with the labor market, for students to gain a broader notion. Provide short visits and internships” (G2). “I think that congresses are also important for sharing knowledge and different realities” (CCE1). “(…) real case studies, which allow students to be exposed to these realities and to see and critically analyze how real-world problems can be solved (…) to apply technical tools that help in the resolution of such problems” (DFC2). “More internships that are closely monitored by the professors, to check if the internships are suitable” (CCG1). “To hold some seminars so that the students can participate and discuss the issues” (CCG2). “I think that teaching should also be represented by professionals with practical experience and not just theoretical ones, in order to have a stronger link between the labor market and academia” (OPCA).
Up to date
Conferences
Congresses
Practical contexts
Internships

Source: prepared by the authors.

, we present a summary of the teaching approaches suggested by the interviewees, accompanied by extracts from the interviews that justify their importance.

In general, the interviewees were very critical of the way accounting is currently taught, as they believe that current teaching is based on an excessively theoretical approach, with little impact on practice. The interviewees did not denigrate the importance of theory but argued that theory and practice should be more closely linked, allowing students to complete their degrees with more consolidated concepts. In this sense, they criticized the inadequate practical real-world context and the poor relationship with the labor market during the training period, which contributes to a limited number of lecturers with practical experience (A2; DFC1; OCPA). The respondents believed that successful learning is enriched by experience in real-world contexts. Conversely, the development of transversal skills can contribute to the improvement of hard skills in the practical context, and some interviewees indicated that soft skills can be a deciding factor in a job interview (CCE1; OCPA).

One interviewee considered that the success of internships is limited since, in order to be effective, they have to be closely supervised and monitored.

The PBL is considered a good methodology to complement traditional learning. However, some interviewees indicate that the former may be out of line with the current context of the labor market (A1; DFC2). Therefore, this approach should be updated, and links with the other curricular units strengthened, so that, for example, contact with technological tools is not only in the context of the PBL. However, “(…) resources are needed, as well as the training of professors for this purpose, and a desire to develop this option” (A1).

The President of the OCC recognized the difficulty in bringing together so many skills in such a short educational period, as is the case today with most accounting degrees, expecting the HEIs to balance the teaching of hard and soft skills.

Finally, some interviewees highlighted the importance of HEIs in providing access to congresses, seminars, visits to companies, and the occasional presence of speakers who offer a strong practical component (G2; DFC1; CCG2).

4.3.2. Academic Perspective

The almost unanimous opinion of the participants in the focus groups regarding the profile of the accountant of the future was that they should have both technological and transversal skills. Participants were sensitive to the current importance and impact of the new ICT requirements on the profession: “Those who only know how to do things will be replaced by artificial intelligence and those who know how to interpret and take advantage of the information available in accounting will survive” (D2); “(…) if they don’t evolve, they will be replaced by machines, if they don’t have critical and optimization skills, the profession will become extinct” (M1).

Thus, the participants agreed that teaching should work together with curricular units in an articulated way and that the new ICT skills should be transversal and be applied in practical contexts. As a result, one of the main challenges identified by the participants was that, over a period of three years, it is necessary for HEIs to train future accountants to become specialized, with soft skills and technological skills that will dominate the profession (D1).

Regarding transversal skills, we would like to highlight an analogy presented by one of the participants: “Companies need people with a T in terms of personal skills, where the horizontal line represents breadth, and the vertical line represents depth” (M1). In line with this opinion, several participants highlighted the importance of soft skills in the profession, arguing that they are highly valued by companies (D1).

The importance of theory to acquire knowledge about concepts is highlighted, but there should be a stronger connection to practice. Professors argue that, as society is constantly changing, teaching should move toward teaching as a way to learn, beyond simply knowing how to do something, since this knowledge will be replaced by artificial intelligence (D2; D3; D5; M1): “We have to train students to know how to search and stay up to date to solve problems” (M1).

For lecturer M2, it is essential that teaching is a collaborative exercise between lecturers and students, making the latter more proactive concerning their own learning. This lecturer emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning since activities outside the academic environment contribute to complementing and improving transversal skills. Concerning methodology, lecturers believe that students should know how to look for information to complement and consolidate those skills that they are developing in their degree since the professor’s role is to encourage critical thinking, so that the students know how to search for and manage information (M1; M2).

The lecturers encouraged the adoption of more active teaching and learning methodologies, ones that are student-centered, through more immersive approaches, which are the most effective for the promotion of soft skills. However, some of the professors indicated that they were not sufficiently prepared for those new methodologies. They recognize that it is necessary to change the content and paradigm and that some professors are ready to innovate, but “not everyone is willing to do so” (D4; D6). In this regard, the pandemic context that we are experiencing has had a major impact on teaching in general, as it has forced many professors to adapt very quickly to new forms of teaching (D4).

