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Tam, T 2011, 'The relevant information technology knowledge and skills for accounting graduates in New Zealand', DBA thesis,
Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW.
Copyright T Tam 2011
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The relevant information technology
knowledge and skills
for accounting graduates in New Zealand
May 2011
Declaration of originality
I certify that the substance of this thesis has not been previously submitted for any degree
and is not currently being submitted for any other degree or degrees. I certify that to the
best of my knowledge any help received in preparing this work, and all sources used, have
been acknowledged in this thesis.
____________________
Thomas Chan-Wai Tam
Table of contents
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. vi
Abstract................................................................................................................................ vii
Prior publications and conference presentations .................................................................. ix
List of abbreviations .............................................................................................................. x
List of tables ........................................................................................................................ xii
List of figures ...................................................................................................................... xv
i
2.8.2 AIS textbook topic coverage .......................................................................... 41
2.8.3 Analysis of the AIS course ............................................................................. 43
2.9 Guidelines for IT in accounting curriculum ........................................................ 44
2.9.1 The New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants ................................... 44
2.9.2 The International Federation of Accountants ................................................. 47
2.10 Gaps in the literature............................................................................................ 50
2.11 Conceptual framework of this research ............................................................... 52
2.12 The research questions ........................................................................................ 55
2.13 Chapter summary................................................................................................. 56
ii
4.2.3 Comparison of mean scores between participant groups ............................... 97
4.3 Analysis of interview data ................................................................................. 101
4.3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 101
4.3.2 RQ2 – Use and application of IT knowledge and skills ............................... 101
4.3.2.1 Spreadsheet ........................................................................................... 102
4.3.2.2 Accounting systems .............................................................................. 105
4.3.2.3 Accounting software ............................................................................. 107
4.3.2.4 Word processor ..................................................................................... 109
4.3.2.5 Values .................................................................................................... 110
4.3.2.6 Internet tools.......................................................................................... 110
4.3.2.7 IT controls ............................................................................................. 111
4.3.2.8 General systems knowledge .................................................................. 112
4.3.2.9 Presentation software ............................................................................ 112
4.3.2.10 Database concepts/Database software................................................... 113
4.3.2.11 Research tools ....................................................................................... 114
4.3.2.12 E-commerce .......................................................................................... 114
4.3.2.13 Documentation tools ............................................................................. 115
4.3.2.14 Internet knowledge ................................................................................ 116
4.3.2.15 IT audit software ................................................................................... 117
4.3.2.16 Data security.......................................................................................... 118
4.3.2.17 Operating systems ................................................................................. 119
4.3.2.18 Summary for RQ2 ................................................................................. 119
4.3.3 RQ3 – Accountants’ involvement in IT ....................................................... 122
4.3.3.1 Discussions on IT matters with accounting departments ...................... 123
4.3.3.2 Discussions on IT matters with IT service providers ............................ 124
4.3.3.3 Communication problems with IT ........................................................ 126
4.3.3.4 Keeping up-to-date on IT ...................................................................... 128
4.3.3.5 Summary for RQ3 ................................................................................. 130
4.3.4 RQ4 – Perceptions of adequacy of IT knowledge and skills ....................... 131
4.3.4.1 Perceptions of adequacy of IT knowledge and skills ............................ 132
4.3.4.2 Perceptions of adequacy of Juniors’ IT knowledge and skills .............. 134
4.3.4.3 IT knowledge and skills to perform better ............................................ 135
4.3.4.4 IT knowledge and skills for Juniors to perform better .......................... 136
iii
4.3.4.5 IT topics to study if going back to study ............................................... 138
4.3.4.6 Summary for RQ4 ................................................................................. 140
4.3.5 RQ5 – IT knowledge and skills required in the future ................................. 141
4.3.5.1 IT knowledge and skills if promoted .................................................... 142
4.3.5.2 IT knowledge and skills if Juniors are promoted .................................. 143
4.3.5.3 IT knowledge and skills in five years’ time .......................................... 144
4.3.5.4 IT knowledge and skills for Juniors in five years’ time ........................ 144
4.3.5.5 Summary for RQ5 ................................................................................. 145
4.3.6 Other findings from interviews .................................................................... 146
4.3.6.1 Timing of IT courses ............................................................................. 146
4.3.6.2 Topics not included in the questionnaire .............................................. 147
4.4 Summary of findings ......................................................................................... 148
4.5 Chapter summary............................................................................................... 150
iv
5.2.17 Finding 17 – NZICA SLO-5 ........................................................................ 166
5.2.18 Summary ...................................................................................................... 166
5.3 An integrated model for delivery of IT content ................................................. 168
5.4 Contributions ..................................................................................................... 172
5.4.1 Contribution to accounting education literature and curriculum design ...... 173
5.4.2 Informing professional accounting bodies on IT guidelines ........................ 173
5.4.3 Contribution to theoretical framework ......................................................... 174
5.4.4 Contribution to research methodology ......................................................... 174
5.4.5 First study of its kind in NZ ......................................................................... 175
5.5 Limitations ......................................................................................................... 175
5.6 Further research ................................................................................................. 176
5.6.1 Replicating the study in other countries ....................................................... 176
5.6.2 Modifying the study to collect data from academics ................................... 176
5.6.3 Encouraging accounting students to develop a life-long interest in IT ........ 176
5.6.4 Research on the relevant accounting knowledge required by IT graduates . 176
5.7 Chapter summary............................................................................................... 177
5.8 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 177
v
Acknowledgements
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step (Lao Tzu). I would like to thank Dr
Wayne Dreyer for encouraging me to take the first step of this journey. I would also like to
thank Dr William Maguire who supervised me in the early stages of my studies. Dr
Maguire relocated to Australia in 2008. It was unfortunate that after his departure, the
tyranny of distance worked against us and Dr Maguire graciously agreed that I should look
for a local supervisor.
I was fortunate to have Dr Andy Godfrey who agreed to take up the tricky task of
supervising a doctoral student who was part way in his studies. His guidance at times when
I felt lost and his challenges to my thinking were vital to the completion of the thesis. I
owe Dr Godfrey not just for his supervision of my DBA; he was also my supervisor for a
research project in my MBA, and a mentor who inducted me into my academic career.
There were many others who helped in my journey. Mr John Horsley and Ms Linda Turner
were the Head and the Dean respectively of the Business School where I worked. They
provided much needed support without which I could not have completed my DBA. My
colleagues Dr Satya Gonuguntla and Mr Frank Weterman helped review the questionnaire
for the pilot study of this research and provided valuable comments. My thanks also go to
Ms Heather Moodie, who helped proof-read the thesis; Ms Bronwyn Barton, Mr Bob
Gilmour, Mr Jon Moses, Ms Wendy Taylor and Mr Tim Walsh who provided assistance
for the recruitment of participants.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank my wife who has supported me in her own unique
ways through all these years.
vi
Abstract
Rapid advances in information technology (IT) have produced rapid changes to the ways in
which businesses are operated. Accountants are involved in wide-ranging roles in business
and it is important for them to possess IT knowledge and skills relevant to their roles to
provide competent and professional services. However, the field of IT is wide and not all
IT knowledge and skills are relevant to an accountant. This brings up the questions: What
kind of IT knowledge and skills do accountants need? What are the entry-level IT skills
and knowledge that accounting educators should provide?
A literature review has revealed that there are issues in accounting education. A number of
studies have concluded that accounting education does not provide graduates with the
relevant IT knowledge and skills for them to be productive in the real world. There are
ample studies on IT knowledge and skills requirements for accountants. However, some
focus on generic IT skills while others centre on IT knowledge in the accounting domain.
Guidelines on IT competencies for accountants have also been published by professional
accounting bodies, but these guidelines are found to be either too ambitious or lack
specificity and are not helpful for accounting educators.
The objective of the research is to produce a holistic set of IT knowledge and skills
relevant to New Zealand accounting graduates and to develop a model for the delivery of
IT content in an accounting curriculum. The theoretical framework of this research is based
on human capital theory and stakeholder theory. The research is composed of a pilot study
and a main study. The pilot study employed six experts in the accounting field using the
Delphi method to develop the questionnaire for the main study. The questionnaire was then
sent to 23 accounting practitioners prior to interviewing each participant individually.
The study identified 18 IT topics for accounting graduates categorised into varying degrees
of importance. Of these 18 topics, spreadsheet, accounting systems/software, Internet tools
and research ability stand out as the most important and most used IT tools for accounting
practitioners. The findings from this study also led to the development of a model for
delivery of IT content named by the researcher as the INDUCTION–DIFFUSION–
ASSIMILATION Model.
vii
Key words: Accounting curriculum;
Accounting education;
Graduate employability;
IT content delivery model;
IT knowledge and skills for accountants;
Stakeholders in higher education
viii
Prior publications and conference presentations
Parts of this thesis have been presented at various conferences at different stages of the
development of the paper.
July 2008
Paper presented at the Accounting Education Special Interest Group Symposium of the
Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand in Sydney:
Research proposal:
The relevant information technology core competencies
for accounting graduates in New Zealand
Nov 2009
Paper presented at the Auckland Region Accounting Conference in Auckland:
The relevant information technology knowledge and skills
for accounting graduates in New Zealand:
Results of the pilot study
ix
List of abbreviations
AECC Accounting Education Change Commission
AICPA American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
AIS Accounting information systems
ASCPA Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants
ASP Application Service Provider
ATEI Approved tertiary education institution
B2B Business-to-Business
B2C Business-to-Consumer
CA Chartered Accountant
CAAT Computer assisted audit techniques
CIMA Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
CPA Certified Public Accountant
CRM Customer Relationship Management
DFD Data Flow Diagrams
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
GL General ledger
HR Human resources
IDA The INDUCTION–DIFFUSION–ASSIMILATION Model
IEG-11 International Education Guideline No. 11, Information Technology and
the Accounting Curriculum
IEPS 2 International Education Practice Statement 2
IEPS 2.1 Exposure Draft: Proposed International Education Practice Statement 2.1
IFAC International Federation of Accountants
IIA Institute of Internal Auditors
IIANZ Institute of Internal Auditors NZ
IMA Institute of Management Accountants
IQ Interview question
IRD Inland Revenue Department
IT Information Technology
JIQ Interview questions for Juniors
MIS Management Information Systems
NZ New Zealand
NZICA New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
x
REA Resource-Event-Agent
RQ Research question
SDLC Systems Development Life Cycle
SIQ Interview questions for Seniors
SLO Statement of learning outcome
SMS Short Message Service
SQL Structured Query Language
TEI Tertiary Education Institution
UK United Kingdom
USA United States of America
XBRL Extensible Business Reporting Language
XML Extensible Markup Language
xi
List of tables
Table 2.1 Services offered by the Big 4 international accounting firms ........................... 20
Table 2.2 Listing of competency studies (Palmer, Ziegenfuss & Pinsker 2004) .............. 23
Table 2.3 Critical IT skills (Wessels 2005) ....................................................................... 28
Table 2.4 Importance of IT tools (Jackson & Cherrington 2002) ..................................... 29
Table 2.5 Entry requirements for NZICA membership..................................................... 30
Table 2.6 Accounting and business-related studies (NZICA) ........................................... 31
Table 2.7 Statement of learning outcomes 2006 (NZICA) ............................................... 32
Table 2.8 Statement of learning outcomes 2009 (NZICA) ............................................... 32
Table 2.9 Summary of findings of Wu (1983) .................................................................. 34
Table 2.10 Essential categories (Van Meer and Adams 1996).......................................... 35
Table 2.11 Optional categories (Van Meer and Adams 1996) .......................................... 35
Table 2.12 Accountants vs. educators – current (Davis & Leitch 1988)........................... 36
Table 2.13 Educators vs. accountants – current (Davis & Leitch 1988) ........................... 37
Table 2.14 Accountants vs. educators – future (Davis & Leitch 1988) ............................ 37
Table 2.15 Educators vs. accountants – future (Davis & Leitch 1988) ............................. 38
Table 2.16 Ranking of theoretical topics (Theuri & Gunn 1998) ..................................... 40
Table 2.17 Ranking of applications (Theuri & Gunn 1998).............................................. 40
Table 2.18 Topics for AIS (Smith and Bain 1993) ........................................................... 41
Table 2.19 Top 10 AIS topics ranked by educators (Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002) ....... 42
Table 2.20 Top 10 AIS topics ranked by practitioners (Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002) .. 42
Table 2.21 SLO-5: Accounting Information Systems (NZICA 2006) .............................. 45
Table 2.22 SLO-CA6: Accounting Information Systems (NZICA 2009)......................... 46
Table 2.23 IT knowledge required by different roles (IEG-11) ........................................ 47
Table 2.24 Number of main topic coverage of IEPS 2.1................................................... 48
Table 2.25 Comments on IEPS 2.1 ................................................................................... 49
Table 3.1 Approaches and features of the two main paradigms ........................................ 60
Table 3.2 Number of questions in Delphi questionnaire ................................................... 66
Table 3.3 Brief credentials of Delphi panellists ................................................................ 69
Table 3.4 Summary of mean scores from first round of Phase I ....................................... 69
Table 3.5 Summary of mean scores from second round of Phase I .................................. 70
Table 3.6 Changes in number of topics from the first round ............................................. 70
xii
Table 3.7 Changes made to first round score categories ................................................... 71
Table 3.8 Mean scores by source....................................................................................... 72
Table 3.9 Topics with mean score ≥ 5 ............................................................................... 72
Table 3.10 Topics with mean scores between 4 and 4.9 ................................................... 73
Table 3.11 Topics with mean score ≥ 4 ............................................................................. 75
Table 3.12 Qualitative sampling methods ......................................................................... 77
Table 3.13 Interview questions for Juniors ....................................................................... 79
Table 3.14 Interview questions for Seniors ....................................................................... 80
Table 3.15 Techniques used for analysing interview data................................................. 83
Table 4.1 Participants by Seniority.................................................................................... 91
Table 4.2 Participants by Industry ..................................................................................... 91
Table 4.3 Participants by Experience ................................................................................ 91
Table 4.4 Demographic details of participants .................................................................. 92
Table 4.5 Participants by Seniority and Industry .............................................................. 93
Table 4.6 Participants by Seniority and Experience .......................................................... 93
Table 4.7 Overall mean scores of IT knowledge and skills (n=23)................................... 95
Table 4.8 Topics with a score of 1..................................................................................... 96
Table 4.9 Participants who gave a score of 1 .................................................................... 96
Table 4.10 Mean scores by Seniority ................................................................................ 98
Table 4.11 Mean scores by Industry.................................................................................. 99
Table 4.12 Mean scores by Experience ........................................................................... 100
Table 4.13 Interview questions for RQ2 ......................................................................... 101
Table 4.14 Summary of findings for RQ2 ....................................................................... 120
Table 4.15 Comparison of RQ2 with RQ1 ...................................................................... 121
Table 4.16 Interview questions for RQ3 ......................................................................... 122
Table 4.17 Interview questions for RQ4 ......................................................................... 131
Table 4.18 IT knowledge and skills to perform better .................................................... 136
Table 4.19 IT knowledge and skills for Juniors to perform better .................................. 137
Table 4.20 IT knowledge and skills to learn if going back to study................................ 139
Table 4.21 Comparison of responses to JIQ10, JIQ11 and SIQ09 .................................. 141
Table 4.22 Interview questions for RQ5 ......................................................................... 142
Table 5.1 Proposed IT topic coverage in an accounting programme .............................. 170
Table A9.1 Test of normality of distribution of variables ............................................... 284
xiii
Table A9.2 Mann-Whitney U test for ‘Seniority’ group ................................................. 285
Table A9.3 Descriptive statistics for Accounting software ............................................. 285
Table A9.4 Kruskal-Wallis test for ‘Industry’ group ...................................................... 286
Table A9.5 Kruskal-Wallis test for ‘Experience’ group.................................................. 287
Table A9.6 Summary of results of hypothesis tests ........................................................ 288
xiv
List of figures
Figure 1.1 Overview of the structure of the thesis .............................................................. 7
Figure 2.1 Overview of Chapter 2 ....................................................................................... 9
Figure 2.2 Parent and immediate disciplines ..................................................................... 15
Figure 2.3 The AIS course................................................................................................. 33
Figure 2.4 Conceptual framework of this research............................................................ 53
Figure 2.5 Focus of this research ....................................................................................... 54
Figure 3.1 Overview of Chapter 3 ..................................................................................... 58
Figure 3.2 Continuum of paradigms .................................................................................. 60
Figure 3.3 Research design................................................................................................ 63
Figure 3.4 Snapshot of questionnaire for Phase I .............................................................. 67
Figure 3.5 Selection of topics for the main study .............................................................. 68
Figure 3.6 Snapshot of transcript showing dialogue numbers .......................................... 85
Figure 3.7 Snapshot of spreadsheet for capturing interview data...................................... 86
Figure 4.1 Overview of Chapter 4 ..................................................................................... 89
Figure 5.1 Overview of Chapter 5 ................................................................................... 153
Figure 5.2 Analysis of IEPS 2 ......................................................................................... 166
Figure 5.3 The INDUCTION–DIFFUSION–ASSIMILATION Model ......................... 169
xv
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1 INTRODUCTION
I think it’s wonderful that you take the interest to ask the industry what is required.
Because, I think in all my years, it’s the first time anybody has ever asked what
should we be doing for you (A participant in this research).
1
financial statements for a business by summarising financial events (Jackling et al. 2004).
To do this, the accountant has to know how to use the computer system and, more
importantly, understand how these transactions are recorded and updated to be able to
ascertain the accuracy and reliability of the data. Accountants also take other roles, such as
those of auditors and management accountants, which require an understanding of how
their companies’ computer systems work (Romney & Steinbart 2009). It is therefore
important for accountants to possess IT knowledge and skills relevant to their roles to
provide competent and professional services. However, the field of IT is wide and not all
IT knowledge and skills relate to an accountant’s role. For example, accountants need not
know how to code computer programs – this is the job of a computer programmer.
Accountants also need not know the technical details of data communications as long as
they have a general understanding of how data are transmitted between two computers.
This raises the questions: What kind of IT knowledge and skills do accountants need?
What are the entry-level IT skills and knowledge that educators should provide? Educators
grapple with these issues constantly (Cytron & Tie 2001, p. 74).
Accounting graduates are one of the stakeholders of accounting education. This research
seeks to explore and identify the IT knowledge and skills needed by accounting graduates
to allow them to perform competently in an accounting capacity after graduation. It also
seeks to develop a conceptual model for the delivery of IT content in an accounting
curriculum with the aim of contributing to accounting education literature, to accounting
curriculum policy and to accounting programme design.
2
Chartered Accountants (NZICA) contain considerably fewer topic areas compared to those
from IFAC, and are unspecific.
No study has been found that looks at the IT knowledge and skills requirements of a junior
entry-level accountant from a holistic and overarching perspective. Equally lacking is
research in this area for NZ. The only study on IT knowledge and skills for accountants in
NZ is the Van Meer and Adams (1996) study. However, it is more than 10 years old and
the findings are most probably no longer relevant for today’s IT environment. It is
important that IT content coverage in accounting major programmes cover only those IT
knowledge and skills required by accounting graduates so as not to take up time and
resources for irrelevant learning in an already crowded accounting curriculum.
Almost all research found from the literature is conducted using survey questionnaires to
produce a list of IT topics that are required by accountants. No study has been found that
uses other data collection methods to collect data to analyse why such IT topics are needed
and how they are applied and used by accountants. Studies comparing the views of junior
accountants and their managers or supervisors have not been found. Nor are there studies
that compare the requirements of IT knowledge and skills between different accounting
roles.
The objective of this research is to provide an in-depth analysis of the IT knowledge and
skills needed to be gained by NZ accounting graduates during their tertiary education for
them to perform competently when employed in an accounting role. It will address the
questions as to why a particular topic is required and how a particular topic is used and
applied in the workplace. This research will explore the relevant IT knowledge and skills
required by accounting graduates in NZ from an overarching perspective without limiting
the study itself to specific IT or AIS courses. The definition of ‘relevant’ IT knowledge and
skills for accounting graduates for the purpose of this study is:
All IT concepts, knowledge, skills, tools, use of standard office software and
specialised software applications to allow accounting graduates to perform
competently in their first five years of practice after graduating from an accounting
major degree programme.
3
The significance of this research was acknowledged by a participant in this study who is a
chief financial officer with over 20 years of experience. His quotation was shown at the
beginning of this chapter.
A discussion on the impact of IT on the role of the accountant in business is first presented,
followed by a discussion on the issues in accounting education brought about by such
impact. An extensive review of studies relating to IT knowledge and skills for accounting
graduates and practitioners is made. The unique AIS course offered by most accounting
major programmes in a number of countries to impart IT knowledge to accounting major
students is reviewed and analysed. Guidelines from IFAC and NZICA on IT competencies
for accountants are also reviewed and discussed. The chapter has identified gaps in the
literature and has developed a conceptual framework and five research questions to guide
the research.
4
researcher believes that in-depth qualitative data provide better insights to the research
problem than quantitative scores given in questionnaires. The paradigm of this research
therefore leans towards interpretivism. Based on this choice of research paradigm,
sampling and data analysis methods are discussed in the chapter.
While it is the desire of the researcher to include all credible sources from the literature as
a guide to identify the relevant IT topics for accountants so that no topic is left unexplored,
in doing so, the number of topics to be explored becomes unwieldy. A pilot study is
therefore necessary to narrow the number down to a practical set of questions for data
collection in the main study. The Delphi method is used in the pilot study, employing six
experts in the accounting field to rate 266 IT topics using a 6-point Likert scale. The results
from the pilot study provide input to the design of the questionnaire for the main study.
The main data collection method for the main study is the use of semi-structured in-depth
interviews guided by the questionnaire developed from the pilot study. Interview questions
are also designed based on the five research questions developed in Chapter 2 to guide the
interviews.
5
only. The chapter summarises the data analysed into 17 findings which are discussed in
Chapter 5.
Further research opportunities include replicating this study in other countries; modifying
this study to seek the views from accounting educators; research on how to stimulate
accounting students to develop a life-long interest in IT; and research on the accounting
knowledge required by IT graduates.
6
Figure 1.1 Overview of the structure of the thesis
2.0 Introduction
Chapter 2
2.1 Theoretical framework
Literature review
2.2 The impact of IT on business
2.3 The role of the accountant in business
2.4 The impact of IT on the role of the
accountant
2.5 Issues in accounting education regarding IT
skills
2.6 Knowledge and skills for accountants
2.7 Accounting education in NZ
2.8 The accounting information systems course
2.9 Guidelines for IT in accounting curriculum
2.10 Gaps in the literature
2.11 Conceptual framework of research
2.12 The research questions
2.13 Chapter summary
3.0 Introduction
Chapter 3
3.1 Types of research
Methodology
3.2 Research design
3.3 Questionnaire design
3.4 Phase I – Pilot study
3.5 Phase II – Main study
3.6 Research ethics
3.7 Chapter summary
Chapter 4 4.0 Introduction
Data analysis and findings 4.1 Demographics of sample
4.2 Analysis of questionnaire results
4.3 Analysis of interview data
4.4 Summary of findings
4.5 Chapter summary
5.0 Introduction
Chapter 5 5.1 The research problem re‐stated
Discussions and conclusion 5.2 Discussions and implications
5.3 An integrated model for delivery of IT
content
5.4 Contributions
5.5 Limitations
5.6 Further research
5.7 Chapter summary
5.8 Conclusion
7
CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This chapter reviews the extant literature with the aim of establishing a foundation from
which to address the research problem: ‘What are the relevant IT knowledge and skills
required by accounting graduates in NZ?’ The word ‘relevant’ is key to this thesis. It is
defined in a dictionary as “bearing on or having reference to the matter in hand” (Allen
1990, p. 1014). It provides the scope of the IT knowledge and skills this research sets out
to explore and is used to convey the following meanings:
Up-to-date – that IT knowledge and skills to be explored must be up-to-date
according to the latest developments of IT in business
Requisite – that they do not include all IT knowledge and skills available and that
they are the topics required by accounting graduates only
Holistic – that they do include all IT knowledge and skills required by accounting
graduates
The motivation of this research emanates from the researcher’s quest to explore the IT
knowledge and skills that should be covered in an accounting major degree so that
accounting graduates in NZ can perform competently in their job. The identification of
these IT knowledge and skills can then be used as the basis for the development of IT
related curriculum in accounting major degrees and would contribute to the employability
of accounting graduates in the labour market. Two theories are used to support the
research: the human capital theory and the stakeholder theory. Human capital theory states
that education is one of the factors of economic growth and that individuals will pursue
further education with the aim of improving their well-being. Stakeholder theory posits
that an organisation is deemed to be successful if it can meet the needs of its stakeholders.
Graduates are one of the many stakeholders of a tertiary education institution. The link
between human capital theory and stakeholder theory brings the issue on graduate
employability into the discourse of this thesis. Graduate employability depends to a certain
extent on the knowledge and skills graduates possess at the time they join the workforce.
These issues will be discussed in detail in this chapter. Figure 2.1 shows an overview of
Chapter 2.
8
Figure 2.1 Overview of Chapter 2
2.1 Theoretical 2.1.1 Human capital theory and
framework education
2.1.2 Stakeholder theory and higher
education
2.2 The impact of IT on 2.1.3 Parent and immediate disciplines
business 2.1.4 Graduate employability
2.1.5 Generic skills for graduates
2.3 The role of the
accountant in
business
2.4 The impact of IT on
the role of the
accountant
2.5 Issues in accounting
education
regarding IT skills
2.6 Knowledge and 2.6.1 Generic skills for accountants
skills for 2.6.2 IT knowledge and skills for
accountants accountants
2.7 Accounting
education in NZ
2.8 The Accounting 2.8.1 Prior studies on AIS syllabi
Information 2.8.2 AIS textbook topic coverage
Systems course 2.8.3 Analysis of the AIS course
2.9 Guidelines for IT in 2.9.1 The New Zealand Institute of
accounting Chartered Accountants
curriculum 2.9.2 The International Federation of
Accountants
2.10 Gaps in literature
2.11 Conceptual
framework
2.12 The research
questions
2.13 Chapter summary
9
2.1 Theoretical framework of research
A theoretical framework for research is a structure that presents a theory or theories that
explain(s) why the research problem exists (Khan n.d.). The framework serves as the basis
for conducting research, helps the researcher see clearly the variables of the study, and
provides a general framework for data analysis (Ibid.). The research problem of this study
is to identify the relevant IT knowledge and skills required by accounting graduates.
Theories from curriculum development are considered appropriate to guide this research.
Curriculum theory is concerned with making decisions about what is the most worthwhile
knowledge for students to learn, why they should learn it, and how they should learn it
(McGee 1997, p. 9). A curriculum theory attempts to address such questions as:
Why should we teach this rather than that? Who should have access to what
knowledge? What rules should govern the teaching of what has been selected?
How should the various parts of the curriculum be interrelated in order to create a
coherent whole? (Kliebard 1977, cited in Marsh & Stafford 1988, p. 22).
However, a great deal of curriculum theory that emerged was a result of studies in initial
education (Jarvis 2004) and they focus on the processes and procedures of curriculum
planning and evaluation (see for example Jarvis 2004; Marsh & Stafford 1988; McGee
1997). As such, curriculum theory fails to address the needs of graduates of tertiary
education to find employment on completion of their studies. Two other social theories
appear to better provide the conceptual underpinning for the research and they are human
capital theory and stakeholder theory. Since this research is in accounting education, these
two theories are applied in the context of education. Using the two theories, the importance
of graduate employability is explained, leading to the question of what knowledge and
skills are required for graduates to be employable. The following sections discuss the
theories as applied in this research and explain the development of the theoretical
framework for this study.
10
suggested that it was necessary for a nation to have abundant natural resources for it to
develop its economy (Walters 2004). However, the rise of Japan to an economic power
despite its limited natural resources led economists to think beyond physical resources as
the drivers of economic growth (Schultz 1971, cited in Walters 2004). Education is
recognised as an investment in human capital and offers an explanation for economic
growth in some countries with limited physical resources. The economic effects of
education are important and have been relatively neglected at least until recently (Becker
1964, cited in Gilead 2009).
Human capital theory contends that earnings are determined by workers’ productivity
which is determined in turn by their education and experience (Van House 1986). It links
economic success to the education of the workforce (Knight & Yorke 2002), and also helps
explain the fact that unemployment is higher among unskilled than skilled workers (Becker
1964). Olaniyan and Okemakinde (2008) posit that formal education is highly instrumental
and necessary to improve the production capacity of a nation.
Another fundamental postulate of human capital theory is that increases in the supply of
education are responses to increased demand for skilled labour (Walters 2004). The theory
is therefore a variant of the economic theory of supply and demand. Human capital
represents the investment people make in themselves to enhance their economic
productivity (Olaniyan & Okemakinde 2008). Education institutions will attract individuals
to become students as long as they believe that the institutions can provide the knowledge
and skills to allow them to be employed in a job to which they aspire, and to earn a
comfortable income. Individuals would continue to pursue higher levels of education until
the marginal cost of acquiring more education is greater than the marginal benefits that it
provides (Walters 2004). Employability is therefore not only one of the considerations of
prospective students in further education but also an area many education institutions
embrace in formulating their curricula to satisfy demand. The link between the human
capital theory and employability will be further discussed in Section 2.1.4. We now turn
our attention to the identification of stakeholders of education institutions.
11
2.1.2 Stakeholder theory and higher education
Stakeholder theory suggests that the success of an organisation depends on its ability to
balance the conflicting needs of its various stakeholders (Dellaportas et al. 2005). One of
the indicators of success for an organisation would therefore be how well the needs of its
stakeholders are met. A stakeholder can be defined as any group or individual who can
affect or is affected by the achievements of the firm’s objectives (Freeman 1984). The
stakeholders of an organisation would include shareholders, employees, customers,
lenders, suppliers, local charities, various interest groups, government, and so on (Deegan
& Samkin 2009).
This research is about graduate knowledge and skills in higher education. “Higher
education” is “education at university etc., especially to degree level” (Allen 1990, p. 555).
Higher education institutions would therefore include universities, polytechnics, institutes
of technology, colleges, etc. that provide tertiary education. The stakeholders of higher
education institutions would include those potentially positioned to benefit from the
institutions’ social impacts (Freeman 1984). Benneworth and Jongbloed (2010) suggest
that the stakeholder groups of universities would include governing entities (state and
federal government, governing board, etc.), administration (vice-chancellor, senior
administrators, etc.), employees, clienteles (students, employers, etc.), suppliers,
competitors, donors, communities, government regulators, non-governmental regulators,
financial intermediaries and joint-venture partners. A study made by Chapleo and Simms
(2010) identified the various stakeholder groups of a university. The top 10 stakeholder
groups in order of the number of citations by the interviewees of the study were: students,
local employers/businesses, university staff, academic and research bodies, local
government, local community, local schools, governors, parents, and national
employers/businesses.
The aim of this research is to identify the IT knowledge and skills required by accounting
graduates. Stakeholder groups other than graduates identified in Benneworth and
Jongbloed (2010) and Chapleo and Simms (2010) include employers, university governing
/ administration bodies, academic staff, government regulators, etc. Among these various
stakeholder groups, students/graduates and employers are the stakeholder groups that are
closest to the workplace and are the groups that can best articulate on the IT knowledge
12
and skills required by accounting graduates and inform this research. Focus is therefore
given to these two stakeholder groups in the study because they are at the heart of the
objective of this research. Employers require from graduates of higher education
institutions to possess abilities and skills that coincide with those required by their
organisations (Nicolescu & Paun 2009). Students/graduates need to be satisfied with regard
to social life, intellectual curiosity and career opportunities (McClung & Werner 2008).
The common aim between these two stakeholder groups lies in the area of graduate
employability which was also identified in the discussion on human capital theory.
Graduate employability will be discussed further in Section 2.1.4. The following section
discusses the development of the parent and immediate disciplines and the theoretical
framework.
Stakeholder theory suggests that an organisation is successful if it can satisfy the demands
of its stakeholders (Dellaportas et al. 2005). Students/graduates are identified as one of the
stakeholders of higher education institutions. One of their concerns is career opportunity
(McClung & Werner 2008) and they would want to be employable once they finish their
education. Employers are the second stakeholder group that is identified as important to
this research. There is a general need among employers for graduates to possess and
demonstrate skills that are relevant to working in their organisations (Maxwell 2010). In
order to be successful, higher education institutions must have employability of their
graduates as one of their objectives.
13
The link between human capital theory and stakeholder theory results in the much
discussed topic of graduate employability leading to questions on the knowledge and skills
required by graduates to be employable. Figure 2.2 shows the parent and immediate
disciplines of this research. Accounting education is at the centre of this research and is the
immediate discipline. The parent disciplines are based on the supporting theories of this
research – human capital theory and stakeholder theory which lead to the issue of graduate
employability. Graduate employability is determined by the knowledge and skills they are
expected to possess and will be discussed in more detail in Section 2.1.4. Graduate
knowledge and skills can be separated into generic and specific, the generic being those
that are not related to any particular area of study, and the specific being those that are
related directly to the graduates’ academic discipline. Factors that influence the generic
and specific knowledge and skills required by accounting graduates include the role of the
accountant in business and the impact of the advances in IT on business. The above
mentioned topics will be discussed in the respective sections indicated in Figure 2.2.
14
Figure 2.2 Parent and immediate disciplines
2.1.1 Human capital theory 2.1.2 Stakeholder theory
Self improvement Graduates/students
2.1.4 Graduate
through higher and employers
employability
education as stakeholders in
higher education
2.1.5 Graduate generic
2.2 Advances skills
in IT
2.6.1 Generic skills for 2.3 Role of
accountants accountants in
business
2.6.2
IT knowledge
and skills for
accountants
Accounting education
Higher education
Note: Numbers before captions refer to the sections in which they are discussed.
The term ‘employability’ can be used to refer to a person’s ability to gain employment. It
is often associated with the skills that allow the employee as well as the employer to get
the most out of employment (Franz 2008). Employability skills as defined by the
Australian Department of Education are “the skills required not only to gain employment,
but also to progress within an enterprise so as to achieve one’s potential and contribute
15
successfully to enterprise strategic directions” (Ibid. p. 164-165). Little (2007) provides
another, yet similar, definition for employability skills:
... a set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that make
graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen
occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the
economy.
According to Little (2007), the top 10 competencies required in the workplace by graduates
in their first five years after graduation are:
16
6. Rapidly acquiring new knowledge
7. Coming up with new ideas and solutions
8. Making meaning clear to others
9. Writing reports and documents
10. Using computers and the Internet
With the exception of the fifth item ‘Mastering own field’, all other competencies in the
above list are generic in nature. The last item in the above list – ‘Using computers and the
Internet’ is a generic IT skill and is related to the object of this research. Graduate
competencies identified in other studies include analytical skills, social skills, management
skills, communication skills, the ability to learn, presentation skills, professional expertise,
functional flexibility, innovation and knowledge management, mobilisation of human
resources, international orientation, flexible and adaptable, able and willing to take up
specific challenges not related to the field in which they have been trained (Nicolescu &
Paun 2009). However, some of the generic competencies or graduate employability skills
as identified and articulated from such studies suffer from one common problem – they are
too loose and non-specific. For example, the item ‘Use computers and the Internet’ does
not spell out exactly how computers and the Internet are to be used. Does it mean using
computers for browsing the Internet only? Or does it mean the use of computers in various
tasks such as producing reports, analysing data, and as a tool for research?
UK employers are at the forefront of hiring graduates from ‘any’ discipline as they place
more emphasis on generic skills instead of specific discipline knowledge and skills in the
recruitment process (Harvey 2000). Large accountancy firms in the UK look for graduates
from history, classics, social sciences or physics rather than accountancy. Software firms
seek IT-literate graduates who can communicate and work in teams instead of computing
graduates (Ibid.).
The opinion that generic skills should be given prevalence over specific technical skills is
not shared by everybody (Nicolescu & Paun 2009). Teichler (1999) observed that studies
of graduate employability skills tend to over-estimate the importance of generic and
personal skills and under-estimate the cognitive skills and knowledge for specific fields.
The researcher agrees with this observation and believes there is a place for discipline-
17
specific knowledge and skills in the employability skills agenda. In the accounting
discipline, generic skills alone are not enough to allow the graduate to start working
competently in an accounting capacity. The aim of this research is to explore the relevant
IT knowledge and skills, both generic and specific to the accounting discipline. The
following sections discuss the impact of the advances in IT on business and in turn on
accountants, followed by a review of the literature on IT knowledge and skills required by
accountants.
While IT solves problems for businesses, it has also created problems. The American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) published the top 10 technology issues
in 2001 (see Cytron & Tie 2001). Among the issues, some are opportunities, some are
threats and some are challenges. Some of the opportunities are the increasing use of web
technology to reduce costs; the use of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) in
financial reporting to improve speed and reduce errors; and the use of application service
18
providers (ASP) to relieve the burden of internal IT staffing. Some of the threats are
information security and control, information privacy and disaster recovery. According to
the AICPA report, the challenges are attracting qualified staff, staff training, keeping IT
systems running and the implications of electronic audit trail. The following sections will
discuss the role of the accountant in business and how advances in IT impact the role of the
accountant.
19
assurance, tax, transaction services, strategic growth and speciality services to its clients
(Ernst & Young 2010). KPMG (KPMG 2010) advertises audit, tax, advisory and special
interests services. The professional services available from PricewaterhouseCoopers
include audit and assurance, consulting, deals, human resources, legal and tax services
(PricewaterhouseCoopers 2010). Table 2.1 summarises the different services available
from the four accounting firms.
To be able to provide the diverse services demanded from businesses, accountants require
a much wider knowledge base and skill set than simple bookkeeping. In addition to
acquiring accounting skills and knowledge, “today’s professional accountant, … has to be
an entrepreneur, financial analyst, global competitor, market analyst, excellent salesperson,
good communicator, capable negotiator and public relations specialist, as well as a good
manager” (Simyar 1993, cited in Adler & Milne 1997, p. 109). They need to have excellent
analytical skills to be able to analyse and pinpoint the problem areas of a company. In
addition, accountants need to understand and use computerised information systems as
their use in businesses becomes the norm rather than the exception.
20
provided to businesses declined in value as advances in IT development gathered pace. The
impact of IT on accounting is second only to Pacioli’s invention of double entry (Kulesza
& Siegel 1997). Accounting in the 1960s was a system for communicating the economic
events of an entity (Ijiri 1967) and was described by Joplin (1966, p. 44) as “the art of
recording, classifying, summarising, evaluating, and communicating financial data”.
Providing information depends on data collection. The use of computers in business allows
cheaper and more efficient methods of data collection and record keeping, meaning that
bookkeeping, essentially a data collection activity, and one which used to be a highly
valued skill of accountants, is no longer valued highly (Elliott 2000).
Accounting academics and practitioners have been voicing the concern of the impact of IT
on the accounting profession and have written abundantly on this topic. Trites (2004)
suggested that accountants have to shift from the ‘Pacioli paradigm’ to the ‘Google
paradigm’ in order to meet the challenges of the technology-driven accounting world.
Joplin (1966) proposed that in order to maintain a major role in business, accountants must
involve themselves in management information systems (MIS) and extend their skills and
techniques to embrace the new systems and technologies. Today, ready-made MIS systems
are available under the name of enterprise resource planning systems (ERP) and are being
adopted by an increasing number of companies. ERP systems integrate all aspects of a
business and are designed to allow data-entry at source by the users of various
departments. This results in the reduction of routine data-entry jobs for accountants and the
diffusion of accounting knowledge throughout the organisation (Caglio 2003; Scapens
2003; Seethamraju 2005). Accountants no longer have a monopoly on accounting
knowledge and are not the only ones performing traditional accounting activities such as
data collection and preparation of reports. As the use of computers increases in
organisations, the distinction between accounting and other information becomes blurred.
In order to retain their position as custodian of financial information, accountants need to
be knowledgeable about information systems and their future development (Williams, G.
et al. 1984).
Companies are increasingly looking for accountants who can use their expertise in more
important activities such as strategic planning, business management and design and
management of IT systems (Caglio 2003). A new breed of managers coined as the ‘hybrid’
21
finance/IT manager has emerged and is in great demand (Anonymous 1998). Practising
and new accountants will therefore need to acquire new skills and knowledge in order to
survive in the information age. To be able to do this, accountants have to understand and
stay current with the latest information technology. “If you don’t stay current with the
technology, your career is in jeopardy” (Anastas 1997, p. 51). Accountants will become
increasingly involved in information systems and this has implications for the tertiary
education of new accountants (Williams, G. et al. 1984). Professional accountants are now
required to possess the skills and knowledge to use various information technologies and
IT has become a core competency for accountants (Larres, Ballantine & Whittington
2003). Given the strong argument that accountants need to embrace IT, the manner in
which accountants are educated and trained naturally comes under scrutiny.
The results of a study undertaken in the UK concluded that accounting education does not
equip the students with enough IT skills for their role after graduation in their employment
and that a gap exists between IT skills learned in tertiary education institutions (TEI) and
22
what accountants practise in the real world (Ahmed 2003). Another study in the United
States (USA) found that many students graduating from IT courses in accounting programs
are not given training in IT control knowledge which is important for specialised roles such
as auditors (O'Donnell & Moore 2005).
Table 2.2 Listing of competency studies (Palmer, Ziegenfuss & Pinsker 2004)
Study title Organisation Year completed
Perspectives on education: capabilities for success in
Big 8 1989
the accounting profession
Objectives of education for accountings: accounting
education change commission position statement AECC 1990
number one
What corporate America wants in entry-level
IMA 1994
accountants
The 1996 practice analysis of management
IMA 1996
accounting
Competence-based approaches to the professional
IFAC 1998
preparation of accountants
The 1999 practice analysis of management
IMA 1999
accounting
Competency framework for internal auditing IIA 1999
The AICPA core competency framework for entry
AICPA 1999
into the accounting profession
Towards competent professional accountants IFAC 2003
23
Nine competencies were identified across the nine studies, they are:
1. Communications skills
2. Interpersonal skills
3. General business knowledge
4. Accounting knowledge
5. Problem-solving skills
6. Information technology
7. Attitudes, capabilities, professionalism
8. Computer skills
9. Leadership
These competencies include not just generic skills and attributes for accountants but also
specific knowledge. The fourth item (accounting knowledge) is discipline specific. The
sixth and eighth items (information technology and computer skills) are related to the
object of this research.
Other studies on accounting graduate generic skills and attributes were made by academics
in Australia in more recent times. A study surveyed accounting degree graduates from two
Australian universities and found that 1) communication, 2) problem
solving/analysis/application/adaptability and 3) practical/time management/decision
making are the three most important generic skills for accounting graduates (De Lange,
Jackling & Gut 2006). The study also found that there were gaps between what was taught
and what was desired in a number of technical skills, one of which was computing skills.
More specifically, the study reported that despite the use of computer accounting packages
in accounting courses in Australian universities, graduates still perceived that they were
not well prepared for work in the profession of accounting (De Lange, Jackling & Gut
2006, p. 382).
Another Australian study (Kavanagh & Drennan 2008) examined the perceptions and
expectations of accounting skill sets from both students and employers. Students rated 1)
continuous learning, 2) decision making and 3) problem solving as the top three skills.
Employers rated 1) analytical skills/problem solving, 2) business awareness/real life
experience and 3) basic accounting skills as the top three skill sets for accounting
graduates. With the exception of basic accounting skills, the others are generic skills. The
24
salient point for this research from the study is the finding that a large gap existed between
students’ expectations and the extent developed in accounting software skills (Kavanagh &
Drennan 2008, p. 291). This finding supports the De Lange, Jackling and Gut (2006) study
which found that despite the use of computer software in accounting courses, students still
perceived they were not well prepared for the workplace. De Lange, Jackling and Gut
(2006, p. 382) called for further investigations in the types of computing skills valued in
the workplace.
Based on prior studies which suggested that there is a mismatch between accounting
curriculum and the practical IT competency requirements for accountants, Williams J. and
Leung (1995) compared the views of accounting educators and Chartered Accountants
(CA) on the importance of a list of IT knowledge and skills. These IT knowledge and skills
were classified as:
1. PC knowledge
a. Data communication software
b. Database management software
c. Desktop publishing software
d. Graphics software
e. PC-based accounting software package
f. Programming language
g. Spreadsheet
h. Word processing software
2. System specifications
a. Computer hardware
25
b. Programming language selection
c. Software requirement specification
3. System design and development
a. Cost/benefit analysis
b. Designing data access/security controls
c. System design and development
4. Accounting packages
a. Designing the chart of accounts
b. Select, setup and operate accounting packages
5. EDP auditing and programming
a. Identify the audit trail in EDP environment
b. Use of general audit packages
c. Write computer programs for audit purposes
The study found that there was perfect agreement between accounting educators and CAs
on the importance of using spreadsheets. It also found that accounting educators expected a
higher level of IT knowledge and skills of graduates than CAs in the area of system design
and development and EDP auditing. CAs however, expected graduates to have more
knowledge in computer hardware than educators. CAs and educators agreed that
programming was not the responsibility of accountants and that less emphasis should be
given to word processing, database software and systems design and development. The
study concluded that accounting curriculum should be sensitive to the perceptions of CAs
and that it is of paramount importance that potential areas of mismatch between accounting
educators and CAs be identified.
A large scale study on the IT knowledge requirements of accounting and finance graduates
was conducted by Green and Buckby (1995). The study surveyed members of the
Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants (ASCPA) on the specific IT skills
required by accounting graduates. Out of the 83 topics surveyed, the only one that was
rated as important and at the same time required a high level of knowledge was
‘spreadsheet’ (Green & Buckby 1995). The topic ‘Structured Query Language’ (SQL) was
found to be not understood by most respondents. Due to the unusual rating scale used in
the study, the mean scores for the topics could not be computed and thus the study was not
able to rank the IT topics in order of importance.
26
A list of critical IT skills required by accountants was compiled by Wessels (2005) based
on a literature review of major publications and studies which included the Institute of
Chartered Accountants Australia, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants, Institute of Management Accountants, International Federation
of Accountants, Theuri and Gunn (1998), Hostrom and Hunton (1998), Coenenberg, Haller
and Marten (1999), Boyse (2004) and Greenstein and McKee (2004). The study produced
a list of 34 critical IT skills for professional accountants with the aim of providing a
guideline for TEIs and workplace training. It has to be noted that this study was based on a
literature review, and not on empirical data. There was no ranking of the IT topics to
describe the relative importance of the various topics in the list. Table 2.3 shows the 34 IT
skills complied by Wessels (2005) in alphabetical order.
27
communications software (Outlook), 7) electronic commerce, 8) World Wide Web and 9)
Windows. The results of this study are remarkably similar to those of the Burnett (2003)
study.
28
The School of Accountancy and Information Systems at Brigham Young University in the
USA offers a capstone course to provide enhanced IT skills to students immediately before
graduation (Jackson & Cherrington 2002). The course consists of a number of hands-on IT
skills with the aim of preparing graduates for employment. A study was conducted to
obtain feedback from graduates who had taken the course and were employed in the
workplace after graduation. The respondents were asked to rate the importance of the
topics offered in the course on a scale of 1 (unnecessary) to 5 (valuable). Table 2.4 shows
the results of the study. E-mail, word processing and spreadsheet had mean scores greater
than 4 and were regarded as the most important and useful tools in fulfilling job
responsibilities by graduates. The second tier topics, with mean scores between 3 and 4,
were operating systems, group work, Internet research and presentation. The third tier
topics had mean scores between 2 and 3 and included accessories/tools, database access
and query and accounting packages. IT topics that scored below 2 included building web
pages, programming, fourth generation programming language, statistical analysis,
computer-assisted systems engineering and Paintshop/Photoshop tools. A significant
finding from this study is that graduates considered this IT skills course offered to them
immediately before graduation to be much more effective than the AIS course (Jackson &
Cherrington 2002, p. 219). The AIS course is discussed in Section 2.8.
29
2.7 Accounting education in NZ
NZICA is the predominant accounting body in NZ. Although there are reciprocal
arrangements with overseas bodies, they have a small presence in NZ (Carr & Mathews
2004). The majority of professional accountants in NZ therefore qualify as members of
NZICA (Ibid.).
As shown in Table 2.6, the accounting and business-related studies now (as per 2010
schedule) include 30 credits of liberal studies, which refer to courses drawn from
disciplines such as arts, science, social science and humanities and are outside the
accounting curriculum. These liberal study courses are made compulsory by NZICA for
admission to the CA membership.
30
Table 2.6 Accounting and business-related studies (NZICA)
Recognised courses for CA membership
Advanced Financial Accounting
Advanced Management Accounting
Advanced auditing and assurance
Advanced taxation
Advanced business finance/treasury
Accounting Information Systems
Economics
Organisational Management
Statistics
Commercial Law
30 credits of liberal studies
The requirement for liberal studies is intended to broaden the accounting graduate’s way of
thinking and to contribute to the acquisition of generic skills such as communication and
interpersonal skills (Malthus & Fowler 2005). The authors conducted a study to test
whether accounting students undertaking liberal studies would improve their acquisition of
generic skills. The study showed that there is little support for the claim that liberal studies
can contribute significantly to the acquisition of generic skills but the authors believed that
there is still value in liberal education for professional accountants (Malthus & Fowler
2005).
NZICA has issued a document entitled ‘Statements of Learning Outcomes’ (SLO), the
purpose of which is to provide a benchmark for evaluating courses for use in tertiary
reviews of approved tertiary education institutions (ATEI), and to convey the Institute’s
expectations of learning outcomes for each of the topic areas at the advanced level (NZICA
2006a). Table 2.7 shows the SLOs and they match closely with the accounting and
business related studies shown in Table 2.6. TEIs seeking accreditation from NZICA have
to observe the SLOs in their accounting curriculum. Development of IT knowledge and
skills is covered by the requirement to take an accounting information systems course as
31
shown in Table 2.6 with the corresponding SLO-5 shown in Table 2.7. The AIS course will
be discussed in the next section.
In August 2009, NZICA issued a revision to the SLOs. Table 2.8 shows the revised SLOs.
Accounting Information Systems has been renumbered from SLO-5 to SLO-CA6. The
differences between SLO-5 and SLO-CA6 will be discussed in Section 2.9.1.
32
2.8 The Accounting Information Systems course
The AIS course developed by TEIs in countries including Australia, NZ, the UK and the
USA is in specific response to the inability of many students to grasp the fundamental
principles of information systems in accounting (Van Meer & Adams 1996). It is the
primary course that accounting students take in which accounting information is
intertwined with technology (Theuri & Gunn 1998). Although the course is described as a
subset of MIS, it focuses on the accumulation, processing and communication of data
relating to accounting (Smith & Bain 1993).
In many institutions, the AIS course belongs to the faculty of accounting and is taught by
accounting faculty members and is the main avenue through which accounting students
receive IT education and training (Chang & Hwang 2002). Bagranoff, Simkin and Norman
(2008) suggest that AIS stands at the intersection of two disciplines – accounting and
information systems as illustrated in Figure 2.3. Numerous studies have been undertaken in
an attempt to develop a set of standard topics to be covered in the AIS course.
Information
Accounting
Systems
Accounting Information Systems
33
the AIS course, as the motive for his study. He surveyed AIS instructors and asked them to
rate from a list of 15 IT topics whether they were ‘necessary’, ‘optional’ or ‘unnecessary’.
The study identified nine topics as ‘necessary’ as shown in Table 2.9. However, the source
of the topics chosen in the study were from no definite source (Green & Buckby 1995) and
the views of accounting practitioners were not sought (Van Meer & Adams 1996).
Source: Wu (1983)
Van Meer and Adams (1996) attempted to overcome the limitations of the Wu (1983)
study by comparing the views of accounting academics and practitioners on the IT topics
that should be taught in NZ TEIs in an AIS course. This is the only notable study of AIS
syllabus conducted in NZ. The study classified 82 topics into nine categories based on
important AIS topics identified in previous studies including Wu (1983), American
Accounting Association (1987) and Wan and Choo (1988). Academics and practitioners
were surveyed as to whether a particular topic is ‘essential’ or ‘optional’. The respondents
were also asked to rate the expected level of knowledge for each topic using a scale of
‘advanced, ‘intermediate’ or ‘introductory’. The study identified four essential categories
and 28 individual topics for an AIS course. Table 2.10 shows the essential categories and
the specific topics found to be essential within those categories. Table 2.11 shows the
optional categories and the specific topics that were regarded as essential in those optional
34
categories. With the exception of spreadsheet, which required an advanced level of
knowledge, all other topics required an intermediate knowledge level. This finding is
consistent with that of Green and Buckby (1995) which reported that the only IT skill that
required a high level of knowledge was spreadsheet.
35
Studies on AIS syllabi in the USA after Wu (1983) include Davis and Leitch (1988),
Heagy and McMickle (1988), Heagy and Rakow (1991), Smith and Bain (1993) and
Theuri and Gunn (1998). Davis and Leitch (1988) developed 60 AIS topics and surveyed
accountants and educators for their opinion on the importance of the topics for current
needs and five years in the future. The study found differences in opinions on some topics
and agreements in others. Table 2.12 shows the top 10 topics ranked by accountants for
current needs and compares them with the ranking by educators. A large difference in
ranking for spreadsheet was found between accountants and educators.