The PBL is the methodology chosen by accounting professors, arguing that undergraduate degrees should be guided using this approach, suggesting that a similar methodology should be adopted in the remaining curricular units from the second year of the course onward. Regarding the first year, both students and professors considered that it should be dedicated to developing the basic concepts.

Professor M1 highlighted the importance of projects wherein students are encouraged to face various contexts and adopt a critical view, according to the knowledge they acquire. This professor gave other examples of teaching methodologies, such as project-based learning and challenge-based learning. Gamification and similar methodologies were also suggested, with some lecturers highlighting the success of the Kahoot tool in motivating students to attend and participate more in classes, in addition to facilitating the monitoring and consolidation of content (D4; M1).

The students suggested that lectures, seminars, and the presence of former students and people with experience in the labor market, who are willing to share their knowledge about their daily experiences, would be invaluable. In contrast, since the most significant challenge of the profession is ICT skills, professor D2 suggests that HEIs should hold lectures and conferences on digital transformation and its impact on the day-to-day functions of the accounting profession.

With regard to assessment, other methods were suggested in addition to tests, such as the elaboration and presentation of coursework, as well as highlighting the importance of the assessment of transversal skills: “The assessment of proactive participation in class and in activities, the desire to learn more (…) I recognize that many students do not participate, but if they know that they will be assessed in this area too, their effort would be different” (E1). On the other hand, “(…) if we migrate to the PBL base, assessments will have to focus on assignments and much less on the traditional assessment of a single test” (D6).

In addition to the aforementioned assessment methodologies, lecturer M1 adds that self- and hetero-assessment can be used. That is, a review of the work can be carried out by other students, allowing them to be involved in more than one project. As he emphasizes, “Self-assessment is also something I try to do, so that everyone is aware of the work they have developed. This aspect is more difficult for students” (M1).

5. Discussion

What essential transversal skills do accountants need to meet market demands?

The results obtained in our study allow us to conclude that the technological evolution was the one that most impacted the accounting profession, in terms of simplifying processes and the functions that accountants perform. It is expected that future accountants will need to participate more actively in decision-making, requiring analytical thinking and the ability to analyze large amounts of information and to transmit this information to third parties, corroborating the evidence of previous studies [4,5,14,27,28].

To keep up with these requirements, professionals need new technological knowledge and to master tools that allow them to analyze large amounts of information, such as business intelligence, big data and analytics, and data mining [3,5,26,27].

Conversely, the market increasingly values accountants with a set of soft skills that distinguishes them from other professionals and that will add value to the functions they perform.

Thus, in response to our first research question, communication is the most valued skill, as indicated by our interviewees, to face the new requirements of the profession, followed by being proactive, showing initiative, successful teamwork, and the ability to adapt to new contexts. Critical thinking and problem-solving are skills that the respondents considered to be more strongly associated with the functions of an accountant. Other transversal skills that were considered important, but that were indicated by fewer respondents, are leadership, the ability to work under stress, organization and time management, and positioning and presentation to third parties, as well as empathy, resilience, assertiveness, and humility. Our results support those reported in other empirical studies [6,12,13,14,20,22,39,40].

How can the current model of teaching and learning in higher education accounting in Portugal be characterized?

From an analysis of the responses obtained from the focus group, we can conclude that there are gaps in accounting teaching and in the preparation of graduates vis-à-vis the skills required by the market, supporting what is evidenced in the literature [14,20,21,22,23] not only in terms of ICT skills but also in terms of transversal skills, namely, in communication (oral and written), problem-solving, and critical thinking.

In line with what is documented in the literature [18,21,22], students and recent graduates of the focus groups highlighted the lack of connection between teaching and practice, which justifies the difficulty they experience when entering the labor market in applying the knowledge acquired during their academic training.

We can also conclude that teaching continues to be based on traditional methodologies, with highly expository classes that do not allow the development of the soft skills valued by the market. In other words, two decades after the signing of the BP, the teaching approaches that it advocates are still not properly applied in accounting teaching, due to academic resistance and the lack of training provided to lecturers in the adoption of student-centered methodologies [61].

The literature has shown that students experience difficulties in adapting to these types of methodologies [49,57], which is in line with the difficulties that were also pointed out, and even felt, by the participants of the two focus groups. The lack of proactivity and autonomy were reasons that were pointed out by the lecturers and cited to justify the difficulty in implementing active methodologies, although the professors recognized their own lack of knowledge, and even motivation, to implement such methodologies.

Concerning assessment methods, tests still seem to be the most common element used, which none of the participants liked, as only the result of the learning process is tested and valued. This does not allow students’ transversal skills to be assessed or enhanced.

In response to the second research question, there seems to be a gap in education regarding the development of the essential skills needed to meet market demands. We can also conclude that the current teaching method adopted for teaching accounting is not preparing students to be successful future accountants by providing them with a more technological consultant and analyst profile, as expected, or ensuring that they master those transversal skills that are increasingly valued by the market.