Table 2.12 Accountants vs. educators – current (Davis & Leitch 1988)
Ranked by Ranked by
Topic
accountants educators
Spreadsheet 1 33
Microcomputer software 2 14
Revenue cycle 4 11
Journal entries 6 28
Accounts payable 7 4
EDP auditing 10 10
Table 2.13 shows the top 10 topics ranked by educators for current courses and compares
them with the ranking by accountants. Educators ranked introduction to information
systems, flowcharts/data flow diagrams, systems design, database concepts and systems
analysis much higher than accountants did.
36
Table 2.13 Educators vs. accountants – current (Davis & Leitch 1988)
Ranked by Ranked by
Topic
educators accountants
Introduction to information systems 1 29
Flowcharts/Data flow diagrams 2 24
Data storage and retention 3 11
Accounts Payable 4 7
Internal control structures 5 5
Cash control 6 13
Systems design 7 25
Database concepts 8 34
Systems analysis 9 22
EDP auditing 10 10
Table 2.14 shows the top 10 topics ranked by accountants for future needs and compares
them with the ranking by educators. Again, accountants ranked spreadsheet significantly
higher than educators did.
Table 2.14 Accountants vs. educators – future (Davis & Leitch 1988)
Ranked by Ranked by
Topic
accountants educators
Data storage and retention 1 29
Spreadsheet 2 32
Microcomputer software 3 16
Internal control structures 4 1
Statement and reports 5 26
EDP auditing 6 5
Computer assisted audit 7 17
Revenue cycle 8 3
Cost/benefit 9 18
Journal entries 10 57
37
Table 2.15 shows the top 10 topics ranked by educators for future needs and compares
them with the ranking by accountants. Educators ranked security and backup,
conversion/production cycle, flowcharts/data flow diagrams much higher than accountants
did.
Table 2.15 Educators vs. accountants – future (Davis & Leitch 1988)
Ranked by Ranked by
Topic
educators accountants
Internal control structures 1 4
Revenue cycle 3 8
Spending cycle 4 18
EDP auditing 5 6
Conversion/production cycle 6 32
Cash control 9 21
Systems analysis 10 14
Spreadsheet was ranked first and second by accountants for current and future needs.
Green and Buckby (1995) and Van Meer and Adams (1996) also found spreadsheet to be
important for accountants and requiring a high level of knowledge. However, in this study,
spreadsheet was ranked in the 33rd position for current needs and 32nd for future needs by
educators. This is surprising and could be due to educators’ reluctance to teach spreadsheet
in an AIS course (Davis & Leitch 1988). This is a problem and efforts need to be made to
get academics and accounting practitioners to agree on the IT topics that should be taught
in an accounting programme (Davis & Leitch 1988).
Heagy and McMickle (1988) compared what academics covered in accounting systems
courses with the needs of accounting practitioners. The authors developed 59 topics based
on accounting systems textbooks, reports of professional organisations and published
articles concerning accounting education, and talking with accounting systems instructors
38
(Heagy & McMickle 1988). Practitioners preferred more emphasis on spreadsheet but less
on systems development life cycle, internal controls and security measures in computerised
accounting systems, document flowcharts and storage of data. An observation drawn from
the study was that most of the topics that practitioners preferred were those related to
practical use and experience in application software.
Using the same 59 topics in the Heagy and McMickle (1988) study, Heagy and Rakow
(1991) surveyed academics and compared their agreement among themselves on the IT
topics that should be taught in accounting systems courses. IT topics that had significant
agreement were internal controls in computerised accounting systems, where professors
agreed that heavy coverage was required. Systems development life cycle was agreed
among professors as the topic that should have heavy to medium coverage. Database
fundamentals was agreed to have medium to light coverage. IT topics that professors
agreed should have no coverage in an AIS course were program coding and computer
number systems. It is surprising to find that 37% of professors rated no coverage for
spreadsheet, a topic which has been identified as important and requiring advanced
knowledge in other studies.
39
Table 2.16 Ranking of theoretical topics (Theuri & Gunn 1998)
Ranked by Ranked by
Theoretical topics
educators employers
Transaction processing cycles 1 3
Table 2.17 shows the ranking of applications. It is clear that spreadsheet is ranked among
the top application topics by educators and more so by employers. It is surprising to see
that accounting applications was ranked much lower by employers than educators.
40
2.8.2 AIS textbook topic coverage
A review of topic coverage of AIS textbooks was conducted by Smith and Bain (1993),
summarising the coverage of 11 AIS textbooks into 24 topics. AIS educators were asked to
rate the 24 topics on their relative importance on a scale of 1 (very unimportant) to 5 (very
important). Table 2.18 lists the 24 topics ranked in order of importance. A main weakness
of this study is that some topics were not well defined. Examples of these are ‘Overview’,
‘Implementation’, ‘Processing’, ‘Communications’, ‘Software’, ‘Micro software’ and
‘Small business’. Similar to prior studies (Davis & Leitch 1988; Heagy & McMickle 1988;
Heagy & Rakow 1991), AIS educators rated internal control, analysis and design and
revenue/expense cycles as the most important AIS topics.
41
A similar study involving AIS textbooks was conducted almost 10 years later (Bain,
Blankley & Smith 2002). The study examined 12 current AIS textbooks and a number of
on-line AIS syllabi, summarised them into 30 topics and surveyed AIS educators and
accounting practitioners for the importance of the topics. Table 2.19 shows the top 10
topics ranked by educators and Table 2.20 shows those ranked by practitioners. The
authors concluded that introduction to systems, internal control and transaction cycles were
the most important topics to be covered. Systems analysis and design was seen to have
decreased in importance from previous studies (Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002, p. 143).
Table 2.19 Top 10 AIS topics ranked by educators (Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002)
Ranked by Ranked by
Topic
educators practitioners
Internal control 1 1
Transaction cycles 2 3
Systems documentation 3 22
Computer fraud 4 10
Database management systems 5 15
Database/File architecture 6 20
e-commerce 7 18
Ethics 8 4
End user computing 9 6
EDI 9= 12
Table 2.20 Top 10 AIS topics ranked by practitioners (Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002)
Ranked by Ranked by
Topic
practitioners educators
Internal control 1 1
Internet 2 11
Transaction cycles 3 2
Ethics 4 8
Software 5 17
End user computing 6 9
Communications topics 7 12
File organisation and access 8 14
Client/server networking 9 22
Computer fraud 10 4
42
2.8.3 Analysis of the AIS course
Despite the many studies on AIS syllabi, AIS researchers have agreed that a generally
accepted set of topics to be covered in an AIS course does not exist (Wu 1983) and the AIS
course remains one of the most diverse and least standardised courses in the accounting
curriculum (Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002; Davis & Leitch 1988; Groomer & Murthy
1996; Heagy & McMickle 1988). Due to the nature of the AIS environment, the basic AIS
course content may never be as clearly established as other accounting courses (Smith &
Bain 1993). The lack of a standardised and generally accepted set of contents for the AIS
course makes it more difficult to teach than other accounting courses (Groomer & Murthy
1996); teaching AIS can be an inefficient and frustrating process (Heagy & Rakow 1991).
The researcher has noted that research on AIS topical coverage is quite dated, the most
recent monograph found being Bain, Blankley and Smith (2002). As a reference, the most
recent citation made in the literature review of a monograph comparing AIS and MIS
courses by Murthy and Ragland (2009) was also Bain, Blankley and Smith (2002). Recent
studies on AIS appear to focus on the technical details of specific AIS topics rather than on
AIS topical coverage (see Moehrle et al. 2009, pp. 439-441).
Based on prior studies on AIS course topic coverage dating from the 1980s to more recent
studies, the topics that AIS researchers have found that should be included in AIS syllabi
are summarised below. The list is in alphabetical order of the topics.
43
Expert systems and decision support systems
File organisation and access
Internal control
Internet knowledge
Introduction to information systems (general system concepts, computer hardware)
Practical use of accounting application packages, spreadsheet, word processing and
presentation software
Systems development life cycle (systems analysis, design and implementation)
Systems documentation (flowcharts, data flow diagrams)
The researcher has some reservations as to the scope and boundary of AIS syllabi. It has
been suggested that AIS stands at the intersection of two disciplines – accounting and
information systems (Bagranoff, Simkin & Norman 2008) (see also Figure 2.3). AIS
should therefore contain IT topics that are related only to the accounting domain. Examples
of such topics would be accounting systems and software packages, IT controls in
accounting systems, accounting systems development, etc. The inclusion of IT topics such
as spreadsheet, word processing, presentation software, general systems concepts,
computer hardware, etc. in AIS syllabi has blurred the boundary of AIS with generic IT
knowledge and skills for accountants. In connection with this, there are on-going debates
on the boundaries of AIS research. Sutton and Arnold (2002) argue that AIS should be a
subset of MIS so as not to limit the definition of AIS research. However, Murthy and
Ragland (2009) support the ‘intersection’ view of Murthy and Wiggins Jr (1999) and
Bagranoff, Simkin and Norman (2008).
44
Table 2.21 SLO-5: Accounting Information Systems (NZICA 2006)
Learning outcomes Details
Internal control in accounting/business Select factors that must be considered when developing
systems controls for information systems.
Describe the control environment and plan to meet control
objectives.
Identify and compare general controls and application
controls for information systems.
Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of control
compliance monitoring.
Evaluate and design internal control systems.
Demonstrate an understanding of the contribution that
internal controls make to achieving organisational
objectives, that is, their value-adding role.
Development standards and practices for Describe database management systems and identify the
accounting/business systems advantages of different types of database systems.
Define the requirements of a database accounting system.
Describe the process and documentation requirements of
the systems development life cycle (SDLC).
Describe the system verification and validation process.
Explain how emerging technologies influence the design of
accounting information systems.
Management of IT adoption, Discuss strategic considerations involved in planning
implementation, and use information systems, including an appreciation of the
importance of project management.
Demonstrate an awareness of security, back-up, and
recovery procedures.
Evaluate development acquisition alternatives.
Discuss systems maintenance and control policies.
Discuss the importance of ensuring end user support.
Explain the principles of managing change.
Evaluation of computer-based Describe the impact of legal, ethical, and auditing
accounting/business systems influences on AIS.
Describe evaluation objectives, methods, and techniques.
Document a system using flow charts and a control matrix.
Discuss the effects of rapid change on evaluation of
existing systems.
The practical use of technology Demonstrate the theoretical application of information
systems technology e.g. database design or project
management implementation of AIS.
Apply information systems/technology to solving
business/accounting problems.
45
The five learning outcomes of SLO-5 closely match the AIS topic categories identified in
prior studies. In August 2009, NZICA published SLO-CA6 to replace SLO-5. Table 2.22
shows the learning outcomes and details of SLO-CA6.
SLO-CA6 has four learning outcomes instead of the five in SLO-5. The learning outcome
‘Evaluation of computer-based accounting/business systems’ which includes topics on
evaluation, auditing and documentation of computer systems, has been removed. SLO-
CA6 has a footnote which refers the reader to the International Education Practice
46
Statement 2 issued by IFAC for specific examples. The function of IFAC and its education
statement is discussed in the following section.
47
Analyse and evaluate role of information in the entity’s business processes
As a designer of IT
and organisation
Apply project management methods
Apply system investigation, project initiation methods
Apply user requirements determination and initial design methods
Apply detailed system design, acquisition/development methods
Apply system implementation methods
Apply system maintenance and change management methods
As an evaluator of IT Plan system evaluation
Evaluate system
Communicate results of evaluations and follow up
In August 2006, IFAC issued an Exposure Draft for the proposed International Education
Practice Statement 2.1 (IEPS 2.1) with the intention to replace IEG-11 (IFAC 2006b). An
inspection of IEPS 2.1 revealed few differences from IEG-11 except for the addition of one
subject area and a clearer definition of the roles of a professional accountant. Table 2.24
shows the number of main topic coverage recommended by IEPS 2.1.
No. of topics
IT strategy (Topic 1) 8
IT architecture (Topic 2) 46
IT as a business enabler (Topic 3) 7
Systems acquisition and development process (Topic 4) 26
Management of IT (Topic 5) 26
Communication and IT (Topic 6) 4
IT control knowledge (A2) 24
IT control competencies (A3) 12
IT knowledge required as a manager of IT (A4) 7
IT knowledge required as an evaluator of IT (A5) 3
IT knowledge required as a designer of IT (A6) 7
IT knowledge required as an audit professional (A7) 4
Total 174
48
IFAC requested comments on the exposure draft from member bodies. The request
attracted a considerable amount of feedback, most of it being criticisms. Some said it
contains too many detailed and technical topics which are required only by specialist IT
practitioners. Others said it is impossible for accounting students to learn such a vast
number of topics and that there is no indication of essential or optional topics. Another
suggested that the role of ‘Manager’ and ‘Designer’ should not be included in the guideline
as these roles lie beyond the accounting profession domain. A further comment was that
there is no indication on whether the guideline is for students, newly hired, or experienced
accounting practitioners. Another was of the opinion that accountants only need a small
portion of the topics in the ‘User’ role of the guideline. Yet another one commented that
the guideline may hinder rather than assist accounting educators in improving IT
competencies for accountants. Table 2.25 summarises the significant comments made by
various accounting profession bodies and accounting firms.
49
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
The lack of contextual reference of IT to business in the guideline may encourage member
bodies to develop IT course content without reference to useful accounting or business
contexts
The primary focus of the exposure draft should remain on the fundamental competencies
required of accountants at the point of qualification
Institu Der Wirtshaftsprufer
Guideline fails to provide a business approach to IT education
Very serious concerns about the structure and approach of the guideline and believe that it
may hinder rather than assist accounting educators in improving IT competencies for
professional accountants
Ernst & Young
The guideline is too broad and does not have the right focus
The roles of the information systems manager and systems designer should be outside the
scope of the guideline
The list of competencies for the user role is too broad and has not been prioritised and ends
up having a long list of everything an individual may know about IT
In October 2007, the Exposure Draft IEPS 2.1 became International Education Practice
Statement 2 (IEPS 2) and officially replaced IEG-11 (IFAC 2007). There is no evidence
that any of the comments made by the various professional accounting bodies have been
incorporated. As some IFAC member bodies have remarked, IEPS 2, apart from being
extensive, includes some topics that are highly technical. Some examples of these technical
topics are object-oriented languages, unified modelling language, seven layers of the OSI
model, common object request broker architecture, etc., which have not been identified as
required IT knowledge for accountants in other studies. Because of the long list of
recommendations and the presence of some highly technical topics, it is impossible for
accounting major programmes to follow the guideline. However, it cannot be disputed that
IEPS 2 is the most exhaustive guideline on IT knowledge and skills for accountants found
in the literature.
50
of a list of IT knowledge and skills ranked by mean scores given by participants with no
discussion on the detailed requirement of the topics. For example, spreadsheet has been
identified as one of the most important IT skills for accountants in many studies, but no
study has discussed which functions or features within a spreadsheet are more important
than others. Another example is database knowledge. Some studies have identified this
topic as important, but no study has been found that discusses whether accounting
graduates need to know how to design and develop a database, or simply how to use it.
Another weakness observed in the literature is that participants were asked to rate only a
list of topics provided to them. No study has been found that asked participants to suggest
and rate topics not in the list. There is a risk that some IT topics that accountants need may
be omitted from these studies. Connected with this observed weakness is the question of
the source of the IT topics that were included in the survey instruments. How
comprehensive and credible were they? Where did they originate from?
Studies found from the literature review on IT knowledge and skills for accounting
graduates appear to belong to two separate branches. One branch of study focused on
general IT knowledge and skills for accountants (see for example Awayiga, Onumah &
Tsamenyi 2010; Burnett 2003; Green & Buckby 1995) and the other branch on AIS
specific topics (see for example Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002; Davis & Leitch 1988; Van
Meer & Adams 1996; Wu 1983). General IT knowledge and skills are those that are
required by most higher education graduates regardless of their academic field of study.
Examples are spreadsheet, word processing, graphics software, etc. AIS specific topics are
those specifically required by accounting graduates. Examples are accounting packages, IT
controls, EDP auditing, accounting cycles, etc. However, it is not always so clear cut.
Some studies in the general branch contained some, but not all AIS related topics (see for
example Wessels 2005; Williams, J. & Leung 1995). Some studies in the AIS branch
contained some, but not all general IT topics (see for example Davis & Leitch 1988; Heagy
& Rakow 1991; Theuri & Gunn 1998; Van Meer & Adams 1996). This is confusing and
does not provide a holistic and clear set of IT topics for accountants in the body of
knowledge.
51
The IEPS 2 guideline published by IFAC contains many topics that have been identified as
irrelevant by some professional accounting bodies. In total, IEPS 2 has 174 individual
topics. At the other end of the scale, the SLO-5 for AIS published by NZICA contains only
five broad areas labelled as ‘learning outcomes’ and SLO-CA6, which was issued in 2009
to replace SLO-5 contains one less learning outcome than its predecessor. Perhaps due to
the lack of details, SLO-CA6 has a footnote referring readers to obtain further guidance
from IEPS 2.
Finally, most studies on IT knowledge and skills were conducted in the USA, the UK and
Australia. With the exception of the Van Meer and Adams (1996) monograph, no studies
on IT knowledge and skills for accounting graduates in NZ have been found.
52
required in more senior or specialised roles as the accounting graduates progress in their
career. A length of time less than five years would be limiting in terms of the breadth and
depth of IT knowledge and skills required. It is also difficult for participants of the research
to predict the requirements of IT knowledge and skills required beyond five years as IT is a
fast-changing field. Other studies that used five years as the basis for discussion include
Davis and Leitch (1988) and Little (2007).
As discussed earlier, one of the objectives of this study is to add to the body of knowledge
by producing a comprehensive set of IT knowledge and skills for accounting graduates in
NZ. In order to achieve this, a credible and comprehensive research instrument is vital.
Bain, Blankley
Wessels and Smith
IFAC IEPS 2 NZICA SLO‐5 (2005) (2002)
IT knowledge and skills for accountants from literature review
Important IT
How are IT
knowledge and
knowledge and
skills for first five
skills used and
years
applied
IT knowledge and NZ Accounting
skills lacking for practitioners
current job
IT knowledge and Involvement in IT
skills needed for matters
future
The relevant IT knowledge
and skills for accounting
graduates in NZ
53
From the literature, the most exhaustive list of IT knowledge and skills for accountants is
IEPS 2 published by IFAC. Another authoritative guideline is SLO-5 published by NZICA.
A list of general IT skills as well as AIS related topics was compiled by Wessels (2005)
through a comprehensive literature review. A review of AIS topics from 12 textbooks and
a number of on-line AIS syllabi was conducted by Bain, Blankley and Smith (2002). These
guidelines and monographs provide a credible source of IT topics that can be included in
the research instrument. The conceptual framework of the research is illustrated in Figure
2.4.
It is not expected that all IT knowledge and skills contained in the sources are relevant to
NZ accounting graduates. The results will therefore probably be a subset of the IT topics in
these sources. Figure 2.5 shows the likely relationship between the findings of this research
and the sources of the research instrument.
IFAC
NZICA guidelines
SLOs
The relevant IT
knowledge and
skills for accounting
graduates in NZ
Generic IT
AIS specific knowledge
knowledge and skills and skills
54
2.12 The research questions
The main objective of this research is to explore and provide a set of IT knowledge and
skills required by accounting graduates in NZ. A further objective is to gain understanding
of how IT knowledge and skills are applied and used by accounting practitioners so that
more insight can be obtained on the extent to which each IT topic has to be taught and
covered in an accounting curriculum. Additional questions are developed to ensure that IT
topics have not been omitted in the survey instrument. The specific objectives of the
research are:
Developing a comprehensive list of IT knowledge and skills from all credible
sources as the survey instrument
Collecting data to identify the important IT topics and to understand how IT
knowledge and skills are used and applied
Understanding participants’ involvement in IT matters
Asking participants whether IT knowledge and skills not included in the survey
instrument are indeed required
Producing a comprehensive set of IT knowledge and skills for accounting graduates
in NZ that encompasses both general IT and AIS specific topics
Developing a conceptual model for the delivery of IT content in an accounting
major programme
Five research questions (RQ) are developed to guide the data collection process in order to
achieve the objectives of the study:
RQ1 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants need in the first five years of their
career?
RQ2 How are IT knowledge and skills used and applied in NZ accountants’ work?
RQ3 How are NZ accountants involved in IT related matters?
RQ4 Do NZ accountants feel they have adequate IT knowledge and skills for their jobs?
RQ5 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants regard as necessary in the future?
55
2.13 Chapter summary
This chapter has presented the theoretical framework of the research which is based on
human capital theory and stakeholder theory. The link between these two theories as
applied in higher education leads to the graduate employability literature which in turn
leads to discussions on the knowledge and skills that graduates should possess to be
employable. Graduate knowledge and skills can be classified into generic and specific
knowledge and skills. Generic skills are those that are not related to any particular
academic field of study. Examples of generic skills are communication skills, interpersonal
skills, working under pressure, use of computers, etc. IT knowledge and skills for
accountants can also be classified into generic and specific. The objective of this research
is to add to the body of knowledge in accounting education by exploring the relevant IT
knowledge and skills required by accounting graduates in NZ. The extant literature on IT
knowledge and skills for accountants has been reviewed which includes academic research
monographs, reports from professional bodies and guidelines published by professional
accounting organisations. Gaps in the literature have been identified and discussed, and a
conceptual framework together with the research questions have been presented. The next
chapter discusses the methodology and methods for the study.
56
CHAPTER 3 – METHODOLOGY
3 METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
The previous chapter has identified five questions for the research. This chapter discusses
the methodology chosen for the research. Hussey and Hussey (1997) made a distinction
between the terms ‘methodology’ and ‘methods’.
Methodology refers to the overall approach to the research process, from the
theoretical underpinning to the collection and analysis of data. Methods, on the
other hand, refer only to various means by which data can be collected and/or
analysed. (Hussey & Hussey 1997, p. 54)
Methodology is concerned with why the researcher collected certain data, what data were
collected and from where, when and how the data were collected, and how the data were
analysed (Hussey & Hussey 1997).
A two-phased approach was used in this study, comprising a pilot study (Phase I) followed
by the main study (Phase II). The pilot study employed the Delphi method and sought the
opinions of six experts to develop a questionnaire for the main study. The main study used
a mixed method comprising a survey questionnaire derived from the pilot study followed
by semi-structured interviews. This chapter presents justifications for this approach and
discusses the methods used in the two phases of data collection. Figure 3.1 depicts an
overview of this chapter.
57
Figure 3.1 Overview of Chapter 3
3.1 Types of research
3.2 Research design
3.3 Questionnaire
design
3.4.1 Questionnaire design for Phase I
3.4 Phase I – Pilot study 3.4.2 Selection of Delphi panellists
3.4.3 Results from Phase I
3.5.1 Sampling
3.5 Phase II – Main 3.5.2 Interview question design
study 3.5.3 Data collection
3.5.4 Data analysis method for questionnaire
3.5.5 Data analysis method for interviews
3.6 Research ethics
3.7 Chapter summary
Research may also be classified into deductive and inductive research depending on the
direction of theorising (Neuman 2006). Deductive research begins with abstract concepts
or theories and works towards empirical evidence to confirm or reject the theories or
concepts. Hypotheses testing are often used in this kind of research. Induction research
58
begins with observing the empirical data, reflects on what is taking place and works
towards developing theoretical concepts.
This research is exploratory, its objective being to identify the relevant IT knowledge and
skills required by accounting graduates. It is inductive, its aim being the development of a
conceptual model for IT content delivery and coverage in accounting curriculum based on
the data collected.
The two main paradigms are positivism and interpretivism (Collis & Hussey 2009). Table
3.1 summarises the approaches and features of the two different paradigms. Positivist
researchers tend to take an objective view of reality, making use of larger samples to
collect quantitative data and being concerned with hypothesis testing. Interpretivists take a
more subjective view of reality, using small samples but employing data collection
methods that allow them to collect rich data to produce in-depth understanding of the
research questions. However, few researchers now adopt the pure forms of the main
paradigms (Collis & Hussey 2009) which can be viewed as the two extremes of a
continuum of paradigms, as depicted in Figure 3.2. The methodologies chosen by the
researcher can move along the continuum according to the researcher’s assumptions
(Hussey & Hussey 1997). Some argue that rather than be constrained by a single paradigm,
pragmatism should be the key factor in determining the methodology of the research
(Collis & Hussey 2009). These researchers advocate that researchers should be free to
59
combine different methods from different paradigms based on their usefulness in
answering the research questions. This researcher believes in rich qualitative data in the
acquisition of knowledge and therefore the paradigm used will lean towards the
interpretivism end of the continuum.
Quantitative Qualitative
Objective Subjective
Scientific Humanist
Traditionalist Phenomenological
Use large samples Use small samples
Concerned with hypothesis testing Concerned with generating theories
Produce precise, objective, quantitative data Produce ‘rich’, subjective, qualitative data
Produce results with high reliability but low Produce results with low reliability but high
validity validity
Allow results to be generalised from the Allow results to be generalised from one
sample to the population setting to another similar setting
Positivism Interpretivism
60
As discussed at the beginning of Section 3.1, the second criterion in determining the
methodology of a research is its objective. The methodology chosen should be the one that
best addresses the research objectives and the research questions. The research questions
developed in Chapter 2 are re-listed as follows:
RQ1 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants need in the first five years of their
career?
RQ2 How are IT knowledge and skills used and applied in NZ accountants’ work?
RQ3 How are NZ accountants involved in IT related matters?
RQ4 Do NZ accountants feel they have adequate IT knowledge and skills for their jobs?
RQ5 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants regard as necessary in the future?
The research objectives of this study are to explore the relevant IT knowledge and skills
required by accounting graduates in NZ, to present recommendations for accounting
curriculum policy and design, and to develop a model for the delivery of IT content in
accounting major programmes. The research is inductive in nature, and as shown in Table
3.1, interpretivism paradigm is more suited to this kind of research.
Having determined the appropriate research paradigm and strategies for the different
research questions, consideration was made regarding the appropriate data collection
methods. Collis and Hussey (2003) identified seven main data collection methods: critical
incident technique, diaries, focus groups, interviews, observation, protocol analysis and
questionnaires. A mixed method approach in data collection was necessary to satisfy the
study. A survey questionnaire for RQ1 followed by interviews for the other research
questions (RQ2, 3, 4 and 5) were selected as data collection methods.
The justification for using a mixed method instead of a questionnaire alone is that
interviews allow the interviewer to probe and obtain more in-depth views on how the IT
knowledge and skills identified in the questionnaire were used and applied in the
interviewees’ actual day-to-day work. Interviews also allow participant views and
comments to be made which are not possible through questionnaires. A questionnaire
alone could result in a list of IT knowledge and skills regarded as important by accounting
practitioners without any further discussion as to why and how these knowledge and skills
61
were used. A mixed method approach also has the advantage of allowing cross-validation
of findings (Brannen 1992). Similar studies that used a mixed method include Boritz
(2005): IS Practitioners' Views on Core Concepts of Information Integrity and Kavanagh
and Drennan (2008): What Skills and Attributes does an Accounting Graduate Need?
Evidence from Student Perceptions and Employer Expectations.
Given the problems mentioned above, the design for this research comprised two phases.
The first used the Delphi method in a pilot study to establish a workable questionnaire
based on the opinions of experts from the accounting profession. IT knowledge and skills
short-listed by these experts became the questionnaire for data collection in Phase II, which
was the main study of this research. Figure 3.3 depicts the two phases.
62
Figure 3.3 Research design
List of IT topics from
Phase I literature review
Pilot
study
Experts from
accounting field
Multiple rounds
IT topics rated by
experts
Phase II Questionnaire for
main study
Main
study
Accounting Semi‐structured
practitioners interviews
Quantitative and
qualitative data
63
a systematic approach to gather expert opinions about a complex issue or problem. It has
been used in a number of higher education research studies and is recommended by Boberg
and Morris-Khoo (1992) as a preliminary step in the evaluation of higher education
programs. The Delphi method seeks to elicit agreement or consensus on perceptions and
judgements from experts in a specialised area (Boberg & Morris-Khoo 1992). It usually
consists of a series of mailed questionnaires addressed to individuals who are considered
experts in the field (Vázquez-Ramos, Leahy & Hernández 2007). The returned responses,
which are usually anonymous, are analysed and summarised by the researcher and then
returned to the experts for further consideration and response. The number of rounds varies
and is usually between three to five. Some of the advantages of Delphi are anonymity of
response, multiple iterations and convergence of answers (Judd 1972). The use of Delphi
need not be a singular or unchanging approach to solving problems. Norman Dalkey, one
of the originators of the Delphi method said in a conference that in a rapidly changing
field, modifications in procedures are called for (Judd 1972). Phase I of the research
involved designing a questionnaire and inviting individuals from a cross-section of the
accounting profession who could represent their profession as ‘experts’ to rate the
importance of the IT knowledge and skills in the questionnaire until a consensus or near-
consensus was formed.
64
review which included the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, Canadian Institute
of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales,
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, South African Institute of Chartered
Accountants, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Institute of Management
Accountants, International Federation of Accountants, Theuri and Gunn (1998), Hostrom
and Hunton (1998), Coenenberg, Haller and Marten (1999), Boyse (2004) and Greenstein
and McKee (2004). The inclusion of the IT knowledge and skills contained in the above
mentioned sources in the Delphi questionnaire would provide a comprehensive set of
questions for the survey.
Nine questions developed for this research were added to the questionnaire to supplement
some of those questions in the source literature which were deemed to have only vague
topic descriptions or lacking details. One example was question 15.15 – Systems
documentation techniques. The description of this question lacked details as there are
different types of system documentation techniques that were not specified. Three
questions were developed to supplement and expand this particular question: 17.3 –
Documentation tools (System flowcharts), 17.4 – Documentation tools (Document
flowcharts) and 17.5 – Documentation tools (Data flow diagrams). The original questions
from the source literature were not deleted from the questionnaire despite the addition of
the supplementary questions.
In total, there were 266 questions for Phase I. There was some duplication because similar
questions existed in different sources and supplementary questions were added; this was
not regarded as a hindrance but rather as a means of triangulating the responses. Table 3.2
shows the breakdown of the topics by source. The full questionnaire for Phase I is shown
in Appendix 1.
65
Table 3.2 Number of questions in Delphi questionnaire
No. of Question
Source Details
questions numbers
IFAC IEPS 2 IT strategy (Topic 1) 8 1.1 – 1.8
IT architecture (Topic 2) 46 2.1 – 2.46
IT as a business enabler (Topic 3) 7 3.1 – 3.7
Systems acquisition and
26 4.1 – 4.26
development process (Topic 4)
Management of IT (Topic 5) 26 5.1 – 5.26
Communication and IT (Topic 6) 4 6.1 – 6.4
IT control knowledge (A2) 24 7.1 – 7.24
IT control competencies (A3) 12 8.1 – 8.12
IT knowledge required as a user of
14 9.1 – 9.14
IT (IEG-11)
IT knowledge required as a
7 10.1 – 10.7
manager of IT (A4)
IT knowledge required as an
3 11.1 – 11.3
evaluator of IT (A5)
IT knowledge required as a
7 12.1 – 12.7
designer of IT (A6)
IT knowledge required as an audit
4 13.1 – 13.4
professional (A7)
Sub-total 188
NZICA SLO-5 5 14.1 – 14.5
Bain, Blankley &
30 15.1 – 15.30
Smith (2002)
Wessels (2005) 34 16.1 – 16.34
Developed for this
9 17.1 – 17.9
research
266
66
the needs of the study as long as the number of categories is not too small or too large to
represent distinctions that are meaningful to the respondents (Menezes & Elbert 1979).
Two versions of the Likert scale were developed which included a simple scale (1 = not
relevant to 6 = essential) and a second scale (1 = not relevant/not required, 2 = awareness
only, 3 = minimum understanding, 4 = good understanding, 5 = full understanding and 6 =
able to use and apply). The two different scales were tested with the help of two academic
colleagues with good research experience. Both colleagues preferred the latter scale.
Because the topics would be selected based on the ratings made in this phase for
developing the questionnaire for Phase II, it was necessary to attach some meaning in the
Likert scale for this phase instead of a continuum from 1 to 6. Topics with mean scores
equal to or greater than 4 would include those regarded by the respondents as requiring
‘good understanding’, ‘full understanding’ or ‘able to apply and use’. These topics would
be used as the basis for developing the questionnaire for Phase II of the research. Topics
with mean scores less than 4 (minimum understanding, awareness only and not
relevant/not required) would be eliminated. Figure 3.4 shows a snapshot of the
questionnaire for Phase I while Figure 3.5 illustrates the selection of topics from Phase I to
be included in the main study.
67
Figure 3.5 Selection of topics for the main study
Eliminated Selected
Mean scores
1 2 3 4 5 6
Not relevant/ Awareness Some Good Full Able to apply
Not required only understanding understanding understanding and use
A weakness of this method is the possibility that IT topics required by accountants could
be eliminated in the pilot study resulting in an ineffective questionnaire for the main study.
This weakness was overcome by the design of the interview questions which asked
participants in the main study to articulate IT topics not included in the questionnaire. The
interview question design is discussed in Section 3.5.2.
68
Table 3.3 Brief credentials of Delphi panellists
Panellist Brief credentials
D01 Joined the current CA firm in 1985 after working as assistant accountant in a large NZ
company for five years. Became a partner of the CA firm in 1990. Mainly involved in
business advisory and management services.
D02 Lecturer of a university specialising in AIS. Started teaching career in 2000 and was a PhD
candidate at the time of the survey. Between 1994 and 2000, she worked as assistant
accountant, auditor and business analyst in various companies in NZ.
D03 A chartered accountant with B. Com degree from a NZ university. Prior to joining the
government agency where he is currently working as the chief accountant, he has held various
accounting roles in industry which included five years as a financial controller of a large
international manufacturing group.
D04 Chief accountant of a medium sized freight and transportation company. He holds an MBA
degree and has worked in a government agency before his current job.
D05 Currently working as treasury accountant at one of the largest NZ companies for three years.
Qualified as chartered accountant while working with a large CA firm in NZ, after which he
worked for an investment banking group in London where he completed his MBA before
joining the current company.
D06 A total of seven years of experience working for two large CA firms in the Business Advisory
Services specialising in IT general control assessments.
69
The panellists were asked to rate the topics again in a second round where they were
shown how the others had rated including the mean score, the standard deviation and the
scores of the other five panellists of each topic. It has to be noted that the identities of the
other panellists were never disclosed throughout the whole process. The instructions to the
panellists were that they were not obliged to change their ratings if they believed the rating
of a particular topic given in the first round best reflected their opinion. The results from
the second round were collated and compared with the scores from the first round.
The mean scores from the second round of Phase I are summarised in Table 3.5. The full
list of the scores from both rounds is shown in Appendix 2. The number of topics with
mean scores of 5 or above and between 4 and 4.9 in the second round were 22 and 42
respectively. The number of topics in the ‘≥ 5’ category increased by six while the number
of those in the ‘4 to 4.9’ category decreased by four. This gives a net increase of two topics
between the two score categories. Table 3.6 shows the changes from the first round.
70
An analysis of the changes made by the panellists based on the mean score from the first
round is shown in Table 3.7. The number of changes made in the ‘≥ 5’ category relative to
the number of topics was low (4/16 = 25%) showing a high degree of agreement among the
panellists. Only one panellist (D05) made changes in this score category. The ‘4 to 4.9’
category had 29 changes (29/46 = 63%) which was higher than the ‘≥ 5’ category. The
number of changes made in the ‘3 to 3.9’ category was 94 (94/90 = 104%). In the ‘2 to 2.9’
category, it was 88 (88/100 = 88%). This shows that the panellists were indecisive in these
two categories. The ‘< 2’ category showed good agreement (5/14 = 36%). Since only IT
topics with mean scores ≥ 5 and between 4 and 4.9 from Phase I were to be used for Phase
II, and that these two categories showed good and acceptable degrees of agreement from
the Delphi panellists, a third round was not carried out. The mean scores from the second
round were used as the basis for developing the questionnaire for Phase II of the research.
It has to be noted that the Delphi panellists were busy executives and completing a
questionnaire with 266 questions for two rounds was a significant commitment.
Table 3.8 shows an analysis of the mean scores by source. Twelve topics (6.4%) from
IEPS 2 were rated 5 or above by the experts, 17 (9%) were rated between 4 to 4.9. For
SLO-5 of NZICA, all five topics were rated between 3 to 3.9. Four topics (13.3%) from
Bain, Blankley and Smith (2002) received a mean score of 5 or above, eight (26.7%)
scored between 4 and 4.9. Out of the 34 topics from Wessels (2005), five topics (14.7%)
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were rated 5 or above, 12 (35.3%) had a mean score between 4 and 4.9. Of the nine
additional topics developed for this research, one (11.1%) had a mean score of 5 or above
and 12 (55.6%) were scored between 4 and 4.9. In terms of the absolute number of topics
from different sources that were rated 4 or above, IEPS2 provides the highest number (29)
followed by Wessels (17), Bain et al. (12) and those developed for this research (6). None
of the topics from SLO-5 scored 4 or above.
The top 22 topics with mean scores of 5 or above were categorised into topic areas based
on the description of the topics and are listed in Table 3.9. They fall into nine topic
categories – spreadsheet, word processor, accounting software, accounting systems,
Internet tools, data security, database software, IT controls and values.
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Apply appropriate IT systems/tools to business
9.2 5.5 Word processor IEPS 2
/accounting problems (word processor)
Demonstrate understanding of business and Accounting
9.10 5.5 IEPS 2
accounting systems systems
Accounting
17.1 Accounting software (MYOB, Great Plains) 5.5 Developed
software
Subsumed into
spreadsheet,
Appropriate IT systems/tools to
8.10 5.3 word processor, IEPS 2
business/accounting problems
and presentation
topics
Demonstrate understanding of business and Accounting
9.11 5.3 IEPS 2
accounting systems (ERP, CRM) systems
Accounting
15.6 GL reporting cycle 5.3 Bain et al.
systems
16.2 Word processing 5.3 Word processor Wessels
Office software (Internet tools: e-mail, web
5.19 5.2 Internet tools IEPS 2
browsing)
General means of communication supported by
6.1 5.2 Internet tools IEPS 2
IT
6.2 Risks in communication supported by IT 5.2 Data security IEPS 2
Apply appropriate IT systems/tools to business
9.5 5.2 Internet tools IEPS 2
/accounting problems (Internet tools)
Database
5.22 Office software (Database management system) 5.0 IEPS 2
software
Accounting
15.3 Revenue cycle 5.0 Bain et al.
systems
15.20 Internal control 5.0 IT controls Bain et al.
The 42 topics with mean scores of between 4 and 4.9 were categorised into topic areas and
are listed in Table 3.10. These fall into 14 topic categories – accounting systems, operating
systems, general systems knowledge, Internet knowledge, presentation software,
accounting software, database software, database concepts, IT controls, IT audit software,
research tools, e-commerce, data security and documentation tools.
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Apply appropriate IT systems/tools to business Operating
9.1 4.8 IEPS 2
/accounting problems (Operating systems) systems
Apply appropriate IT systems/tools to business Operating
9.8 4.8 IEPS 2
/accounting problems (Anti-virus software) systems
General systems
15.1 Introduction to systems 4.8 Bain et al.
knowledge
Internet
15.22 Communication systems and technology 4.8 Bain et al.
knowledge
Presentation
16.4 Presentation software 4.8 Wessels
software
Accounting
16.11 Tax return preparation software 4.8 Wessels
software
Accounting
17.2 ERP systems (SAP, Oracle) 4.8 Developed
software
Accounting
3.3 Effectiveness of the entity’s business processes 4.7 IEPS 2
systems
Presentation
5.18 Office software (Presentation software) 4.7 IEPS 2
software
Apply appropriate IT systems/tools to business Database
9.4 4.7 IEPS 2
/accounting problems (Database software) software
Accounting
15.4 Purchasing cycle 4.7 Bain et al.
systems
Accounting
15.7 HR/Payroll cycle 4.7 Bain et al.
systems
Accounting
16.12 Time management and billing systems 4.7 Wessels
software
Accounting
16.14 Electronic working papers 4.7 Wessels
software
Database
17.6 Database concepts 4.7 Developed
concepts
Internet
6.3 Benefits of IT to communication 4.5 IEPS 2
knowledge
Understanding of business and accounting Accounting
8.11 4.5 IEPS 2
systems systems
Apply appropriate IT systems/tools to business Presentation
9.7 4.5 IEPS 2
/accounting problems (Presentation software) software
General systems
15.2 Introduction to transaction processing systems 4.5 Bain et al.
knowledge
General systems
15.16 End user computing 4.5 Bain et al.
knowledge
15.21 Computer fraud 4.5 IT controls Bain et al.
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Operating
16.1 Operating systems 4.2 Wessels
systems
16.6 Research tools 4.2 Research tools Wessels
Database
16.8 Database software 4.2 Wessels
software
16.22 Electronic data interchange 4.2 e-commerce Wessels
Computer-assisted audit techniques (CAAT) IT audit
5.23 4.0 IEPS 2
(Accounting packages and CAAT) software
Apply appropriate IT systems/tools to business Operating
9.9 4.0 IEPS 2
/accounting problems (Utility software) systems
Demonstrate understanding of business and
9.13 4.0 e-commerce IEPS 2
accounting systems (e-commerce)
Internet
16.29 Firewall software/hardware 4.0 Wessels
knowledge
16.32 Back-up and recovery 4.0 Data security Wessels
Documentation
17.3 Documentation tools (System flowcharts) 4.0 Developed
tools
Documentation
17.4 Documentation tools (Document flowcharts) 4.0 Developed
tools
Documentation
17.5 Documentation tools (Data flow diagrams) 4.0 Developed
tools
The topic categories with mean scores of 5 and above, and those between 4 and 4.9, as
listed in Tables 3.9 and 3.10, were combined into the respective topic categories to arrive
at a list that will be used as the basis of the questionnaire for Phase II of the research. Table
3.11 shows the topic categories and the number of questions that made up the topic
category with the highest and lowest mean scores of the questions.
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Data security 2 Able to perform backup and recovery 5.2 4
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3.5.1 Sampling
Quantitative and qualitative researchers approach sampling differently (Neuman 2006). A
quantitative study would use probability sampling since the aim of quantitative studies is to
draw representation from a sample to be able to generalise the findings. Quantitative
studies also tend to focus on accuracy and therefore require a large sample. Qualitative
studies do not focus on generalisation but more on deep understanding of cases. Qualitative
researchers therefore tend to use non-probability and smaller samples (Neuman 2006).
Qualitative researchers select cases gradually with the specific content of a case
determining whether a case is chosen.
As discussed in section 3.2, the data collection method chosen for Phase II of the study
involved semi-structured interviews. Non-probabilistic sampling was used to select
participants. Neuman (2006, p. 220) provides a list of different non-probability sampling
methods. These include haphazard, quota, purposeful, snowball, deviant case, sequential
and theoretical sampling. Table 3.12 shows the principles of the different sampling method
for qualitative data collection.
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A combination of purposive, snowball and sequential sampling was used to select
participants. The sample was drawn from two sources. One source was from recent
graduates of TEIs where accountants with less experience were expected to exist in this
sampling frame. The other was from professional accounting bodies where practitioners
with more working experience were expected.
A list of past and present accounting major students was obtained from a TEI in Auckland,
NZ. E-mails were sent to a selected list of students who had graduated in the last three
years or were in their final year of study, inviting them to participate in the research. The
criterion for participation in the study was that they must be currently employed at the time
in an accounting capacity. This resulted in 13 current and past students meeting the
criterion and accepting the invitation. An additional two students were recruited using the
snowball method.
The second sampling frame was members from professional accounting bodies. Contacts
were made with NZICA, the Institute of Internal Auditors NZ (IIANZ), and the Chartered
Institute of Management Accountants NZ (CIMA) and resulted in six participants agreeing
to participate in the research. Two additional participants were recruited as a result of
referrals from two of the participants. In total 23 participants were recruited from the two
sampling frames. No further participants were required as it was determined that saturation
of information was attained based on the sequential sampling principle. The principle
suggests getting cases until there is no additional information or new characteristics from
the data collected (see Table 3.12). This situation was confirmed during the analysis of
data when no new codes and descriptors were needed after about the 15th case (see Section
3.5.5). The researcher therefore determined that the sample size of 23 cases was
appropriate.
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for senior accountants. For the purpose of this study, junior accountants were defined as
those who had no other accountants reporting to the participant. Senior accountants were
participants who had at least one direct report. It has to be noted that this classification was
not based on the number of years of experience of the participants but on whether they
were in a supervisory or non-supervisory role. Separating the participants into these two
groups allowed the comparison of different views between supervisors and non-supervisors
– the views of participants with supervisory roles being used as a proxy for employers’
views.
Tables 3.13 and 3.14 show the research questions and the related interview questions for
‘Juniors’ (JIQ) and ‘Seniors’ (SIQ) respectively. The questions displayed in the two
tables were only leading questions to facilitate the interviews. Other unscripted questions
and responses were expected from the interviews.
JIQ04 How often do you have to discuss IT related matters with the IT
department or IT suppliers/contractors? What is the nature of these IT
matters?
RQ3 How are NZ
accountants involved in IT
JIQ05 In your dealings with the IT department/IT suppliers, do you
related matters?
encounter difficulties/problems in communications and understanding the IT
staff? What are these difficulties or problems?
79
JIQ08 Do you feel you have adequate IT knowledge and skills learned from
your accounting major programme to perform proficiently in your job?
JIQ09 How well did your accounting programme prepare you for your
RQ4 Do NZ accountants
accounting practice?
feel they have adequate IT
knowledge and skills for
JIQ10 What additional IT knowledge and skills will allow you to perform
their jobs?
better in your job?
JIQ11 If you were going back to study/(or if you are still studying), what IT
topics would you want to learn to improve your IT competency in your job?
JIQ12 What other IT knowledge and skills do you think are needed if you
RQ5 What IT knowledge
are promoted to a higher position in your company?
and skills do NZ
accountants regard as
JIQ13 What other IT knowledge and skills do you think are needed in five
necessary in the future?
year’s time?
SIQ04 How often do you have to discuss IT related matters with the IT
department or IT suppliers/contractors? What is the nature of these IT
matters?
RQ3 How are NZ
accountants involved in IT
SIQ05 In your dealings with the IT department/IT suppliers, do you
related matters?
encounter difficulties/problems in communications and understanding the IT
staff? What are these difficulties or problems?
80
SIQ08 Do you feel your assistants have adequate IT knowledge and skills
RQ4 Do NZ accountants learned from their accounting major programme to perform proficiently in
feel they have adequate IT their jobs?
knowledge and skills for
their jobs? SIQ09 What additional IT knowledge and skills will allow your assistants to
perform better in their jobs?
SIQ10 What other IT knowledge and skills do you think are needed if your
RQ5 What IT knowledge
assistants are promoted to a higher position in your company?
and skills do NZ
accountants regard as
SIQ11 What other IT knowledge and skills do you think are needed for your
necessary in the future?
assistants in five year’s time?
81
different participant groups were also computed for comparison. Details of the three
participant groups – Seniority, Industry and Experience – are discussed in section 4.1.
Since qualitative data come in the form of words rather than numbers, the issue is how to
move from words to data analysis (Silverman 2000). Miles and Huberman (1994, pp. 10-
12) suggest that qualitative data analysis consists of three flows of activity: data reduction,
data display and conclusion drawing/verification. Data reduction is the process of
selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting and transforming interview data and making
decisions on which chunks of data are useful in the analysis. Data display involves the
organised assembly of data into matrices, graphs and charts. Conclusion drawing is the
process of drawing meaning and identifying patterns or propositions. Finally, verification
tests the conclusions for their reliability.
Leech and Onwuegbuzie (2008) provide a range of qualitative data analysis tools for
different types of data collection – talk, observations, drawings/photographs/videos and
documents. Interviews belong to the ‘talk’ category of data collection. The different data
analysis techniques that can be used in analysing talk as proposed by Leech and
Onwuegbuzie (2008) are:
Conversation analysis
Discourse analysis
Narrative analysis
Semiotics
Qualitative comparative analysis
Constant comparison analysis
Keywords-in-context
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Word count
Membership categorisation analysis
Domain analysis
Taxonomic analysis
Componential analysis
Classical content analysis
Micro-interlocutor analysis
All voice recordings from the interviews were transcribed into text by professional
transcribers. Each voice recording was played and listened to by the researcher while
reading the corresponding transcript, making corrections to errors made by the transcribers
while listening and reading. At the same time, the main points from the interviews were
noted and typed in a table form for each and every participant. This is shown in Appendix
4 – Interview main points. The corrected transcripts were read a second time and analysed
with reference to the interview questions. The responses to each interview question for
83
each participant were analysed and summarised in table form. This is shown in Appendix 5
– Summary of interview responses.
The transcripts were read and analysed for a third time. Using constant comparison
analysis and data reduction, codes were developed to record the contents of the interviews
into concise pieces of data. Examples of the codes are SS = spreadsheet, AcSW =
accounting software, DBASE = database. The list of codes is shown in Appendix 6. A
second code which the researcher labelled as ‘descriptor’ was also developed. Examples of
the descriptors are DAILY = daily, IMP = important, NotREQ = not required. The list of
descriptors is shown in Appendix 7. As the interview transcripts were analysed in this
round, the combination of a code and a descriptor formed a theme. Examples of themes are
‘SS – IMP’ = spreadsheet is important, ‘AcSW – DAILY’ = accounting software is used
daily.
In order to ensure that the analysis of interview data is reliable, it is important that the
coded data can be referenced to and audited from the original transcripts. It is also
important that the coded data can be sorted or filtered to focus on a particular theme and to
search for the verbatim of different interviewees that constitute the theme. A number of
qualitative research software are available such as ATLAS.ti, HyperRESEARCH,
MAXQDA, NVivo, WEFT QDA, etc. to manage and analyse qualitative data. Instead of
using these software products, a method to achieve the intended objectives was developed
using a spreadsheet designed to capture the relevant interview data and is described in the
following paragraphs. Bui and Porter (2010) also made use of spreadsheets in analysing
data collected from interviews.
Each response from a particular interviewee as recorded in the transcripts was labelled
with a dialogue number starting from 1. Figure 3.6 shows a snapshot of a portion of the
layout of the transcript from J01 and the corresponding dialogue numbers.
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Figure 3.6 Snapshot of transcript showing dialogue numbers
A spreadsheet was then created to capture the participant code, the interview questions
(IQ), the codes, the descriptors, the dialogue number and the verbatim. The dialogue
number provides the link back to the position of the original transcript if a particular
response from the participant needs to be further analysed or clarified. A snapshot of the
spreadsheet is shown in Figure 3.7. Column A of the spreadsheet contains the sequence
number starting from 1. This column is used to sort the data captured back to its original
sequence when needed. Column C records the participant code and column D is the
interview question. Where a response was not related to any of the interview questions, it
was given a code of ‘99’ as the interview question number. Columns E and F contain the
code and the descriptor, column G contains the dialogue number, and column H contains
the verbatim or notes. The spreadsheet can also be used in different ways to facilitate the
analysis of interview data. For example, to find how many participants have said
spreadsheet is important, the spreadsheet can be filtered by code ‘SS’ and descriptor ‘IMP’
85
to locate the participants. When analysing the data for a particular interview question, the
spreadsheet can be sorted by IQ so that all responses to a particular interview question are
listed together for easy reference.
The final step in the analysis of the interview data was data display, which is presented in
Chapter 4. The spreadsheet was used as the main source for this process but at the same
time, the Interview main points (Appendix 4) and the Summary of interview responses
(Appendix 5) were referred to constantly while writing and presenting the findings. This
process provides a means to ensure the reliability of the data analysis.
86
presenting the results and findings correctly and objectively; and respecting the right of the
participants to refuse to participate or withdraw from the research. A consent form was
presented and signed by all participants. Consent was also obtained from participants for
voice-recording the interviews. Only questions relevant to the research were included in
the questionnaire and the interviews. All materials including the completed questionnaires,
the digital files of the voice recordings and the transcripts of interviews were kept in a
secured location.
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CHAPTER 4 – DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
4 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
4.0 Introduction
In Chapter 3 the methodology for this research was discussed and justified. This included
discussions on research paradigm, the sampling and data collection method and how the
data analysis would be done. As discussed, this study comprises two phases, the first of
which is the pilot study employing the Delphi method. Six experts in the accounting field
were asked to rate 266 questions using a Likert scale of 1 to 6 for two rounds. Questions
with mean scores of less than 4 at the end of the second round were eliminated. Questions
with mean scores equal to or greater than 4 were used to develop the questionnaire for the
main study. Chapter 4 now presents the analysis of the data collected in the main study.
Data collection for the main study included a questionnaire followed by interviews, the
questionnaire having been sent to participants before the interviews took place. Participants
were asked to give a score of 1 to 6 on a Likert scale (1 = not relevant, 6 = essential) for
each of the 18 IT knowledge and skills developed from the Delphi phase of the study. The
overall mean scores were used to rank the IT knowledge and skills in order of importance.