How should teaching adapt to the development of those transversal skills that accounting professionals need to meet market demands?

An analysis of the answers provided by the respondents and participants in the focus groups allows us to conclude that HEIs should update their curricular plans, namely, in terms of strengthening ICT skills, with content that is appropriate to the reality of the market. In contrast, HEIs must invest in new analytical tools and adapt their use to real-life practical examples, including new concepts such as business analytics, data mining, machine learning, and big data, as referenced in the literature [27]. ICT skills must be taught transversally in the curricular units, for which reason it is urgent to restructure and update the academic curricula.

In order to respond to the new requirements of the market, it is imperative that HEIs attribute importance not only to the development of basic hard skills, which will continue to be decisive in the profession, but also to soft skills, to train students in more analytical skills, communication, problem-solving and critical thinking.

The results obtained also point to the need to increase the practical component, resorting to real cases and contexts [32], and to provide resources delivered by more lecturers with practical experience. In this way, it is possible for the educational content to meet the needs of the market, and to develop and link technical skills with transversal skills [6,18,21,32,41].

Internships are one of the teaching and learning methodologies advocated by respondents, in line with the results of previous studies [22,63], as they allow genuine contact with the labor market, promoting practical experience that fosters the development of highly valuable skills. In turn, the results of the focus group indicate that PBL also allows the development of these skills, albeit in a more controlled way compared to internships.

The teaching paradigm must change over to using active methodologies; the process of adapting to this reality will still be extensive, as few people apply new approaches.

Regarding the assessment models, we concluded that they must be diversified and adjusted to the applicable teaching methodologies, allowing the proper assessment of the soft skills developed, promoting the execution and presentation of more coursework, both in a group and individually, with participation in conferences, self-assessment, and peer review [62].

Thus, in addressing our research question, we can conclude that there must be a curricular restructuring adapted to the profiles of future accountants. To this end, HEIs must diversify their teaching and learning approaches to be more active and student-centered, to better prepare future accounting professionals. Equally, preference should be given to practical contexts and the resolution of real cases, which allow the development and assessment of those transversal skills that are increasingly required and valued by the profession. However, it is expected that this will be a lengthy process since there is still considerable resistance not only from some lecturers but also from students in adapting to these new approaches.

6. Conclusions

The accounting profession is going through a phase of change due, particularly, to the growing digital transformation. It is expected that future accountants should have a more technological profile with more transversal skills. In this context, HEIs must assess whether their programs and pedagogical models are adequate to respond to these challenges.

The results obtained in this study allow us to conclude that communication is the most outstanding transversal skill needed to face the new requirements of the profession, followed by being proactive, showing initiative, successful teamwork, and the ability to adapt to new contexts, as well as critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Other transversal skills that must be developed are leadership, the ability to work under stress, organization, and time management, positioning, and presentation to third parties. Accountants are also required to invest more in their ICT training, namely, in business intelligence, big data and analytics, and data mining, to provide useful and timely information to support decision-making.

Regarding the adequacy of accounting teaching in Portugal in providing students with these skills, the evidence points to the existence of gaps. Teaching continues to be based on traditional approaches, using expository classes and test-based assessments, which is still far from the BP philosophy. This is due not only to the resistance and lack of training, and even motivation, of professors in adopting active teaching methodologies but also to the students’ own difficulties in adapting to this type of approach.

In view of the above, we consider that it is urgent for accounting teaching to undergo changes and invest in active methodologies, with a focus on experimental and practical learning, as is the case with PBL, placing students in real-world situations, developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and encouraging the development of soft skills. It is hoped that this adjustment will close the gap between the performance of recent accounting graduates and the expectations and demands of the market.

This study makes important contributions in terms of theory and practice. It contributes to the literature on the new requirements and future profile of the accounting profession, as well as contributing to the published research on the teaching of accounting and transversal skills, topics that, to date, have received limited attention, especially in the Portuguese context. This study also contributes to practice, namely, for the HEIs that teach accounting courses, by presenting evidence on what future skills will be needed by accountants to meet market demands, skills that should be considered in a timely manner when updating the curricula of those institutions.

Like any research work, this piece also has some limitations. The first is related to the small size of the sample, which, due to the data collection methods used, does not allow the conclusions obtained in the study to be generalized, although this was also not our original objective. A second limitation refers to the subjectivity associated with the interpretation of information collected through interviews and focus groups.

As an avenue for future research, we suggest that our study is replicated with a larger sample, not only in Portugal but also in other countries, by means of questionnaires. This would make it possible to analyze the existing diversity and differences regarding the adequacy of education to meet the new requirements of the profession, as well as to identify approaches that are considered to be successful and that could be adopted by HEIs.