Mean scores from different participant groups were also computed and compared. All
interviews except for one were voice-recorded. Field notes were also taken in addition to
the recordings. The voice recordings were transcribed by professional transcribers into text
for analysis.
The results from the questionnaire provided evidence for RQ1 while the findings from the
interviews provided evidence for RQ2 to RQ5.
RQ1 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants need in the first five years of their
career?
RQ2 How are IT knowledge and skills used and applied in NZ accountants’ work?
RQ3 How are NZ accountants involved in IT related matters?
RQ4 Do NZ accountants feel they have adequate IT knowledge and skills for their jobs?
RQ5 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants regard as necessary in the future?
88
The objectives of this chapter are to:
Present the analysis of data collected from the questionnaires
Rank the IT knowledge and skills by the overall mean scores
Compare and contrast the mean scores from different participant groups
Interpret and present the data collected from the interviews
Present evidence by referring to significant and relevant verbatim
Apply mixed-methods to triangulate the findings from the qualitative data collected
from the interviews with quantitative data collected from the questionnaires
Summarise the findings for discussion in the next chapter
4.1 Demographics of
sample
4.2 Analysis of 4.2.1 Introduction
questionnaire 4.2.2 RQ1 – Ranking of IT knowledge and skills
results 4.2.3 Comparison of mean scores between
participant groups
4.3.1 Introduction
4.3.2 RQ2 – Use and application of IT knowledge and
4.3 Analysis of
skills
interview data
4.3.3 RQ3 – Accountants’ involvement in IT
4.3.4 RQ4 – Perceptions of adequacy of IT knowledge
and skills
4.3.5 RQ5 – IT knowledge and skills required in the
future
4.3.6 Other findings from interviews
4.4 Summary of
findings
4.5 Chapter summary
89
4.1 Demographics of sample
A total of 23 participants completed the questionnaire and were successfully interviewed.
Appendix 3 shows the questionnaire for the main study, consisting of two sections. Section
I required participants to complete questions on demographic data. Section II required
them to rate 18 IT topics developed from the pilot study using a Likert scale of 1 to 6 (1 =
not relevant, 6 = essential).
Based on the demographic data collected, the participants were classified into different
groups based on the position they held:
Seniority – whether they had other accountants reporting to them
Industry – the type of company they worked for
Experience – the number of years of experience they had in accounting practice
‘Seniority’ is based on whether the participants had any accounting staff reporting to them
at the time of the interview. Those who had no direct reports were classified as ‘Junior’
while those who had at least one direct report were classified as ‘Senior’. A total of 14
participants were classified as Juniors and nine as Seniors. Participants who were classified
as Juniors were coded as J01 to J14 and those classified as Seniors were coded as S01 to
S09. A different set of interview questions was designed for the two groups. The questions
for Seniors were directed at their assistants while those for Juniors were directed at
themselves.
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Table 4.1 Participants by Seniority
Seniority Number of participants %
Junior 14 61%
Senior 9 39%
Total 23 100%
Table 4.4 shows the industry, position title and the number of years of experience of each
of the participants.
91
Table 4.4 Demographic details of participants
Number of years of
Participant Industry Position
experience in accounting
J01 Commercial firm Accounting assistant <5
92
supervisory roles after a number of years, there were four with 10 to 20 years of experience
who were in Junior positions. These participants were J06, J10, J11 and J12 (see Table 4.6)
and are highlighted with an asterisk in the table. They were either working in a specialist
capacity or in a small firm where they were the only accountant in the company.
Junior 7 4 3 14
Senior 5 2 2 9
Total 12 6 5 23
< 5 years 7 0 7
5 to 10 3 2 5
10 to 20 4* 3 7
> 20 0 4 4
Total 14 9 23
The following sections present the findings of data collected from the main study. Section
4.2 discusses the data collected from the questionnaire and Section 4.3 presents the data
collected from the interviews.
4.2.1 Introduction
The data collected from the questionnaire are expected to provide evidence for RQ1 –
‘What IT knowledge and skills are regarded as important by NZ accountants for the first
five years of their career?’ Since this study is inductive in nature, it is not the objective of
93
the study to use the data collected from the questionnaire to test for hypotheses. The main
purpose of the questionnaire is to serve as triangulation for data collected from the
interviews. It also provides a reference and starting point for the interviews.
There are six topics in Band 1: Spreadsheet, Accounting systems, Word processor,
Accounting software, Values and Internet tools, numbered 1.1 to 1.6. Seven topics fall
under Band 2: IT controls, General systems knowledge, Presentation software, Database
concepts, Database software, Research tools and e-commerce, numbered 2.1 to 2.7. The
remaining five topics scored between 3.96 and 3.13 and are categorised as Band 3 topics:
Documentation tools, Internet knowledge, IT audit software, Data security and Operating
systems, numbered 3.1 to 3.5. Detailed descriptions of the topics are shown in Table 4.7.
The histogram and descriptive statistics of each topic and the cross tabulations by
participant group are shown in Appendix 8.
94
Table 4.7 Overall mean scores of IT knowledge and skills (n=23)
Mean Std
Topic Rank Details
score dev
1.1 Spreadsheet 1 Use of spreadsheet software 5.91 0.288
Understanding business systems, ERP,
CRM, GL reporting cycle, Revenue
1.2 Accounting systems 2 5.48 0.665
cycle, Purchasing cycle, HR/payroll
cycle
1.3 Word processor 3 Use of word processing software 5.43 0.896
Band 1
1.6 Internet tools 6 Use of e-mail, web browsing, SMS 5.09 1.083
Internal control, computer fraud, IT
2.1 IT controls 7 4.61 1.373
audit, controls to personal computers
2.2 General systems Understanding transaction processing
8 4.57 0.992
knowledge system, end-user computing
2.3 Presentation software 9 Use of presentation software 4.43 1.308
Band 2
3.4 Data security 17 Able to perform backup and recovery 3.30 1.490
Use of utility software, anti-virus
3.5 Operating systems 18 3.13 1.290
software
A number of topics received a score of 1 from some participants and are listed in Table
4.8. A score of 1 is the lowest possible rating and is described in the questionnaire as ‘not
relevant’. The topic with the highest number of ‘1’ scores was IT audit software. Table 4.9
displays the same information by participant. J04, the financial administrator with a small
government department gave the highest number of ‘1’ scores.
95
Table 4.8 Topics with a score of 1
Topic Rank Scored by Mean score Std dev
2.1 IT controls 7 J04 4.61 1.373
2.3 Presentation software 9 J04 4.43 1.308
2.6 Research tools 12 J04 4.09 1.443
3.1 Documentation tools 14 J09 3.96 1.331
3.2 Internet knowledge 15 J01, S04 3.83 1.466
3.3 IT audit software 16 J02, J04, J06, J11 3.48 1.592
3.4 Data security 17 J06, S04 3.30 1.490
3.5 Operating systems 18 J01, J04,S04 3.13 1.290
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4.2.3 Comparison of mean scores between participant groups
Topics from different participant groups are grouped into the corresponding bands based
on the mean scores of the respective participant groups. They are presented alongside each
other to show the differences in the mean scores of each topic given by different groups.
However, it has to be emphasised that the main aim of these comparisons is for descriptive
statistics purposes only. These comparisons are not intended to show that there are
significant differences between the participant groups. Based on an analysis of variance,
the only topic that displayed statistically significant difference in scores between
participant groups was ‘Accounting software’ from the Seniority group. Appendix 9 shows
the tests of significance of the variances among the three different participant groups.
Table 4.10 shows the comparison between the Juniors and Seniors. The topics are placed in
the appropriate Band based on the mean scores from the participant group. The number
preceding the topic indicates the position of the topic from the overall rating as shown in
Table 4.7. For example, 1.4 Accounting software indicates that the topic was in the fourth
position in Band 1 based on the overall mean score (n=23). The number in brackets
following a topic indicates the mean score of that particular participant group. Using the
same example, 1.4 Accounting software (5.71) in the Juniors column indicates that this
topic had a mean score of 5.71 from the Juniors (n=14) (see Appendix 8). In the Seniors
column, this topic fell into Band 2 because the mean score from Seniors (n=9) was 4.78.
As shown in Table 4.10, Seniors had one less topic rated in Band 1 than Juniors.
Accounting software was rated lower by Seniors than by Juniors and dropped from Band 1
to Band 2. Seniors had more topics in Band 2 than Juniors. Documentation tools and
Internet knowledge moved up from Band 3 to Band 2 in the Seniors column. As a result,
Seniors had a lower number of topics in Band 3 than Juniors.
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Table 4.10 Mean scores by Seniority
Note: Numbers in brackets are the mean scores from the participant group
Band Juniors (n=14) Seniors (n=9)
1 1.1 Spreadsheet(6.00) 1.1 Spreadsheet(5.78)
1.4 Accounting software(5.71) 1.5 Values(5.67)
Mean 1.2 Accounting systems(5.57) 1.2 Accounting systems(5.33)
score 1.3 Word processor(5.57) 1.3 Word processor(5.22)
≥5 1.5 Values(5.14) 1.6 Internet tools(5.00)
1.6 Internet tools(5.14)
2 2.2 General systems knowledge(4.57) 2.1 IT controls(4.89)
2.1 IT controls(4.43) 1.4 Accounting software(4.78)
Mean 2.5 Database software(4.36) 2.3 Presentation software(4.67)
score 2.3 Presentation software(4.29) 2.2 General systems knowledge(4.56)
between 2.4 Database concepts(4.21) 2.4 Database concepts(4.56)
4 and 2.6 Research tools(4.07) 2.7 e-commerce(4.22)
4.9 3.1 Documentation tools(4.22)
2.5 Database software(4.11)
2.6 Research tools(4.11)
3.2 Internet knowledge(4.00)
3 2.7 e-commerce(3.93) 3.3 IT audit software(3.56)
3.1 Documentation tools(3.79) 3.5 Operating systems(3.11)
Mean 3.2 Internet knowledge(3.71) 3.4 Data security(2.67)
score 3.4 Data security(3.71)
<4 3.3 IT audit software(3.43)
3.5 Operating systems(3.14)
Table 4.11 shows the mean scores by the Industry group. Both the commercial and CA
firm groups had the same number of topics in Band 1. The Gov/Edu group had two
additional topics (General systems knowledge and Database concepts) in Band 1 compared
with commercial and CA firms. The CA firm group had the lowest number of topics in
Band 2 while the Gov/Edu group had the highest. As a result, the CA firm group had the
highest number of topics in Band 3 and the Gov/Edu group had the lowest. Notably, the
CA firm group had lower ratings for Database concepts, Database software and e-
commerce than the other groups resulting in these topics dropping into Band 3.
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Table 4.11 Mean scores by Industry
Band Commercial firm (n=12) CA firm (n=6) Gov/Edu (n=5)
1 1.1 Spreadsheet(5.92) 1.1 Spreadsheet(6.00) 1.1 Spreadsheet(5.80)
1.5 Values(5.50) 1.3 Word processor(5.67) 1.2 Accounting
Mean 1.2 Accounting 1.2 Accounting systems(5.80)
score systems(5.42) systems(5.33) 1.4 Accounting
≥5 1.3 Word processor(5.33) 1.4 Accounting software(5.60)
1.4 Accounting software(5.33) 1.3 Word processor(5.40)
software(5.25) 1.5 Values(5.00) 1.5 Values(5.40)
1.6 Internet tools(5.08) 1.6 Internet tools(5.00) 1.6 Internet tools(5.20)
2.2 General systems
knowledge(5.20)
2.4 Database concepts(5.00)
2 2.3 Presentation 2.1 IT controls(4.50) 2.7 e-commerce(4.80)
software(4.75) 2.2 General systems 3.1 Documentation
Mean 2.1 IT controls(4.67) knowledge(4.17) tools(4.80)
score 2.4 Database concepts(4.58) 2.3 Presentation 3.2 Internet
between 2.5 Database software(4.58) software(4.00) knowledge(4.80)
4 and 2.2 General systems 2.6 Research tools(4.00) 3.4 Data security(4.80)
4.9 knowledge(4.50) 2.1 IT controls(4.60)
2.6 Research tools(4.42) 2.5 Database software(4.60)
2.7 e-commerce(4.00) 3.3 IT audit software(4.40)
2.3 Presentation
software(4.20)
3 3.1 Documentation 3.3 IT audit software(3.83) 3.5 Operating systems(3.80)
tools(3.92) 2.7 e-commerce(3.50) 2.6 Research tools(3.40)
Mean 3.2 Internet 2.4 Database concepts(3.33)
score knowledge(3.92) 2.5 Database software(3.33)
<4 3.5 Operating systems(3.08) 3.1 Documentation
3.3 IT audit software(2.92) tools(3.33)
3.4 Data security(2.83) 3.4 Data security(3.00)
3.2 Internet
knowledge(2.83)
3.5 Operating systems(2.67)
Table 4.12 shows the mean scores by the Experience group. The > 20 years group stands
out with only one topic in Band 3 and the highest number of topics in Band 1 compared
with the other groups. The only topic that had a mean score of less than 4 by the > 20 year
group was Data security.
Overall, the Senior and the > 20 years groups gave higher scores compared with Juniors
and the groups with less experience. The CA firm group gave lower scores compared with
commercial firms and the Gov/Edu group. The Gov/Edu group gave higher scores
compared with commercial and CA firms.
99
Table 4.12 Mean scores by Experience
Band < 5 yrs (n=7) 5 to 10yrs (n=5) 10 to 20 yrs (n=7) > 20 yrs (n=4)
1 1.1 Spreadsheet(6.00) 1.1 Spreadsheet(6.00) 1.1 Spreadsheet(5.86) 1.1 Spreadsheet(5.75)
1.3 Word 1.3 Word 1.2 Accounting 1.5 Values(5.75)
Mean processor(5.71) processor(5.60) systems(5.57) 1.2 Accounting
score 1.4 Accounting 1.2 Accounting 1.5 Values(5.57) systems(5.50)
≥5 software(5.71) systems(5.40) 1.4 Accounting 1.6 Internet
1.2 Accounting 1.5 Values(5.40) software(5.43) tools(5.50)
systems(5.43) 1.6 Internet tools(5.40) 1.3 Word 1.4 Accounting
1.6 Internet tools(5.14) processor(5.29) software(5.25)
2.4 Database 2.1 IT controls(5.25)
concepts(5.00) 2.3 Presentation
software(5.25)
1.3 Word
processor(5.00)
3.2 Internet
knowledge(5.00)
2 1.5 Values(4.86) 1.4 Accounting 2.5 Database 2.4 Database
2.1 IT controls(4.57) software(4.80) software(4.86) concepts(4.75)
Mean 2.2 General systems 2.2 General systems 2.2 General systems 2.2 General systems
score knowledge(4.57) knowledge(4.20) knowledge(4.71) knowledge(4.75)
betwee 2.3 Presentation 2.1 IT controls(4.00) 2.1 IT controls(4.71) 2.6 Research
n 4 and software(4.43) 2.5 Database 3.1 Documentation tools(4.75)
4.9 2.6 Research software(4.00) tools(4.71) 2.7 e-commerce(4.50)
tools(4.29) 1.6 Internet tools(4.57) 2.5 Database
3.3 IT audit 2.3 Presentation software(4.25)
software(4.29) software(4.57) 3.1 Documentation
2.7 e-commerce(4.29) tools(4.25)
2.6 Research 3.3 IT audit
tools(4.14) software(4.00)
3.5 Operating
systems(4.00)
3 2.4 Database 2.4 Database 3.2 Internet 3.4 Data security(3.00)
concepts(3.86) concepts(3.80) knowledge(3.86)
Mean 2.5 Database 3.1 Documentation 3.3 IT audit
score software(3.86) tools(3.80) software(3.00)
<4 2.7 e-commerce(3.86) 3.2 Internet 3.5 Operating
3.4 Data security(3.86) knowledge(3.80) systems(2.86)
3.1 Documentation 2.3 Presentation 3.4 Data security(2.71)
tools(3.14) software(3.60)
3.2 Internet 2.7 e-commerce(3.60)
knowledge(3.14) 3.4 Data security(3.60)
3.5 Operating 2.6 Research
systems(3.00) tools(3.20)
3.5 Operating
systems(3.00)
3.3 IT audit
software(2.60)
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4.3 Analysis of interview data
4.3.1 Introduction
A semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant following the completion
of the questionnaire. The findings of the questionnaire have been discussed in the previous
section. The questionnaire provided the starting point for the interviews as well as
triangulation for the interview data. The interview questions, prepared in advance and
labelled ‘JIQ’ for Juniors and ‘SIQ’ for Seniors, were designed to facilitate the interviews,
the aim of which was to seek evidence for RQ2 to 5 which are re-listed below:
RQ2 How are IT knowledge and skills used and applied in NZ accountants’ work?
RQ3 How are NZ accountants involved in IT related matters?
RQ4 Do NZ accountants feel they have adequate IT knowledge and skills for their jobs?
RQ5 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants regard as necessary in the future?
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The ‘above list’ in the interview questions refers to the questionnaire the respondents were
asked to complete before the interview took place (see Appendix 3 Section II). All
participants mentioned Spreadsheet, Accounting systems and Accounting software as the
most used IT tools and knowledge needed in their day-to-day routines. This was perhaps
summed up by the comment made by S01:
S01 ... I guess, in finance, they probably spend 60% of time on our own
Commercial firm, in‐house system. And 40% on Excel.
Chief financial officer,
> 20 years
A clear delineation between the terms ‘Accounting systems’ and ‘Accounting software’
used in this study is warranted as the two terminologies may sometimes be used
interchangeably in normal conversations. It was made clear to participants both in the
questionnaire and in the interviews that Accounting systems refer to the understanding of
the different components or cycles of an accounting or business system which normally
include the revenue cycle (accounts receivable), the purchase cycle (accounts payable), the
general ledger cycle, etc. Accounting software refers to the actual software or accounting
package that they use to enter accounting or business transactions. Examples of accounting
software are MYOB, SAP, Oracle, in-house developed accounting software, etc.
4.3.2.1 Spreadsheet
All participants mentioned Spreadsheet as the most used and important IT topic. The
results from the questionnaire supported this view as all participants except S02 and S06
gave spreadsheet a score of ‘6’. Spreadsheet is ranked number 1 among all other IT
knowledge and skills based on the overall mean score from the questionnaire.
102
Views from Juniors
With the exception of J04, the financial administrator of a small department in the
Gov/Edu sector, all Juniors confirmed that they used spreadsheet on a daily basis.
However, it has to be noted that J04 gave a rating of ‘6’ in the questionnaire for
spreadsheet even though she said she used it only once a month. The following are quotes
from some Junior participants:
J01 What I have found in all the accounting roles I have done so far be
Commercial firm, the heavy reliance on spreadsheet usage and knowledge.
Accounting assistant,
< 5 years
J05 User [sic] spreadsheet is very important. I recommend at least the
Gov/Edu, advanced level.
Accounting systems officer,
< 5 years
J13, the Planning and Reporting Analyst of a large government department explained that
spreadsheet skill is part of her department’s competency test for recruiting new staff. This
demonstrates the importance of spreadsheet skills expected from accounting job applicants.
J13 ... I have been involved in the recruitment process for other areas
Gov/Edu, that use those skills and use them most definitely actually test for
Planning and reporting analyst, that they do competency test. Some of them include whether they
5 to 10 years have any spreadsheeting [sic] skills.
When asked how they used spreadsheets, most Junior respondents said they need more
than simple add/subtract skills. The functions mentioned included logical functions such as
IF and referencing functions such as LOOKUP. Other functions mentioned were sub-total,
conditional formatting, sorting, filtering, pivot tables, hide/unhide rows/columns, Goal-
seek and Solver. Based on the description by Juniors, spreadsheets were used for a variety
of activities such as reporting, data analysis, linking with other spreadsheets, budgeting,
etc. The following are descriptions of how some Juniors used spreadsheets:
103
J09 I had all their transactions in an Excel spreadsheet and I did a whole
CA firm, lot of data sorting and subtotals and stuff like that.
Business advisory services I’ve used some of the functions and some of that Auto Filter and
accountant, things like that. It was really useful learning how to use some of the
< 5 years functions and put formulae in Excel actually worked in my case.
J13 … for example VLOOKUP, we’ve got basic ordinary sums. You’ve
Gov/Edu, got oh, goodness me. IF Statements. That’s another really one.
Planning and reporting analyst, Solver.
5 to 10 years Goal seek. You know those sorts of ones. Goodness. They become
part of you. You have to use them every day.
Juniors from CA firms mentioned the use of an ‘electronic working paper’ which is in
essence a highly complex spreadsheet developed by the company to allow client service
accountants to enter clients’ data into the spreadsheet to calculate loan interest, reconcile
account balances and other functions.
J07 Basically all this electronic work paper is very complex. Excel, just
CA firm, Excel normally. I think the company been doing that a long time. I
Client service accountant, don’t know who designed it.
< 5 years What is that about actually electronic working papers?
Electronic working papers. For example if you have a loan. ... so you
just feed all data in and put interest rate, put all this stuff then it
will automatically calculate for you.
It’s actually Excel Spreadsheet?
Yeah.
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S01 Excel is used absolutely extensively. That’s the tool that they’ll be
Commercial firm, using from the day that they arrive.
Chief financial officer,
> 20 years
S05 ... there are different scenario’s and that sort of stuff, we put on
Gov/Edu, the Excel spreadsheet ... graduate coming on needs to be, not just
Project accountant, 123 plus minus type Excel spreadsheet.
> 20 years
The Seniors have expressed one area which was not mentioned by Juniors – since
spreadsheet is often used to analyse data, some Seniors cautioned that to make meaningful
and correct use of spreadsheets, the accountant must have a good understanding of the
business requirements as well as good knowledge of data analysis.
S06 ... have to have your base knowledge and know what you’re doing
Commercial firm, before you can do analysis and understand what you are doing.
Financial controller,
10 to 20 years
S09 Probably being able to break numbers down to the story in behind
Commercial firm, them.
Finance manager, Anyone can produce a report but it’s giving the report to someone
10 to 20 years saying here’s the two or three important piece of information in
here.
Despite the overwhelming concurrence that spreadsheet is important for accountants, S05
voiced his scepticism on the use of spreadsheets although he was among those who
acknowledged the importance of this IT skill:
S05 My motto is I always trust what comes out of the Accounting
Gov/Edu, System not the Excel spreadsheet. Cause somebody can change
Project accountant, that around and you don’t know what’s in there.
> 20 years
105
spreadsheet, and is two places higher than accounting software. Most interviewees stressed
the importance of understanding the accounting and business systems of their companies.
106
area. They observed that accounting graduates do not have enough conceptual knowledge
of how different cycles or modules in an accounting/business system such as accounts
receivable, accounts payable and the general ledger fit together. These observations may
mean that this particular subject matter is not taught adequately at TEIs.
S03 ... people coming and doing Financial Auditing often would struggle
CA firm, with their business process cycles. How the accounts payable
Consultant, process works, how accounts receivable process works. People do
10 to 20 years struggle.
S06 ... it’s all good in theory but when you come along and say your
Commercial firm, next job is Accounts Payable, if they don’t have a clue about how it
Financial controller, fits together ... it can be quite a struggle ...
10 to 20 years
107
J05 Probably, because now, MYOB and Great Plains [Microsoft
Gov/Edu, Dynamics], are used like probably in a smaller firm, ... but I think
Accounting systems officer, now, because of so many organisations with big turnover are using
< 5 years SAP Oracle or Peoplesoft I think basic understand of SAP or Oracle
would be useful.
J09 To tell the truth though I reckon once you know how to use one
CA firm, kind of package, the features are similar.
Business advisory services
accountant,
< 5 years
Junior participants’ views were that even if they had good knowledge of the accounting
software they were using at their workplace, they would be at best a good data entry
operator if they did not have a good understanding of accounting and business systems of
their company. This was aptly articulated by J04:
J04 ... for bookkeeping you don’t need accounting degree or such
Gov/Edu, thing. You have to do something higher level. Even actually when
Financial administrator, you are using MYOB. Even if you just do bookkeeping you can’t
5 to 10 years understand the Accounting Cycle, like the relationship between like
creditors and who you pay money, or purchasers, or customer
agency, when you make mistake, you can’t correct it. If you have
good understanding of the system, you can.
S09 ... say if there was an option to look at an ERP system, a bit grunty
Commercial firm, [sic] sort of thing, a lot of the corporate companies use. That
Finance manager, would have been a big plus.
10 to 20 years
108
An important message has emerged from the discussions on accounting software in the
interviews. When discussing Accounting systems, a comment was made by a Junior
participant that even Senior staff might not have in-depth knowledge of accounting
systems because they were not involved in the day-to-day use of accounting software.
When discussing accounting software, participants were of the view that having good skills
in accounting software alone is not enough as one has to have a good understanding of
accounting and business systems in order to fully learn accounting software packages.
These comments allow a conclusion to be drawn – that the two areas are inter-connected.
This finding has implications in how accounting systems and accounting software should
be taught in TEIs. Another issue is which and how many accounting software packages
need to be taught in an accounting major programme.
The following are some comments made by participants. J05 appears to be in the minority
as most other participants required only basic skills in word processing software.
J05 Word document very important to know same like Excel, so try and
Gov/Edu, do word document at an advanced level. Writing a letter,
Accounting systems officer, formatting, presentation skills.
< 5 years
S03 Word processing, not so much. It’s useful part of communication
CA firm, that’s probably more useful that you can structure your reports
Consultant, better as opposed to actually using the word processor. Again,
10 to 20 years most of the advance features in word processing you probably
don’t need to know on a regular basis.
109
4.3.2.5 Values
This topic refers to ethical standards and is not strictly a technical IT topic. It was included
in the questionnaire because one of the sources of the questionnaire for the pilot phase
(Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002) includes this topic. Bain, Blankley and Smith examined 12
AIS textbooks and summarised the topics covered in these 12 textbooks into 30 topics, one
of which is ethics.
Values is ranked fourth equal to Accounting software and has an overall mean score of
5.35. All participants who responded to this topic opined that it is important for
accountants to possess high standards of ethical behaviour. J14, a client accountant in a CA
firm, said that the decisions they make on the deductibility of expenses for their clients are
ethically based and therefore ethics are highly important. Another comment was made by
J12:
110
S05 Internet tools well, of course when you’ve got to do research and
Gov/Edu, look stuff up well, use of e‐mails is essential otherwise you’ll never
Project accountant, get anywhere in business nowadays.
> 20 years
4.3.2.7 IT controls
IT controls are described as understanding the concepts of internal control, computer fraud,
IT audit, and controls to personal computers. This topic has a mean score of 4.61 and is
ranked seventh place among the 18 topics.
J07 Because I’m junior staff. I’m actually not too worried about this.
CA firm, And I think our clients normally don’t ask us to do all this stuff for
Client service accountant, internal control system ... I think we don’t have to worry too much.
< 5 years
J12 Internal control. All good companies should have good internal
Commercial firm, control processes and I guess some of the company things that
Accounting assistant, have gone down because their internal process weren’t up to
10 to 20 years scratch. That’s important. But I don’t think it’s necessarily
something that an accounting graduate or anything like that would,
they need to be aware of. But it’s not something they would
implement it while a company controls sort of thing.
J13 Because accountants where we are. They actually do have a lot of
Gov/Edu, involvement with the systems they are going to be dealing with and
Planning and reporting analyst, they really have to know what internal controls they have to put in
5 to 10 years place with the system.
111
environment. S05 was of the opinion that the actual implementation of IT controls is with
the IT department but accountants need to understand the concepts.
S05 ... a small organisation you might have to do all of this. In a large
Gov/Edu, organisation like this, like IT controls and operating systems ...
Project accountant, would be done by the IT Department. But we need to understand
> 20 years how it works. But we don’t actually do it ourselves.
J05 End User computing. This is important. Very essential. General
Gov/Edu, systems knowledge. Transaction processing system. That is like
Accounting systems officer, journal entry.
< 5 years
S07 End‐user computing we’ve a lot of daily problems people not
Commercial firm, understanding the system. What to do where to go. That’s actually
Branch accountant, what I do a lot of cause people coming to me asking where they go,
5 to 10 years what is that.
112
J07 Yeah, sometimes. Normally we just use power point. That is very
CA firm, useful I think. I don’t have much chance to present normally.
Client service accountant,
< 5 years
S01 Power point would be used occasionally by some staff.
Commercial firm,
Chief financial officer,
> 20 years
Most participants made connections of databases to the accounting software they used on a
daily basis. This is due to their understanding that every accounting software has a
database in the background. Almost all participants were of the view that accountants need
only to have an understanding of what a database is, know how to retrieve data from
databases, and not how to design and create databases. This finding has important
implications on how databases should be taught in an accounting major programme.
J01 I feel that you as the end users shouldn’t need to understand what
Commercial firm, goes into designing the data. You should only know what a data
Accounting assistant, base is, and what data goes in and how it’s presented. So you
< 5 years really shouldn’t need to go into the depth of building a data base
unless you are going to become a business analyst.
J09 What about database software? You graded it at 3.
CA firm, I mean here they’ve got their own database. That’s for a package.
Business advisory services They keep all the information about their clients in it. So, I’ve never
accountant, has [sic] any need to keep stuff in a database.
< 5 years You go in there and punch in the clients name and it brings you up
the information and there is tabs. You just go to that tab and find
that search box and then it just brings it up and brings up all the
information.
You don’t need to know all about how to set one up. Because, I
don’t know where you’d go that you needed to set one up really.
113
S06 The database concepts I see that more as people understanding
Commercial firm, how in Dynamics [accounting software] it all sort of links together
Financial controller, and using the search functions in the database. So if you don’t
10 to 20 years know how to quite understand the theory behind it you’ll struggle
to search.
... so understanding how to limit all of that and get the information
that you want is the key.
... they’re just using the existing ones it’s more the understanding
of how it works.
J07 Because every day you have some of the information you are not
CA firm, quite sure especially for IRD. So, normally we use IRD look up to
Client service accountant, research and all the information for tax information, what changes
< 5 years and all that stuff.
J13 We all do research as part of our job and to know that is very
Gov/Edu, important.
Planning and reporting analyst,
5 to 10 years
S01 Is their ability to do research quickly on the Internet. As the
Commercial firm, knowledge now becomes electronic. You really need to know how
Chief financial officer, to draw that out.
> 20 years
4.3.2.12 E-commerce
E-commerce includes understanding electronic data interchange and business-to-business
(B2B), and business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. This topic received a mean score of
4.04 and is in 13th place, most participants regarding it as unimportant since they were not
involved in this area.
114
J02 e‐commerce, not involved at all.
Commercial firm,
Financial analyst,
5 to 10 years
J07 We normally don’t handle that. e‐commerce we don’t have it here.
CA firm,
Client service accountant,
< 5 years
There was one exception – S03 explained that e-commerce knowledge is required by his
team members because that is the nature of their job function.
S03 I guess what my team does, is we help clients design and test
CA firm, security into their business processes, business systems. A lot of
Consultant, that is around Internet System, E‐commerce Systems. Even though
10 to 20 years they are still accountants they are doing things slightly different.
Juniors from CA firms were the group that placed the least importance on this item and
said that they do not use this in their work at all. However, they acknowledge that this
would be important if they were working as auditors. The following are some verbatim
from Juniors of CA firms:
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J09 What about the system flow charts. You rated this very low. Is there
CA firm, any reason for that?
Business advisory services I’ve never used them.
accountant, Never come across a flow chart in your work here?
< 5 years No. Not ever.
The following are verbatim from Juniors other than CA firms. J13 placed more importance
on Documentation tools than the other Junior participants, probably because of her special
job function as Planning and Reporting Analyst, which is not a usual accounting role.
J05 When we do policies, procurement policies and delegation policies.
Gov/Edu, But that would be document flowcharts, not system flowcharts.
Accounting systems officer, System flowcharts would be something related with the systems.
< 5 years But I don’t do that. Dataflow diagrams. No.
J13 We have to … Yeah. Because, we constantly might be doing new
Gov/Edu, processes. So, we actually have to document that. It’s not left to
Planning and reporting analyst, the IT people in a lot of cases. They might document it from their
5 to 10 years side their IT. But in order for us to actually do our processes and
everything, we have to do all of that.
It would be mainly those two there. Systems flow chart.
Document flow chart.
Seniors echoed the comments from Juniors and opined that flowcharts were not used often
in their areas. Even if they came across flowcharts, the requirement was often that of being
able to understand and read the charts rather than to draw them. The following are
verbatim from Seniors:
S01 Do your people make use of things like Flow Charts to express or to
Commercial firm, document how the system works?
Chief financial officer, No. Our IT Department may.
> 20 years
S05 Now where were we, documentation tools?
Gov/Edu, Well, probably not regularly, but you’ve still got to understand it.
Project accountant,
> 20 years
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15th. This topic is quite technical in nature and most participants regarded it as the
responsibility of the IT department or IT supplier. This is represented by the comment
made by J02, a financial analyst of a commercial firm who said that communication
software, firewalls and passwords are the responsibility of the IT department.
J02 ... communication software, all like a firewalls and passwords that
Commercial firm, is IT responsibility
Financial analyst,
5 to 10 years
J01 What about this one IT audit software?
Commercial firm, ... you need to know that they exist ... it just something I feel is a
Accounting assistant, tertiary student should be aware of but not know in depth.
< 5 years
J14 We don’t use CAAT or IT audit software would probably be used by
CA firm, the IT Department.
Accountant,
< 5 years
The audit manager of a government department (S02) had more comments on this
particular topic than other participants. He was of the opinion that this is a highly
specialised area and he did not expect accounting graduates to arrive with knowledge on IT
audit software or CAAT when they start their career. He also mentioned that many internal
audit departments outsource the audit work to CA firms because of the specialised nature
of the work and the difficulties in keeping up to date in the area. The following are his
comments:
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S02 I wouldn’t think a new graduate would often come with ACL [Audit
Gov/Edu, software] experience or use that type of software. It’s fairly
Audit manager, uncommon. It’s normally training on the job type of thing. ... the
> 20 years work is often out sourced. You’ll find most Internal Audit shops if
you like, do outsource that area. Because they would say it’s quite
difficult to keep up to date.
J05 The data security. The back‐up and recovery is done from the IT
Gov/Edu, Department. So we personally don’t do it,
Accounting systems officer,
< 5 years
J12 ... perform backup and recovery. Most … I wouldn’t think an
Commercial firm, accounting student would need to know that. That would be
Accounting assistant, handled by Origin [IT supplier]. You know they handle all that. Or a
10 to 20 years particular stuff like IT department. Yes. You do have to know what
it is about but it’s not something you would do on a daily basis.
The only exception was J04 who works for a small government department with no IT
support and therefore was required to perform data backup on a daily basis. This situation
was predicted by S02:
J04 Yeah. We do backup every day. Every time when I open MYOB and
Gov/Edu, turn it off I back up.
Financial administrator,
5 to 10 years
S02 Able to perform backup and recovery. I would not see any new
Gov/Edu, graduates actually doing that type of thing in this business. May be
Audit manager, in a small business. But not here.
> 20 years
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4.3.2.17 Operating systems
This item is about the use of utility software and anti-virus software on personal
computers. It has a mean score of 3.13 and is ranked in last place at the 18th position. This
topic generated very little discussion with only one notable comment made by J02 who
said that even though she was not really involved, it is important to have some knowledge
in this topic.
J02 Utilities software, anti virus not really involved in that but I know it
Commercial firm, is very important
Financial analyst,
5 to 10 years
Based on the analysis of the discussions and verbatim from the interviews, the IT
knowledge and skills are classified into three categories:
Category 1 – Essential / Used daily / Need advanced knowledge and skills
Category 2 –Important / Used occasionally / Need basic knowledge and skills
Category 3 – Not involved / Too technical / Awareness only
Table 4.14 summarises the findings from the interviews and categorises each of the IT
knowledge and skills based on the above definitions.
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Table 4.14 Summary of findings for RQ2
Category Topic Summary of findings
Most important and used daily. Need advanced skills and
Spreadsheet graduates are expected have knowledge of this when they start
work.
Essential knowledge for accounting graduates. Must have
Accounting systems
thorough knowledge of accounting and business systems.
Important and used daily. Need good knowledge of accounting
systems to complement skills in accounting software.
Accounting software
Category 1 Preferable to learn more than one accounting software at
school.
Values Important for accountants.
The categorisation of topics based on RQ2 is compared with the band classification based
on RQ1 and is shown in Table 4.15. If participants had been consistent in scoring the
topics and describing them in the interviews, the RQ2 categories should match those with
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the RQ1 bands. However, there are some exceptions and they are highlighted with
asterisks in Table 4.15. These exceptions are:
Research tools classified as Category 1 (Band 2 in RQ1).
Word processor classified as Category 2 (Band 1 in RQ1)
Documentation tools classified as Category 2 (Band 3 in RQ1)
Operating systems classified as Category 2 (Band 3 in RQ1)
e-commerce classified as Category 3 (Band 2 in RQ1)
Spreadsheet Spreadsheet
Accounting systems Accounting systems
Accounting software Word processor
Values Accounting software
Internet tools Values
Research tools * Internet tools
Category 2 Band 2
Important / Used occasionally / Mean score between 4 and 4.9
Need basic knowledge and skills
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The above differences could have a number of reasons. First, participants could have
changed their minds during the interviews. Second, two-way communication between the
researcher and the participants gave them the opportunity to express and discuss the
importance of each topic in the interviews. Third, RQ2 consisted of in-depth questions to
fully explore the real requirements of the topics, which is superior to a simple score given
in the questionnaire. Since the primary paradigm of this research is interpretivism, the
results from RQ2 are regarded as the authoritative findings.
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4.3.3.1 Discussions on IT matters with accounting departments
J08 Very rarely. We just use the software It’s not our responsibility to
CA firm, make any decisions about what happens and that.
Graduate accountant,
< 5 years
J14 No. We don’t have to discuss IT related matters.
CA firm,
Accountant,
< 5 years
J13, who is the Planning and Reporting Analyst with a government department was heavily
involved in IT systems within the accounting department and was in constant discussions
with her accounting colleagues on IT matters:
J13 Constantly. Virtually daily. ... we try and look at ways of doing
Gov/Edu, things better, so with some of the reports that we created took a
Planning and reporting analyst, bit long, so we come up with the idea of re‐structuring a little bit of
5 to 10 years the financial system and that worked. Yeah. It’s how to do things
better with what you have.
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for system improvements and requests for new reports. S08, who is the management
accountant of a commercial firm said he held discussions with accounting colleagues on a
weekly basis on issues such as internal controls, efficiencies, getting data faster and
improving process flows. The following are the verbatim from some Seniors:
S01 ... all problems are discussed freely each day. Be it an IT problem or
Commercial firm, a finance problem or whatever. So, there’s a very open forum they
Chief financial officer, can discuss IT problems at any time really.
> 20 years Normally problems solving and it may be systems that are not the
way that we would like to see them work or suggestions to how we
can improve them.
S07 Daily. When we have errors we print our balancing reports in the
Commercial firm, morning. Is it a system fault, is it something we’ve done in the
Branch accountant, branch, is it have we had a crash you know that sort of thing. We
5 to 10 years do queries working with queries running queries. What is it exactly
they want to know. How am I going to find that.
Senior participants from CA firms also had to discuss IT related matters but most of the
discussions were not with their colleagues but with their clients. This explains why Juniors
from CA firms said they rarely discussed IT matters with their colleagues.
S03 Daily. I wish I didn’t some days. Minute by minute. Often it is
CA firm, answers to technical problems. Client’s technical problems. It could
Consultant, be around how they manage the passwords for example.
10 to 20 years
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from participants who said they had to contact the IT department or IT suppliers for
reasons other than IT problems:
J02 ... how often do you have to discuss IT related matters with your IT
Commercial firm, department or your IT contractors?
Financial analyst, Because I’ve got the new system coming in there’s a lot of
5 to 10 years interaction. So at this stage happening every day.
J13 ... how often do you have to discuss IT related matters with IT
Gov/Edu, Department or your IT suppliers and what is the nature of these?
Planning and reporting analyst, It all depends. Now at the moment, because I’m involved with the
5 to 10 years Microsoft Project daily. But, generally if you’re not doing a project,
it might be monthly or whatever. It may be improvements to the
system. Yeah. They might be undertaking some changes on the IT
side, improvements to servers and all that sort of stuff and you
have to be aware of what’s happening and how many breakdowns
and all that sort of stuff.
Similar to the response to the previous interview question, Junior participants from CA
firms said they did not have regular contacts with the IT department or IT suppliers.
J08 ... will you discuss IT matters with your software supplier or IT
CA firm, Department?
Graduate accountant, No. None of that. Like I said we have a company that comes in that
< 5 years does all our IT, they deal with MYOB themselves, and we don’t
have anything to do with it.
J09 What about discussing IT matters with the IT Supplier or the IT
CA firm, Department?
Business advisory services Not really. The only time that I ever really talk to them of one if I’ve
accountant, got a problem with something on my own computer or if there’s an
< 5 years update for BankLink [software] sometimes.
S05 It’s really not very often. We… once we got Tech One [accounting
Gov/Edu, software package] set up we basically administer it ourselves. So
Project accountant, we’re only contacting IT if the processes fall down we’ll contact
> 20 years them if we want to. We’ve got the main production and then we
got to test it the training system.
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S02, the audit manager of a government department, and S03, a consultant in a CA firm,
had different agendas when they met with their IT department or IT suppliers. For S02,
they were matters related to IT control, audits and management issues. For S03, his
contacts with the IT department were requests for his opinion on IT controls because of his
expertise in the area.
S02 How often do you have to discuss IT related matters with the IT
Gov/Edu, department or your IT suppliers?
Audit manager, Ok. This IT controls, periodically if we’ve done an IT audit or an IT
> 20 years follow up audit. There might be matters raised by the outsourcing
consultants, internal audit would follow those matter up with the
IT department. They could be all sorts of matters, such as business
continuity arrangements would be one. Maybe an IT project
management issue.
S03 How often do you discuss IT related matters with the IT Department
CA firm, or IT Suppliers of your company?
Consultant, Probably weekly. They tend to be around IT Control of some kind.
10 to 20 years They want to know our opinion because we’re… experienced in IT
controls ...
When asked what IT knowledge and skills could improve the situation, J13 and J14 said
that it is necessary to update one’s knowledge and awareness on IT terminologies by
attending seminars and courses.
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J13 It is just keeping up with the jargon and the processes that they [IT
Gov/Edu, people] need to go through to be aware of what they need.
Planning and reporting analyst,
5 to 10 years
J14 Probably attending seminars and courses. I think that would be the
CA firm, easiest way. We’ve never had… I mean I was hoping to get that
Accountant, from the course [AIS course].
< 5 years
J02 and J10 were of the opinion that if IT practitioners had some basic knowledge in
accounting, communication between accounting and IT would improve:
J02 No actually we don’t understand them and they don’t understand
Commercial firm, us because when we start talking about GL reporting and P&L the
Financial analyst, revenue cycles and everything and KPI reporting and how this links
5 to 10 years into that we have to sit down with them and it takes a discuss [sic]
of up to half a day for them to understand what we do, and
sometimes even more and I think they have the same issues with
regards to jargon and terminology.
They should just [take] a basic one [accounting course].
J10 ... our IS guy, he did do some accounting papers at University to get
Commercial firm, a better understanding of where we were coming from ... he for
Management accountant, example had done a couple of accounting papers to try and get a
10 to 20 years better understanding of where we came from, so when we talked
to him, he knew...
When asked what IT knowledge and skills could improve communication between them
and the IT providers (SIQ06), S01 echoed the opinions of J02 and J10 and said that if IT
practitioners could gain some basic accounting knowledge, it would help communication
between them and accountants. S09 suggested maintaining close ties with the IT
department so that they understand more of the information needs of accountants.
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S01 The best programmers that I’ve ever come across are people who
Commercial firm, have had a degree in accounting or an understanding of an
Chief financial officer, accounting first. Unfortunately they are few and far between. I
> 20 years believe that if the IT person did an Accounting One paper, perhaps
Two as well, they would have enough knowledge to understand
and how a general ledger hangs together and how certain accounts
of profit and loss, certain accounts of balance sheet, and various.
J01 To be honest I’ve never sat down and said well right now I’m
Commercial firm, researching what’s going on in our IT world. I guess in my case I’m
Accounting assistant, only really aware of it when it hits me in the face.
< 5 years
J11 I just you know, work from the news, my CIMA magazine. Basically,
Commercial firm, professional magazine. But I won’t look for stuff. Unless I’m
Chief accountant, looking for a way to do a new report.
10 to 20 years
Participant J10 was exceptional as he has a strong personal interest in IT and therefore
followed developments in IT on his own time and expense:
J10 I read. So for example I’ve got one book on Windows 7 already and
Commercial firm, I’ve got about another three on request from the public library.
Management accountant, Computer sites on the internet. I follow a few of them. PC World,
10 to 20 years Wins Supersite. Computer World. Tom’s Hardware Guide.
J13, who has a special role with a government department as the Planning and Reporting
Analyst, had to actively keep herself up-to-date on IT developments:
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J13 Council’s [the employer] very good in training and allowing people
Gov/Edu, to do training, so they’re very receptive to us to actually want to go
Planning and reporting analyst, out and do courses. Recently, because I was involved with
5 to 10 years Microsoft Office Share Point server, I wanted to find out how that
actually worked with the Business Intelligence Area who are part of
our IT Team, so with myself and the guy I worked with went on a
Business Intelligence Course for a day. Learned about all the
software and how things were working and what’s on the market
out there. It was really useful. We do an awful lot of that through
the Internet as well.
S03 Interacting with a lot of different clients helps. Because a lot of
CA firm, clients are having implementing solutions or they have problems
Consultant, that other clients have. I haven’t come across yet. So, that does
10 to 20 years help a lot. A lot of reading. A lot of discussions I guess with my
colleagues particularly overseas as well, does help a lot.
S04 It’s hard. I think different people employ different strategies so I
CA firm, know a few people subscribe to quite a few Journals yeah sort of
Senior manager business like, what would you call it regular updates received by e‐mail that
assurance, sort of thing. Personally, I just like to read the more authoritative
5 to 10 years Journals McKenzie or MIS Quarterly that sort of thing or local
publications are quite good like Computer World so I’d flick
through that. And then a lot of it to be honest comes through just
client interactions.
S01 acknowledged that it is hard and the company could only do its best to provide
training for its staff:
S01 We struggle. I guess, it’s by employing younger staff, that have
Commercial firm, come straight from training and they tend to keep the business up
Chief financial officer, to date. And we try to keep them as up to date with their studies as
> 20 years well. But IT is very hard to keep up to date on.
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4.3.3.5 Summary for RQ3
The objective of RQ3 was to explore how NZ accountants engage in IT related matters in
their workplace. Junior accountants in commercial firms and the Gov/Edu sector are
actively involved in IT matters. They are engaged in daily and weekly discussions with
their colleagues on system reconciliation problems and IT related issues and are
responsible for solving these problems. Seniors from commercial firms and the Gov/Edu
sector confirmed the Juniors’ response. They are engaged in daily and frequent discussions
with their accounting colleagues in solving IT systems related problems. The response
from participants of CA firms, however, is quite different. Junior CA firm participants said
they rarely have the need for such discussions. Senior CA firm participants said that while
they do have frequent discussions on IT matters, especially on IT control issues, these
discussions are with their clients and not with their colleagues.
Junior and Senior participants from the commercial and Gov/Edu sector are also actively
involved in discussions with their IT departments and IT suppliers. Interaction with IT
includes reporting IT problems, participating in system implementation and requesting
changes or new functions in the accounting software or business system. From the
interviews, Juniors appear to be more active in contacting IT than the Seniors. As for CA
firms, Juniors again said they have few contacts with IT. Senior participants from CA firms
also appear to be less active in engaging with their IT department or IT supplier.
On the issue of keeping up to date with the fast developing IT field, most participants said
they do not actively do this and would do so only when it is necessary. One participant
from the Gov/Edu sector has an on-going need to update herself on the latest IT products
due to her job function. Another participant has a personal interest in IT and keeps himself
130
up to date by reading IT magazines and looking in the Internet. Two Senior CA firm
participants said they keep themselves updated through contacts with their clients and their
colleagues from their overseas offices.
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4.3.4.1 Perceptions of adequacy of IT knowledge and skills
Junior participants were asked if they felt they had adequate IT knowledge and skills to
perform proficiently in their job (JIQ08) and how well their accounting programme
prepared them for practice (JIQ09). These two interview questions are related and are
discussed together in this section. Most Junior participants felt they had enough IT
knowledge and skills to start work but at the same time would like to learn more.
Participant J02 from a commercial firm said that she learned only MYOB accounting
software at school but in all the companies she had worked for, not one used this
accounting software. Participants from CA firms (J07, J08 and J09) all said that they had
no previous exposure to the type of accounting software that CA firms use. Designed
specifically for CA firms, this type of software is not normally taught in TEIs. Examples
include MYOB Accountants Office, MYOB Accountants Enterprise and Xcede
Professional Accounting. These comments confirm the views of Juniors on accounting
software in RQ2 that they would like to learn a second accounting software (see Section
4.3.2.3).
J09 It might have been useful to see a Chartered Accountant type
CA firm, software, type package.
Business advisory services
accountant,
< 5 years
Another area that Junior participants commented on is spreadsheets. Some said it would be
good if more advanced Excel skills were taught in their accounting major programme.
Accountants working in CA firms talked about the complex spreadsheets called electronic
working papers that they had to use to enter clients’ data. Although they were not required
to design or create these electronic working papers, they all showed an interest in
understanding how they work.
J07 And also I think the Excel. I saw lots of work papers were very
CA firm, complicated Excel sheets. So I think our knowledge in Excel
Client service accountant, different detailed skills not enough.
< 5 years
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J13, who works as the Planning and Reporting Analyst in a government department spoke
about her admiration of a colleague who graduated with a conjoint Business and IT degree.
According to her, the colleague was much more proficient than she was in IT skills
because of the IT component in the conjoint degree. She made special mention of the use
of macros in spreadsheets by her colleague which made things much more efficient.
J07 mentioned the database project that he had to work on when he was studying and said
that there had been no use for it in his workplace; he had since forgotten the whole thing.
However, he was of the opinion that the IT control concepts he learned from school were
quite useful.
J07 What I learned from IT knowledge I think some of them is probably
CA firm, not applicable for the workplace. Such as database ... but we never
Client service accountant, use it in the workplace. And after a couple of months we forgot
< 5 years how to do that.
For example the accounting controls. How to do accounting
controls, how to check if anything has changed in the accounting
software. I think that’s quite useful.
J02 commented that not all companies had the resources to teach new staff members and
would expect them to have the required knowledge and skills when they start work:
J02 I just felt there could have been more that I could have learnt.
Commercial firm, Cause people aren’t really willing to teach in the workforce. They
Financial analyst, expect you to have that knowledge.
5 to 10 years
An important message that came out of this discussion was that they all preferred more
practical work in their accounting programme. Some said they had sufficient practical
work from their programme and were quite happy, while others said there was not enough
and they had to struggle when they first started work.
J03 I think if I can have more knowledge and practice on the accounting
Commercial firm, software, not only the ERP maybe or MYOB or others. More
Accounting assistant, practice and more knowledge on that.
< 5 years
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J05 Not enough practice. Application. I think I lacked application. Like
Gov/Edu, hands on approach. Like with the journal entries. ... I started to
Accounting systems officer, know the end to end process only during my work. I wouldn’t have
< 5 years gained that knowledge in my schooling times. I gained that
knowledge when I started work.
J08 The first three months here was so just so overwhelming, huge
CA firm, amounts to learn and everyone here was saying, well everyone is in
Graduate accountant, that position all the graduates feel that way, but it’s kind of like
< 5 years how can you prepare them perhaps a little bit better. But you just
feel stupid, you just feel so underprepared really, in that regard.
J09 I think there needs to be a mix of both, but I think that you need to
CA firm, have some practical. You definitely have to have some practical
Business advisory services skills because it’s kind of hard because you go from a very
accountant, theoretical ... to kind of practical.
< 5 years
Some Juniors expressed their preparedness for work after graduating from TEIs by giving
a rating out of 100. One gave 20, another 30, and some 40 but most gave 50. The only one
who gave 70 was ironically J08 who was the most vocal in expressing her unpreparedness
for work.
The two Senior participants from CA firms had different views; they were in the area of IT
security and Business Assurance services. They acknowledged that their field is highly
specialised and therefore they did not expect accounting graduates to come with the
specialised knowledge and skills their companies required. Their companies would,
however, provide formal and on-the-job training to newly hired accountants.
S03 They’ve probably got enough. It would be nice if they had more.
CA firm, But, they get a fair bit of training, so they have training quite a
Consultant, detailed training plans. It covers all levels of the business.
10 to 20 years
134
S04 Auditing is. Especially the Information Security Auditing area. It’s
CA firm, very specialist in a way. ... in the IT Security it’s a very fast paced
Senior manager business evolutionary area. And it’s not really well catered for a learning
assurance, expected to be from an academic point of view.
5 to 10 years 90% of what your role would actually be asked of you we will train
you.
S04 added that an accounting major programme would most probably provide adequate IT
training for commercial firms but would fall short for specialised functions in a CA firm.
S04 ... if they were going to join a mid‐sized corporate environment. I
CA firm, think for example the Bachelor of Commerce Degree, ... is quite
Senior manager business good. But if you’re going to join a Big Four and at that want to join
assurance, one of the specialist functions then you probably not as well
5 to 10 years catered for.
J03 ... so definitely more advanced knowledge of Excel and also the
Commercial firm, basic understanding of how the anti‐virus works and also how do I
Accounting assistant, remember it in word processor, there’s a macro.
< 5 years
J06 Get a better understanding how to detect computer fraud, Internal
Commercial firm, Control that’s actually left to Audit, that’s very important.
Assistant accountant,
10 to 20 years
J11 Probably you have to use Access database.
Commercial firm, So, you can sort of extract data and put them in Excel and then
Chief accountant, manipulate if you want to.
10 to 20 years
J14 ... then I would say probably a little knowledge of all this – not
CA firm, detailed accounting, but just how to open the file, what’s the
Accountant, procedure, print the report, and how to restore, and what version
< 5 years it is and all that stuff.
135
J13 mentioned that knowledge in IT project management could help her perform better in
her job. The topic is formally known as Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) in AIS
textbooks. She was the only participant who mentioned this IT topic. This could again be
explained by her unusual accounting role as Planning and Reporting Analyst in the
Gov/Edu sector. Table 4.18 shows the IT topics mentioned by Junior participants in order
of the frequency of mentions.
136
Spreadsheet skills at an intermediate or advanced level was again brought up. A Senior
participant mentioned what-if analysis and pivot tables.
Two Seniors stressed the importance of being able to interpret and produce data analysis.
This issue was discussed earlier in the findings on spreadsheets.
S06 ... have to have your base knowledge and know what you’re doing
Commercial firm, before you can do analysis and understand what you are doing.
Financial controller,
10 to 20 years
S09 Probably being able to break numbers down to the story in behind
Commercial firm, them.
Finance manager, Anyone can produce a report but it’s giving the report to someone
10 to 20 years saying here’s the two or three important pieces of information in
here.
Table 4.19 summarises the IT knowledge and skills regarded by Seniors as helpful to
Juniors.
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4.3.4.5 IT topics to study if going back to study
When asked what IT knowledge and skills they would like to learn if they were going back
to school, Junior participants again overwhelmingly voted for more advanced spreadsheet
knowledge. The second most mentioned topic was the use of database query to retrieve and
search for data from databases. J01 and J13 specifically mentioned SQL which is a
standardised database query language available in most database software.
J01 I guess I would like to learn how to write Sequel [SQL] Queries.
Commercial firm, Sequel Server Queries and working with Sequel Servers.
Accounting assistant,
< 5 years
J13 Is it Sequel or SQL? Really can see a need for that because we have
Gov/Edu, a data warehouse, because to be able to retrieve that information
Planning and reporting analyst, without having to ask someone to write a report to specify
5 to 10 years everything.
J02 from a commercial firm wished to have more knowledge on how to generate reports
from accounting systems. This could be construed as similar to the use of database to
retrieve data from the database of the accounting software as suggested by J01 and J13.
There were other suggestions which had not been mentioned in previous discussions. Some
of these veered towards the more technical side of IT knowledge including basic computer
programming, Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Visual Basic computer
programming language. But these suggestions were from the minority. Other less technical
topics suggested from the minority included learning Open Office software, budgeting and
forecasting software and SPSS, a statistic software. J14 from a CA firm wished to have
more in-depth understanding of the accounting software she used in her company and also
to have a general understanding of other popular accounting software available in the
market so that she could advise her clients on which one to use. Table 4.20 summarises the
topics mentioned by Junior participants.
The following are verbatim of some participants. J12 was the exception as she was of the
opinion that there was no need to learn further IT knowledge if she was going back to
school.
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J02 We’ve got a lot of excels and database. Yes, the macros in excel.
Commercial firm, ... we don’t normally setup databases like it’s not really in our role
Financial analyst, but just searching for things,
5 to 10 years Also, reporting from whatever accounting system you are using, we
know how to do data entry and stuff but there isn’t much focus on
how to do reports.
J05 ... if I had to go back to school, I would probably learn how to write
Gov/Edu, applications and know basic XML language, how to create it.
Accounting systems officer, VLOOKUP how to convert Excel files.
< 5 years I would want to learn visual basics as well. Macros, all that.
J10 I would definitely include, I would almost include an Introduction to
Commercial firm, Computer Programming also database concepts and principles.
Management accountant, ... definitely LOOKUP, matching and indexing, pivot tables.
10 to 20 years
J12 As an accounting graduate, probably no.
Commercial firm,
Accounting assistant,
10 to 20 years
More spreadsheet (Macros, LOOKUP, pivot tables) J02, J05, J08, J09, J10, J11
Database query language (SQL) J01, J13
Microsoft Access database J03, J11
Database concepts J10
Searching data from database J02
How to generate reports from accounting software J02
Understand accounting software better (MYOB) J14
Aware of different accounting software to advise clients J14
Open office software J11
Basic computer programming J10
XML language J05
Visual Basic computer programming language J05
Budgeting and forecasting software J09
SPSS Statistics software J09
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4.3.4.6 Summary for RQ4
The objective of RQ4 was to obtain perceptions from Junior and Senior participants on the
adequacy of IT knowledge and skills of Juniors for them to perform competently in their
job. Both Junior and Senior participants were generally satisfied with their IT knowledge
and skills. Some Junior participants would like to learn more than one accounting software
package when they were studying at TEIs. The many different types and brands of
accounting software used by different industries and different companies create a dilemma
for accounting educators as to which and how many accounting software can be taught.
There were no negative comments on the lack of or inadequacy of IT knowledge and skills
of Juniors by Senior participants. Two Senior participants from CA firms acknowledged
the difficulties in providing specialist training to accounting students by TEIs in the
information security function of CA firms. They were not critical and added that their
firms provided all the training required of their Junior staff members.
When asked what additional IT knowledge and skills they would like to have to allow
them to perform better in their job, a number of Junior participants mentioned advanced
features of spreadsheet, better understanding of accounting and business systems and more
knowledge on the use and concepts on database. Others mentioned advanced word
processing, better understanding of IT and internal control, anti-virus software and use of
utility software. Junior practitioners in CA firms were all of the view that schools did not
teach the accounting software designed for CA firms. A Junior participant who works as
the Planning and Reporting Analyst of a government department mentioned IT project
management as something that is useful for an accountant. However, the position is an
unusual accounting role and she is the only participant who had mentioned this IT
knowledge.
Seniors were asked the same question – what additional IT knowledge and skills would
help their assistants to perform better in their job. Advanced spreadsheet skills, data
analysis, IT control and better understanding of accounting systems were raised in
response to this question.
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Juniors were asked an additional question – what IT knowledge and skills they would like
to study if they were going back to school. The response confirmed some of those from
JIQ10 with more topics in the wish list. These additional topics tended to be more specific
and technical in nature including basic programming language. A comparison of the
responses to JIQ10, JIQ11 and SIQ09 is shown in Table 4.21.
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Two interview questions were designed for Juniors asking them to think of the IT
knowledge and skills they would need if they were promoted and those that would be
required in five years’ time. The same questions were asked of Seniors with reference to
their assistants. The interview questions are shown in Table 4.22.
J02 wished to expand her vocabulary in technical terminologies so that she could
communicate better with IT providers. Others brought up general knowledge and skills and
these included project management knowledge, the need to understand more complex
accounting processes and the ability to solve problems. J03 from a commercial firm said
she would need to have the ability to manage her IT suppliers if she was promoted. J10
said he would like to develop higher levels of skills in analysis and interpretation. This
coincides with the expectations from Seniors. J14 from a CA firm repeated her wish to be
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able to advise clients on the selection of suitable accounting software and packages. The
following are selected verbatim from the Junior participants.
S01 I don’t know if there are any other IT skills that they would need
Commercial firm, necessarily. ... I’d go back to research again. Having a greater depth
Chief financial officer, of the research tools available would help, and the Juniors are
> 20 years certainly not using that now. Whereas I’d expect them to be using
it in the higher role.
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S04 It’s less of the technical knowledge. ... they wouldn’t focus on the
CA firm, technical things as much. I think may just be the usual sort of client
Senior manager business interaction skills, people management, you’d have things like
assurance, engagement management, report writing all of those things.
5 to 10 years
S09 In terms of the technical side, I’m not sure he would need a heck of
Commercial firm, a lot more. It’s more commercial exposure and business
Finance manager, experience.
10 to 20 years
J01 Possibly programming because alternately I have a feeling that
Commercial firm, systems will be changing so quickly. You know ten, fifteen years
Accounting assistant, down the track that you would need some sort of programming
< 5 years skill to be able to keep [up].
J02 I say being able to set up your computer from home to work. So I
Commercial firm, think the trend that we’re following or going to work is working
Financial analyst, from home. So you should be able to know how to fix your systems
5 to 10 years up and be able to use Internet and access database and everything
from home. So those type of knowledge would be required. I can’t
think of any think of any others.
J14 I think the latest thing in trend is a paperless office. ... So probably
CA firm, more use of the computer, have your own personal laptop. VPN
Accountant, logging in, remote access I think these are all the things probably
< 5 years which will be used which will be a common thing in the next five
years.
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accounting practitioners should have a good grasp of Internet knowledge and e-commerce
concepts in the future.
S01 It’s hard to say. They really just need to keep up with the IT
Commercial firm, developments. If we look back five years. I guess the Internet
Chief financial officer, wasn’t as powerful as it is now. And certainly our systems weren’t
> 20 years Internet based, but that is the way we’re going. And I can see in the
not too distant future where all our systems are largely Internet
based.
S09 I think there’s likely to be a lot more web based type functionality.
Commercial firm, Even in the relevant analysis. Some of the tools we’re using here
Finance manager, are becoming more web based. And we’re doing more sort of EDI
10 to 20 years type stuff with some of our customers. This doesn’t have a direct
impact on the role I have, but general sort of finance requirement
becomes more and more prevalent.
The hard skills are advanced spreadsheet and basic programming knowledge. Juniors
would like to be able to set up home computers to remotely access the office so that they
can work from home. Paperless office is also mentioned by two Juniors suggesting the use
of portable and wireless devices so that print-outs are kept to the minimum. Seniors mostly
point to the increasing prevalence of Internet-based applications and e-commerce
indicating that knowledge in these areas becomes more important over time.
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4.3.6 Other findings from interviews
There were unscripted questions and discussions during the interviews. Some of these were
off-topic but a good number are relevant and add to the depth of this study. The relevant
unscripted discussions are presented in this section.
J03 But that’s the first paper in IT and many students will choose that
Commercial firm, in the first year. And by the time when they graduate they have
Accounting assistant, forgotten.
< 5 years
While discussing the IT knowledge and skills that would be required if she was promoted,
J09 was of the opinion that she would only need those that she would be using when she
starts work. Those that are not required at work will be forgotten.
J09 Or whether you need to know that as a graduate, because you
CA firm, don’t want to come out of your study with lots of skills that you
Business advisory services don’t really need, because by the time you need them you’ve
accountant, forgotten how to use them anyway.
< 5 years
These two comments raise not only the question of what IT knowledge and skills to teach
but also when they should be taught. The first question is what this study sets out to find;
the latter will be discussed further in Chapter 5.
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4.3.6.2 Topics not included in the questionnaire
A number of topics not included in the questionnaire were raised by the researcher during
the interviews. Resource-Event-Agent (REA) diagrams, SDLC and XBRL, are IT topics
popular in AIS textbooks, and the researcher wished to find out if they are required by
accounting practitioners. SDLC was mentioned by some participants as required in the
future or if they were promoted. This leaves REA diagrams and XBRL unexplored.
All participants were either unaware of REA diagrams or said they did not remember what
they were, implying that this particular IT topic is not required.
J05 REA? No. I don’t remember.
Gov/Edu,
Accounting systems officer,
< 5 years
J10 REA diagrams, I can’t say I do know of. I possibly do from AIS, but I
Commercial firm, can’t remember.
Management accountant,
10 to 20 years
Most participants were unfamiliar with XBRL, and only a few Senior participants working
in CA firms were able to identify it. The lack of awareness of this topic was probably
because the technology has not taken off in NZ.
J05 No. We don’t use XBRL.
Gov/Edu,
Accounting systems officer,
< 5 years
S03 It’s interesting. XBRL –it’s been around a long time as a concept.
CA firm, I’ve never seen it take off or be used anywhere. ... The concepts are
Consultant, good and I understand the concepts particularly multinational
10 to 20 years company’s consolidations all these sort of things. It hasn’t taken
off.
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4.4 Summary of findings
Finding 1 – Importance of spreadsheets
Spreadsheet is one of the most important and most used IT tools for accounting graduates.
It is used in a variety of ways such as reporting, budgeting and data analysis. The skill
level required should be at an intermediate to advanced level.
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Finding 7 – Research tools
Research tools refer to the ability to use such tools to search relevant information from
relevant sources. This skill is regarded as essential for accounting graduates.
Finding 9 – Values
‘Values’ refers to ethical standards and is regarded as an important attribute for accounting
graduates.
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Finding 12 – Project work for IT
Junior participants expressed the need for more IT practical work in accounting major
programmes.
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Triangulation of findings was achieved by comparing the data collected from the
questionnaire with those from the interviews. The findings from the interviews are
generally supported by the results from the questionnaire. The 18 IT knowledge and skills
were ranked and categorised into Bands 1, 2 and 3 based on their overall mean scores (see
Table 4.7). The same items were classified into Category 1, 2 and 3 (see Table 4.14) based
on the analysis of data from the interviews. The topics under the two categorisations were
compared and have been found to closely match with each other in the corresponding
categories. The findings from this chapter have been summarised in Section 4.4. They will
be discussed in the next chapter with particular emphasis on the implications of these
findings to accounting curriculum policy and design, how they relate to the literature and
the research questions, and what recommendations can be drawn from the findings.
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CHAPTER 5 – DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION
5 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.0 Introduction
The previous chapter presented an analysis of the data collected from the main study. The
data included the scores given by 23 participants on 18 IT topics in the questionnaire and
the qualitative data collected from the interviews. The methods used in analysing the data
were discussed in Chapter 3. Descriptive statistics was used to present the overall mean
scores of each of the 18 topics and to compare the mean scores from different participant
groups. Qualitative data collected from the interviews were analysed by listening to the
voice recordings of the interviews, repeated reading of the transcripts, coding the contents
of the dialogues and summarising them into themes. The findings with respect to each
research question based on these analyses were presented in Chapter 4 and then
summarised in Section 4.4.
In this chapter, the research problem and the research questions are re-stated as the context
for discussion of the findings and the conclusions. The findings from Section 4.4 are
discussed with consideration given to the implications of these findings and the
contributions of this research to accounting education literature, accounting curriculum
design, professional guidelines, theoretical framework and methodology. A model for IT
coverage in an accounting curriculum has been developed and is named the INDUCTION–
DIFFUSION–ASSIMILATION Model. This final chapter also identifies the limitations of
the study and the possible future research areas. Figure 5.1 shows an overview of this
chapter.
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Figure 5.1 Overview of Chapter 5
5.1 The research
problem re‐stated 5.2.1 Importance of spreadsheets
5.2.2 Accounting systems / software
5.2.3 Database knowledge
5.2 Discussions and 5.2.4 Data analysis skills
implications 5.2.5 Office software / documentation tools
5.2.6 IT control / IT audit
5.2.7 Research tools
5.2.8 General IT knowledge and skills
5.2.9 Values
5.2.10 Involvement in IT / Keeping up‐to‐date on IT
5.2.11 Perceptions of adequacy of IT knowledge
5.2.12 Project work for IT
5.2.13 IT knowledge required in the future
5.2.14 Timing of IT courses
5.2.15 Topics not included in questionnaire
5.2.16 IFAC IEPS 2
5.2.17 NZICA SLO‐5
5.2.18 Summary
5.3 An integrated
model for delivery
of IT content
5.4.1 Contribution to accounting education
literature and curriculum design
5.4.2 Informing professional accounting bodies on IT
guidelines
5.4 Contributions 5.4.3 Contribution to theoretical framework
5.4.4 Contribution to research methodology
5.4.5 First study of its kind in NZ
5.5 Limitations
5.6.1 Replicating the study in other countries
5.6 Further research 5.6.2 Modifying the study to collect data from
academics
5.6.3 Encouraging accounting students to develop
an interest in IT
5.7 Chapter summary 5.6.4 The relevant accounting knowledge for IT
practitioners
5.8 Conclusion
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5.1 The research problem re-stated
The research problem of this thesis concerns the IT knowledge and skills required by
accounting graduates in NZ. The objective of the study is to identify the IT knowledge and
skills that are relevant to accounting graduates in their first five years working in an
accounting capacity. More specifically, the research seeks to identify the IT knowledge and
skills for NZ accounting graduates that fall under the following attributes:
Up-to-date – that IT knowledge and skills to be explored must be up-to-date
according to the latest developments of IT in business
Requisite – that they do not include all IT knowledge and skills available and that
they are the topics required by accounting graduates only
Holistic – that they do include all IT knowledge and skills required by accounting
graduates
The theoretical framework of this research is based on two parent theories – human capital
theory and stakeholder theory. These two theories are applied in the context of higher
education in this study. Human capital theory posits that education has important economic
effects on nations and societies. Stakeholder theory suggests that the success of education
institutions depends on their ability to balance the needs of their various stakeholders.
Graduates are one of the stakeholders of higher education. The link between these two
theories leads to the issue on graduate employability which is the basis on which this
research is positioned. In order to be employable, graduates would need to possess
knowledge and skills required by the jobs to which they aspire. This research focuses on IT
knowledge and skills for accounting graduates and five research questions have been
developed to address the research problem. They are re-stated as follows:
RQ1 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants need in the first five years of their
career?
RQ2 How are IT knowledge and skills used and applied in NZ accountants’ work?
RQ3 How are NZ accountants involved in IT related matters?
RQ4 Do NZ accountants feel they have adequate IT knowledge and skills for their jobs?
RQ5 What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants regard as necessary in the future?
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5.2 Discussions and implications
Since spreadsheet has been identified as the most important IT skill for accounting
graduates, how this particular IT skill should be taught needs to be looked at carefully.
Although some may argue that accounting graduates can easily develop spreadsheet skills
on their own, educators cannot assume that all students have such interest or capability. A
study at the University of Glasgow asked students to self-assess their IT skills on entry to
the university and found them to have low levels of spreadsheet and database skills (Stoner
2009). Consideration to include some of the advanced spreadsheet functions in the
accounting curriculum is highly recommended.
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important IT topics for accountants. Accounting software is used on a daily basis and
accountants should have good working knowledge not just in how to use an accounting
software package but with a full understanding of the accounting system behind it. This
entails a thorough knowledge of accounting/business systems. These findings agree with
the literature. Use of an accounting package is identified in a number of monographs as a
necessary skill set for accountants (Wessels 2005; Williams, J. & Leung 1995). However,
it is surprising to find that accounting software package received a mean score of less than
3 on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = unnecessary, 5 = valuable) from accounting students (Jackson &
Cherrington 2002). In the AIS literature, emphasis is placed on knowledge of accounting
systems which includes the revenue, expenditure, payroll, production and GL cycles
(Davis & Leitch 1988; Heagy & Rakow 1991; Smith & Bain 1993; Van Meer & Adams
1996).
Data collected from the interviews indicate that accounting/business systems and
accounting/business software are inextricably inter-related and should be taught in close
conjunction with each other. Participants expressed the desire to learn a large scale ERP
system in addition to small scale popular accounting software packages often taught in
TEIs. CA firm participants would like to learn a CA firm-specific accounting software
package. Focus should be given to the ‘cycles’ or components of a typical business system.
These include the revenue cycle (sales order processing, shipment of goods, invoicing and
collection), the purchasing cycle (purchase order processing, receipt of goods and
payment) and the general ledger cycle (chart of accounts, journal entries and generating
reports). It is preferable to use two accounting software packages for teaching in an
accounting major programme. The first could be a popular entry level package, with the
second in the medium to large ERP system range. Alternatively, the second accounting
software could be a CA firm-specific package. However, teaching a second accounting
package would incur additional costs and require additional time allocation in the
accounting programme. The choice of the second package is also not straight-forward as
some participants preferred an ERP while others would like a CA firm-specific accounting
software.
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5.2.3 Finding 3 – Database knowledge
Based on opinions from participants, accountants need only know what a database is and
how to retrieve data from it. There is little need for accountants to learn how to design and
create databases. This finding may provide some clarity and guidance to accounting
educators on how much and what to teach in database topics. It also confirms the finding
from a study by Williams J. and Leung (1995) which reported that accounting educators
and CAs agreed that less emphasis should be given to database software and systems
design. Based on these findings, courses should focus on retrieving data from databases
rather than creating and designing them.
A number of senior participants voiced the concern that data analysis skills of junior
accountants must be developed. This is confirmed by junior participants commenting that
data analysis skills are not adequately covered in TEIs. Without such concepts and skills,
the use of spreadsheets and databases will be just a number crunching exercise and there is
a risk that information produced will be misleading and confusing. Based on this finding,
data analysis skills are important and should be developed in an accounting curriculum.
This skill set has not been explicitly discussed in any of the studies found in the literature
review.
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Based on comments from the interviews, word processor is used only occasionally and
only basic skills are needed. This result is consistent with the Williams J. and Leung
(1995) study which reported that less emphasis should be given to word processing than
other office software such as spreadsheets. Presentation software shares the same category
of importance with word processing and is of secondary importance requiring only basic
skills.
Based on the findings from this study, internal control is regarded as important but not
essential. Junior accountants said they are not at a level of seniority where they can initiate
and promote IT and internal controls in their organisations. Senior participants from CA
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firms and the auditing discipline do not expect TEIs to teach specialised topics such as
advanced IT control knowledge or IT audit. A good understanding of the concepts of
internal and IT control appears to be adequate.
IT audit software refers to the use of computer software to assist in performing audit work.
Most participants are not involved in this area. The audit manager of a government
institution was of the opinion that this is a highly specialised area and that accounting
graduates are not expected to enter the workforce with such knowledge even if they are
hired as auditors. On-the-job training is usually provided to graduates. EDP audit was
ranked in 10th place by both accounting educators and practitioners in the Davis and Leitch
(1988) study.
The above findings coincide to a certain extent with the Davis and Leitch (1988) study
which reported that internal control is regarded as less important by accounting
practitioners than accounting educators. It is recommended that a basic level of
understanding of IT control is developed in the AIS course. For those TEIs that have the
scope to offer it, advanced concepts on internal and IT control could be covered in an
advanced AIS course. IT audit is a highly specialised area and accounting graduates are not
expected to have this knowledge and skills when they join the workforce. Companies will
normally provide training if candidates are hired in the audit department.
Because of the ease of use of these tools, it appears that there is little need for a specific
course to teach such skills. However, it is easy to over-estimate the ability of students to do
searches using advanced operations to efficiently narrow down search results. An
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introduction on how to do searches from the Internet and library databases using such
advanced searches would be helpful for students. Examples of advanced functions are the
use of wildcard symbols and Boolean operators such as ‘*’, ‘?’, ‘AND’, ‘OR”, etc. This
can be included in an introductory IT course in the first semester.
Internet tools refer to the use of e-mail, web browsing and SMS, and are quite intuitive and
can be self-taught. These tools are becoming requisite skills by any white-collar worker in
today’s environment. Since they have been clearly identified by a number of monographs
as necessary skills (see Jackson & Cherrington 2002; Wessels 2005), they can be included
in an introductory IT course in the first semester of the accounting programme.
General systems knowledge refers to concepts in transaction processing systems and end-
user computing. These concepts are regarded as required IT knowledge and an overall
understanding is needed by accountants. This finding is consistent with a number of
monographs in the AIS literature (see Bain, Blankley & Smith 2002; Van Meer & Adams
1996; Wu 1983).
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systems refers to the use of utility and anti-virus software on personal computers. All
accounting practitioners today use a computer in their daily work, and the ability to use the
operating system utilities to copy, save and organise files are skills that any accountant
should possess.
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should therefore include basic accounting courses in their curricula. A question similar to
that of this research begs – what do IT graduates need to know in terms of accounting
knowledge for them to perform competently in a commercial firm? This could also be an
area for further research.
When asked if there are any additional IT knowledge and skills they would like to learn or
develop, advanced spreadsheet skills were again mentioned by most participants. This
reinforces the perception by accounting practitioners of the importance of spreadsheet
skills. Other topics included in the 18 IT topics in the questionnaire were re-iterated,
including IT controls, database concepts, operating systems and a better understanding of
accounting systems. Junior accountants from CA firms would like to learn an accounting
software package specially designed for CA firms. This type of accounting software is not
normally covered in TEIs. As discussed in Section 5.2.2, teaching a second accounting
package would incur additional costs and require additional time allocation in the
accounting programme. Other IT topics not included in the questionnaire were also
mentioned and they include SQL, SDLC, XML, basic computer programming, data
analysis/interpretation, financial modelling/simulation, budgeting/ forecasting software and
how to generate reports from accounting software.
With respect to technology skills, a single accounting systems class along with one
or two generic computer courses may not be adequate. A better approach might be
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to require more technology applications, particularly spreadsheets, in all other
accounting classes, in addition to the accounting systems class.
One of the ways to achieve this is to require the use of IT software/tools in different papers
in the accounting programme. For example, a management accounting paper would require
students to create complex spreadsheets for budgets and costing systems and using what-if
analyses. A tax paper would ask students to make use of formulae to compute taxes. A
finance paper would expose students to the use of functions such as net present value,
internal rate of return, etc. Marketing papers would require students to make presentations
using presentation software and to produce graphs in reports. General management papers
would require students to write reports using intermediate to advanced functions in word
processing software.
In order to distribute the learning of IT knowledge and skills among different courses in
the accounting programme, it is necessary for accounting faculties to review their current
accounting programme policies and make changes as required. Issues regarding lecturer
competence in IT, computer facilities and course design need to be reviewed. If lecturers
teaching in these papers are not proficient in these IT software and tools, they will be
reluctant or unable to build such IT project assignments into their courses. If there are not
enough computer laboratories, students will be hindered from doing their computer
assignments. Accounting faculty management may have to assess the IT capabilities of
their teaching staff and provide training if necessary. They would also need to play an
active part in promoting, supporting and monitoring the state of IT diffusion in the
curriculum.
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response from the participants confirms these findings. These soft skills are not IT related
and should be included in other relevant courses in the accounting curriculum. The hard
skills mentioned by participants could be included in IT related courses in the accounting
programme.
If a refresher course in important IT skills is available as one of the last papers before
graduation, graduates could be ‘IT productive’ immediately when they join the workforce.
An exit IT competency course is not only a good way to provide a refresher for the basic
IT skills but also to teach the advanced skills identified in this study. Students taking this
course would finish the programme with fresh memories of the IT skills they need to start
working productively. Brigham Young University in the USA has successfully
implemented a capstone IT skills course with excellent results. Graduates of the University
regarded this course to be more effective than the AIS course (Jackson & Cherrington
2002). This finding may be of interest to some TEIs. Implementation of such an exit IT
course would entail a review of existing accounting curricula.
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SDLC is related to project management for IT systems development. This topic has been
identified as required in the future or if an accountant is promoted to a higher position. A
basic coverage of this topic in an AIS course is recommended.
REA diagrams are used in teaching database design and have been promoted by McCarthy
(2003) as an important topic in AIS. Most participants were not familiar with this IT
concept or had very vague memory of it. Since they have indicated that accountants need
not know how to design databases, this result is not surprising. An introduction to REA
concepts would be useful in an AIS course as a precursor to teaching database concepts.
XBRL allows the automated transfer of accounting information and greatly facilities the
process of financial reporting (Debreceny & Farewell 2010). The authors argue that XBRL
should be integrated across the accounting curriculum. However, most participants
interviewed were not familiar with XBRL and that is probably due to the slow uptake of
this technology in NZ. A brief introduction to XBRL in an AIS course would help promote
awareness of this technology.
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Figure 5.2 Analysis of IEPS 2
> = 5 4 to 4.9
6% 9%
< 2
9%
3 to 3.9
29%
2 to 2.9
47%
5.2.18 Summary
The findings discussed above have addressed the five research questions of this research as
well as areas that are beyond the scope of the research questions. Findings 1 to 9 have
addressed the first two research questions: RQ1 (What IT knowledge and skills do NZ
accountants need in the first five years of their career?) and RQ2 (How are IT knowledge
and skills used and applied in NZ accountants’ work?). Of primary importance are
spreadsheet skills, knowledge on accounting systems/software, values, Internet tools (e-
mail, web browsing) and the ability to use research tools. Spreadsheet is used in a variety
of ways from data analyses to reporting, and intermediate to advanced skills are required.
Of secondary importance are office automation software (word processing, presentation
software, documentation tools), IT control concepts, use of databases and general systems
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knowledge. In conjunction with the use of spreadsheets and database software, data
analysis concepts and skills have been identified as important and must be developed in an
accounting major programme. Topics that require a minimum level of knowledge include
e-commerce, Internet security, IT audit software and data security.
RQ3 (How are NZ accountants involved in IT related matters?) has been addressed in
Finding 10. Junior accountants in commercial firms and the government/education sector
are more involved in IT matters than their counterparts in CA firms. The majority of
accountants do not actively keep themselves up-to-date on IT developments.
Communication between accountants and IT providers could be improved if IT providers
have some accounting knowledge.
Findings 11 and 12 have addressed RQ4 (Do NZ accountants feel they have adequate IT
knowledge and skills for their jobs?). Most junior accountants and their supervisors are
satisfied with the level of their IT knowledge and skills but would like to further develop
their skills in spreadsheets. They are of the opinion that there are not enough opportunities
in the practical use of IT software in accounting major programmes.
Finding 13 has addressed RQ5 (What IT knowledge and skills do NZ accountants regard as
necessary in the future?). Both generic and IT skills have been mentioned by participants.
Generic soft skills include interpersonal and communication skills, report writing and
presentation skills. IT skills include basic computer programming and knowledge in e-
commerce.
Findings 14 to 17 are findings outside the research questions. Finding 14 concerns the
timing of IT courses and, together with Finding 12, has contributed to the development of
an integrated model for the delivery of IT content in an accounting curriculum. This model
is discussed in the following section.
Finding 15 explored IT topics that are popular among AIS textbooks but were eliminated
in the pilot study. Finding 16 and Finding 17 discovered that a high percentage of topics in
IFAC IEPS 2 and NZICA SLO-5 are regarded as irrelevant for accounting graduates or
lack specificity.
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5.3 An integrated model for delivery of IT content
Based on the discussions in Section 5.2, a model for delivery of IT content in accounting
curriculum is developed and is named by the researcher as the INDUCTION–
DIFFUSION–ASSIMILATION Model and abbreviated as the IDA Model. The inspiration
in developing this model comes from Finding 12, Finding 14, Burnett (2003) and Jackson
and Cherrington (2002).
Finding 14 discovered that accounting students may have forgotten some of the IT
knowledge and skills they learned in early computer courses by the time they graduate. If
an exit IT course is available so that students can learn advanced IT knowledge and skills
and to refresh and update those they have learned in other courses, they will graduate with
fresh memories of such IT knowledge and skills. Brigham Young University in the USA
has successfully implemented such an exit IT course (Jackson & Cherrington 2002). These
findings stimulated the idea of ASSIMILATION.
The IDA Model proposes that students entering an accounting major programme be
introduced to computer concepts in an introductory computer course where they will be
taught the basic concepts and skills for them to be able to use these computer concepts and
skills in subsequent courses. This is the INDUCTION phase. As they continue to take other
courses, project assignments will be given that will explicitly require the use of various IT
168
tools to complete the assignments. This is the DIFFUSION phase where the learning of
appropriate IT skills is distributed among other courses where the use of IT software is
applicable. Finally, in the ASSIMILATION phase, an exit IT competency course in the last
semester of the programme would provide a refresher for IT knowledge and skills they
have learned in the entire duration of the programme as well as some advanced functions
and data analysis skills before they graduate. Figure 5.3 depicts the IDA Model. The
courses in the diagram are only examples of those in a typical accounting major
programme.
INDUCTION
Introductory IT
course
DIFFUSION
Marketing Finance
Management Taxation
Management
accounting Auditing
Communications
AIS Others...
ASSIMILATION
Exit IT course
169
Combining the relevant IT topics identified in this study with the IDA Model, a proposed
schedule of different IT topics to be covered in an accounting curriculum is shown in Table
5.1.
Year 1
Year 1 intro accounting Other Exit IT
Topic AIS course
to IT course software courses competency course
course
Use where
Spreadsheet Basic Advanced
applicable
Practice and Practice and
use of entry use of a
Accounting systems/
level second
accounting software
accounting accounting
package package
Use where
Word processor Basic Intermediate
applicable
Values Concepts Concepts
170
An introductory IT course would be required as one of the mandatory courses for the first
semester of the programme. This course would include basic IT concepts, use of Internet
tools and searches, use of utilities in operating systems and basic functions of spreadsheet,
word processing and presentation software. This course prepares students to make use of
different IT tools necessary in their further studies.
Examples of the diffusion of IT coverage into all accounting courses have been discussed
in Section 5.2.10. For example, a management accounting course would require students to
develop complex spreadsheets to prepare budgets and to compare with actual results to
arrive at variances for performance analysis of a company or a department. A tax course
would require students to use spreadsheets to do computations on tax liabilities of
companies. A finance course would require students to use spreadsheets to compute
variability of returns of assets and in capital budgeting. Management and marketing
courses would require students to make use of intermediate to advanced functions of word
processors to produce professional reports; and presentation software to produce
professional presentations. Data analysis skills should also be developed as and where
applicable. However, all these would require that lecturers in these papers possess good
knowledge and skills of the IT tools otherwise they will be neither willing nor able to
integrate such IT topics in their courses.
The AIS course would include in-depth discussions on accounting systems concepts
together with the practice of an accounting software package. Since students have already
used an entry level accounting package in the Year-1 accounting software paper, a
different accounting package is highly recommended. The findings from this study suggest
171
that a medium size ERP system or a CA firm-specific accounting package is most
appropriate. Internal and IT controls should be included in the AIS course as this topic
relates to accounting systems. Documentation tools are also topics that should fall under
AIS as they too are related to accounting systems. Database concepts and the use of a
database software are proposed for the AIS course and data analysis skills should be
developed in conjunction with the database practice. Concepts in IT audit, Internet
technologies and data security should also be included. One of the topics that was not
included in the questionnaire but was raised by some participants was SDLC which is
concerned with project management of IT systems. The AIS course is the best place for
this topic to be included. One of the findings has indicated that accountants do not actively
keep themselves up to date on IT developments, and again, the AIS course is in the best
position to develop student interest in IT. One possibility is to require students to research
on the latest developments in IT as a project assignment. If the above syllabus is
considered too demanding for one AIS course, two may be considered, to spread the load.
An exit IT course given in the final semester, covering IT knowledge and skills, is highly
recommended. This course should be made compulsory if possible and should include
intermediate to advanced functions of the various IT knowledge and skills discussed
earlier. Other topics that this exit IT course can cover are data analysis skills, database
retrieval practice, the use of research tools, intermediate level skills on word processing,
presentation software, data security and operating systems. There are examples of
successful exit IT courses, one of which is the capstone IT skills course at Brigham Young
University (Jackson & Cherrington 2002). Another example is the capstone information
technology management course at Christian Brothers University in the USA (Brandon,
Pruett & Wade 2002).
5.4 Contributions
This study has provided a holistic and comprehensive view of the relevant IT knowledge
and skills required by NZ accounting graduates with the support of empirical data. It ranks
the IT topics in order of importance; it details the contents of the important topics and
proposes a schedule of coverage of the different topics in different courses in an
accounting programme. The findings from this research have enabled the development of a
172
model for delivery of IT content in an accounting major programme. It also shows, with
evidence, that the guidelines in IT education for accountants from some professional
accounting bodies are impractical and difficult to follow. The following are the specific
contributions of this research.
In order to implement the diffusion phase of the IDA Model, accounting faculty policy
may need to be reviewed to ensure that there are no issues that would hamper the
implementation. Faculty management may need to assess the IT competency of lecturers to
ensure that they have the capability to include IT tasks in their courses. Training should be
provided if required. There should be adequate computer facilities for students to
accommodate the increased use of computers for IT tasks from different courses. Faculty
management may also need to promote, support and monitor the progress of the state of IT
diffusion in the programme.
173
concise, achievable and specific, their purpose being to provide guidance to accounting
educators in planning and implementing accounting curricula.
IEPS 2 from IFAC has 188 IT topics deemed necessary for accounting professionals. This
study has provided empirical data to show that a large number of topics in IEPS 2 are
considered to be not relevant for accounting graduates. IFAC may find the results of this
study of interest to them when reviewing IT competency guidelines for accounting
professionals in the future.
The IT topics in SLO-5 of NZICA were found to be unspecific and as a result were
eliminated in the pilot study. NZICA may review the SLOs and make them more specific
and helpful for accounting educators.
174
in the study, comparing quantitative data collected from a questionnaire with the in-depth
qualitative data collected from interviews.
I think it’s wonderful that you take the interest to ask the industry what is required.
Because, I think in all my years, it’s the first time anybody has ever asked what
should we be doing for you.
It is anticipated that this study will inspire other researchers to engage in further studies to
define IT skills standards for the accounting profession.
5.5 Limitations
The research sought opinions from accounting practitioners in NZ. The results and findings
are therefore relevant only to NZ. Researchers in other countries may use the results of this
study as reference but they must be aware of the differences between the business
environment of NZ with their own. The NZ economy is made up of a large number of
small companies. As of February 2006, 96.4% of NZ enterprises employ fewer than 20
staff (Statistics New Zealand 2006). The requirements of an accountant in IT knowledge
and skills in a small business may be quite different from those of a large company.
This research used a small sample size in the main study involving only 23 participants.
These were accounting practitioners, some of whom were part-time students working in an
accounting capacity. The views of accounting educators, academics, employers and
professional accounting bodies are most likely to be different from those of practitioners.
The experts in the Delphi round in Phase I and the participants in Phase II were all sampled
from Auckland. There is a possibility that there is geographical bias due to the sample
175
selection. Another possible bias concerns the selection of accounting graduates. Because it
was not possible for the researcher to obtain names of students directly from other TEIs
except from the one he was working for, the sample of graduates was therefore from one
TEI only. There is a possibility that bias exists because of this selection.
176
misunderstanding in discussing IT matters. What accounting knowledge do IT practitioners
need? This topic would be an area of research that could contribute to IT education.
5.8 Conclusion
The motivation of this research emanates from the researcher’s quest to find answers to the
question: What do NZ accounting major graduates need in the area of IT knowledge and
skills to allow them to perform competently in the workplace? Human capital theory
recognises that education allows individuals to be productive in society, thus improving
their well-being. One of the ways to achieve self-improvement is through employment.
Stakeholder theory posits that organisations are successful if the interests of their
stakeholders are satisfied. Students, graduates and employers are major stakeholders of
higher education. Students and graduates would like to be employable after graduation and
employers would like to have graduates who are employable. Higher education institutions
cannot ignore the interests of these stakeholders. Studies in graduate employability indicate
that IT knowledge and skills are one of the important attributes for employment. In the
accounting profession, IT knowledge and skills are not confined to generic IT knowledge
and skills but also include specialised IT knowledge and skills in the accounting domain.
The literature on IT content in accounting education is found to lack clarity. Some studies
focus on generic IT knowledge and skills, some concentrate on AIS while others are in-
177
between. Many studies simply provide a list of all IT topics needed by accountants with no
deliberation on the relative importance of the topics. Guidelines from professional
accounting bodies on IT knowledge and skills for accountants are found to be either too
ambitious or lack specificity. Recent studies in IT knowledge and skills for NZ accounting
graduates are non-existent.
It is important that a set of clearly defined IT knowledge and skills for accounting
graduates be explored to serve as a guideline for accounting education. The amount of time
and resources in an accounting major programme is finite. If irrelevant IT topics are taught
in an accounting programme, not only are students wasting their efforts, they are also
deprived of time in other areas of study.
This research is exploratory, and is inductive in nature. It comprises a pilot study followed
by a main study. The pilot study employed six experts from the accounting field to rate 266
IT topics identified from credible sources from the literature. The results from the pilot
study were analysed and categorised into 18 IT topic areas which were used for the main
study to collect rich qualitative data. Twenty-three accounting practitioners with differing
years of experience and seniority from commercial firms, CA firms and
government/education institutions participated in the main study. Selection was done using
purposeful sampling. A mixed-method approach was used, employing semi-structured
interviews with each participant, following their completion of a questionnaire prior to the
interview.
This study has explored the relevant IT knowledge and skills for accounting graduates
from an overarching perspective. The findings are based on an analysis of empirical data
collected from accounting practitioners. IT knowledge and skills found to be relevant for
accounting graduates are classified into different degrees of importance and levels of
learning. The INDUCTION-DIFFUSION-ASSIMILATION model has been developed
which can be used as a framework for the delivery of IT topics in an accounting
programme.
178
This research has contributed to the body of knowledge in accounting education and to
accounting curriculum policy and design. It is probably the first study of its kind in NZ and
is expected to motivate further research in this area.
179
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Appendices
190
Appendix 1 Questionnaire for Phase I of the research
Topic 1
Business focus of the entity. Position of the entity within its
Internal and external industry. Relationship of IT strategy and business strategy.
1.1 1 2 3 4 5 6
business issues Operational dynamics that influence the business. Business
processes as they relate to the strategic plan.
Flexibility of changes in technology or business. Speed to
market. Legal, regulatory and assurance. Business units
1.2 Factors that impact IT (customers, markets, industries). Budgets. Service level and 1 2 3 4 5 6
operational requirements: availability, scalability, security,
integrity, extensibility, maintainability, manageability.
Current status of entity’s
Infrastructure. Software. People. Procedures and controls.
1.3 use of IT to support 1 2 3 4 5 6
Data.
business strategies
Trends, issues concerns in current environment. Business and
IT alignment. Compliance with service level agreements /
1.4 IT risks and opportunities 1 2 3 4 5 6
targets. Capacity and performance capabilities. Stakeholder
attitudes. Political and social concerns relating to IT.
191
Envision future status of Communicating with stakeholders. Sourcing strategy. Critical
1.5 1 2 3 4 5 6
the entity’s system success factors, appropriate measurements.
IT management’s goals and objectives. Overall feasibility and
Align future IT strategy scope. Business constraints (quality, time, cost). Action plans,
1.6 1 2 3 4 5 6
with business strategy timelines, transition elements. Sponsor and stakeholder
approval.
Control environment / culture. Risk assessment. Policies and
Framework for IT procedures. Information and communication. Monitoring of
1.7 1 2 3 4 5 6
governance controls and risks. Impact on IT of compliance with
professional standards and codes.
Cost-effectiveness of IT processes. Utilization of IT
infrastructure. Satisfaction of stakeholders. Staff productivity.
1.8 Outcome measurement 1 2 3 4 5 6
Sharing of knowledge and information. Linkages between IT
and enterprise governance.
192
Topic 2
General systems theory. Open / closed systems.
Nature and types of
2.1 Transaction processing vs. operational vs. decision 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems
support systems.
Subsystems, networks, client server, remote systems,
distributed systems, mobile facilities, hardware (mainframe,
server, router, workstation, etc.). Networks, telecommunication
Information system
2.2 systems, electronic data transfer. Software: systems software, 1 2 3 4 5 6
architectures
application software, utilities. Data organization and access
methods. Protocols, standards, enabling technologies. IT
professionals and career paths in IT organizations.
Control and feedback in
2.3 Objectives, measures, monitoring, feedback and follow-up. 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems
Systems development life
2.4 System acquisition / development phases, project management. 1 2 3 4 5 6
cycle
Routine, exception, ad hoc, predictive. Quantitative,
Nature and types of
2.5 qualitative. Transaction documents, screens, reports, messages, 1 2 3 4 5 6
information
etc. Data vs. information vs. knowledge.
Quality, relevance, reliability, cost. Completeness, accuracy,
level of aggregation, timeliness, currency, frequency,
2.6 Attributes of information 1 2 3 4 5 6
accessibility, availability, authorization, authenticity, privacy,
confidentiality, etc. Decision value, competitive advantage.
Role of information within Users: internal, external. Decision theory. Communication of
2.7 1 2 3 4 5 6
business information. Reporting concepts and systems.
Transaction processing system (TPS). Production support
systems. Management information system (MIS). Knowledge
2.8 Types of business systems management systems (KMS). Executive information system 1 2 3 4 5 6
(EIS). Decision support system (DSS). Expert system (ES).
Neural network (NN).
193
Data entry. Edit / validation. Transmission. File look-ups,
calculations, logical comparisons. Master file update. Storage,
Transaction processing
2.9 record retention, back-up. Reporting, accounting, control, 1 2 3 4 5 6
phases
management. Query, audit trail, ad hoc report. Error
prevention, detection, correction.
Batch processing. Transaction processing. On-line processing.
2.10 Processing modes Real-time processing. Distributed processing. Multi- 1 2 3 4 5 6
programming, multi-tasking and multi- processing.
Revenue / receivables / receipts. Purchases / payables /
Business documents, payments. Inventories / cost of sales. Fixed assets. Production
2.11 accounting records, control planning, scheduling and control. Distribution management, 1 2 3 4 5 6
/ management reports logistics. Human resources and payroll. Delivery of services.
Logistics. Treasury / Administration.
Personal / workstation / mini / mainframe / supercomputer.
Stand alone or multi-user / network. Multi-processor vs. single
2.12 Processing units processor. Server, server farm. Central processing unit (CPU), 1 2 3 4 5 6
main memory, etc. Bus lines, cables, integrated circuit cards,
micro-code, registers, instruction sets, etc.
Keyboard, mouse, scanner, text recognition, voice recognition,
2.13 Input / output devices smart card, pen, display, tape, disk, printer, etc. Control units, 1 2 3 4 5 6
buffers, channels, etc.
Data communication Modem, switch, router, concentrator, bridge, monitor, etc.
2.14 1 2 3 4 5 6
devices Wireless transmitter, receiver, etc.
Data representation by computer, data compression. Tape,
disk, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM). Digital
2.15 Physical storage devices 1 2 3 4 5 6
Video Devices (DVD). Storage Area Network (SAN). Network
Attached Storage (NAS).
Distinction between system and application software workflow
Components of a software
2.16 managers, middleware and other utilities. Software designs for 1 2 3 4 5 6
configuration
various processors. Open vs. proprietary systems.
Graphical user interfaces. Network, client / server, etc. Single
2.17 Operating systems user vs. multi-user. Process management. Memory and file 1 2 3 4 5 6
system management.
194
Terminal monitor, network directory, etc. Communication
2.18 Communications systems 1 2 3 4 5 6
protocols.
Authentication and access control software. Anti-virus
2.19 Security software software. Firewall. Intrusion detection. Security assessment 1 2 3 4 5 6
tools.
Text editor, directory manager, file backup / recovery, file
2.20 Utility software compression, etc. Performance monitoring software, 1 2 3 4 5 6
scheduling software, etc.
Program control structures. Open source, application
development techniques such as RAPID. Program
Programming languages / specification, verification and validation. Machine code /
2.21 1 2 3 4 5 6
compilers assembly. Procedural vs. non-procedural languages. Language
evaluation and selection approaches. Object-oriented
languages, multimedia authoring systems, etc.
Application development environment. Case tools and
Programming aids,
programming environment. UML (Unified Modeling
2.22 interactive programming 1 2 3 4 5 6
Language). Methods of program design and development.
software
Testing and documentation.
Library management
2.23 Version control, migration, etc. 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems
Tape / disk management systems. Hardcopy / microfiche /
2.24 Data management systems optical imaging. On-line archival. Report generators and data 1 2 3 4 5 6
retrieval software. Database management system.
Distinction from system software. Competitive advantage.
Piecemeal vs. organization-wide development / integration.
General application
2.25 Package vs. custom software. Distributed vs. centralized 1 2 3 4 5 6
software
processing. End-user computing. Internet / intranet / extranet
applications.
195
Supply chain management (SCM). Customer Relationship
Management (CRM). Sales force automation (SFA). Human
Resources Management. Asset Management. Enterprise
E-business enabling
2.26 Resource Planning (ERP). Manufacturing (CAD / CAM, 1 2 3 4 5 6
software
CIM). Distribution, logistics. Enterprise Application
Integration (EAI). Knowledge management systems. Financial
Reporting XBRL.
Seven-layer OSI Reference Model. Common Object Request
Broker Architecture (CORBA). Electronic data interchange
2.27 Common standards 1 2 3 4 5 6
(EDI). Transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP /
IP). Wireless application protocol (WAP).
2.28 Internet protocols Packet switching. 1 2 3 4 5 6
196
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Open
Systems Interconnections (OSI). American National Standards
Standard-setting
2.37 Institute (ANSI). World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). 1 2 3 4 5 6
organizations
Project Management Institute (PMI). Software Engineering
Institute (SEI). International Federation of Accountants
(IFAC). XBRL International.
Data coding: characters, records, files, multi-media. Precision
of data. Data relationships: one-to-one, one-to many, many-to-
Data structures and file many. Conceptual data modeling. Normalization of data.
2.38 1 2 3 4 5 6
organization Logical vs. physical. Entity-relationship diagramming.
Referential integrity. Table structure vs. user interface.
Distributed structures.
Sequential access. Direct (random) access. Indexed sequential
2.39 Access methods 1 2 3 4 5 6
access.
Master / transactions / tables. Array, list, stack, queue, tree,
2.40 Types of data files index. Database: Relational, Network, Hierarchical, Object- 1 2 3 4 5 6
oriented. Benefits of using a database.
Database management
Data storage, access, and sharing. Roll back / journaling.
2.41 systems features, functions, 1 2 3 4 5 6
Performance tuning and metrics. Stored procedures.
architectures
Defining / documenting database requirements. File layout /
2.42 Database administration schema / data dictionary. Model databases. Distributed 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems.
Capture, index, store, retrieve, display / print. Optical imaging
2.43 Document management 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems.
Chief Information Officer (CIO). Chief Information Security
Officer (CISO). Business analyst. Systems analyst.
Programmer. Operations manager. Database administrator /
2.44 Job functions 1 2 3 4 5 6
data administrator. Knowledge base administrator. Security
officer. Network controller. Librarian. Webmaster, web
designer. Quality assurance.
197
Recruiting / developing IT
2.45 Training and development. Sourcing. Career paths. 1 2 3 4 5 6
human resources
198
Topic 3
Monitoring service level Quality of service. Availability. Response time. Security and
3.1 performance against controls. Processing integrity. Privacy. Remedies. Amending 1 2 3 4 5 6
service level agreements service level agreements.
Revenue. Distribution. Supply. Market. Organization. Legal
3.2 Business models 1 2 3 4 5 6
and regulatory issues.
Revenue / receivables / receipts. Purchases / payables /
payments. Inventories / cost of sales. Fixed assets. Production
Effectiveness of the
3.3 planning, scheduling and control. Distribution management, 1 2 3 4 5 6
entity’s business processes
logistics. Human resources and payroll. Delivery of services.
Logistics. Treasury. Administration.
Relation between user controls, application controls and IT
3.4 Framework of controls 1 2 3 4 5 6
general controls.
Technology. Alignment of business processes and IT with
business strategy. Business Process Re-engineering.
3.5 Barriers and enablers 1 2 3 4 5 6
Organizational structure and culture. Leadership. Human
resources. Capital. Legal and Regulatory.
Internet-commerce issues and trends. Business to business
Applications of Internet- (B2B). Business to consumer (B2C). Consumer to consumer
3.6 1 2 3 4 5 6
commerce (C2C). Business to employee (B2E). Distance learning,
distributed learning. Electronic government.
Supply chain management. Customer relationship
management. Sales force automation. Human resources
management. Asset management. Enterprise resource
3.7 Enterprise systems 1 2 3 4 5 6
planning. Manufacturing (CAD / CAM, CIM). Distribution,
logistics. Enterprise application integration. Knowledge
management systems. Financial reporting. XBRL.
199
Topic 4
Waterfall, spiral, interactive. Effect of new development
System acquisition /
4.1 techniques and management theories on formal systems 1 2 3 4 5 6
development approaches
development life cycle.
Investigation and feasibility study. Requirements analysis and
Acquisition / development
4.2 initial design. Detailed design specification / documentation. 1 2 3 4 5 6
phases
System installation / implementation. Maintenance.
Documentation requirements. Main risks and reasons for
Standards, methods and
4.3 failure of system projects. Economic, technical, operational, 1 2 3 4 5 6
controls
behavioral.
Analysis of existing systems; business process
integration; business process re-engineering. Scope of
4.4 Investigation 1 2 3 4 5 6
proposed system and information needs, technology
options. Nature and size of business.
Cost / benefit analysis. Statement of application requirements.
4.5 Feasibility Study 1 2 3 4 5 6
Feasibility analysis.
Processing modes. User interface: screen, report, form layouts.
User requirements Databases / files / records. Integration with existing
4.6 1 2 3 4 5 6
elicitation applications and systems. Volume, scalability, extensibility
requirements.
Structured analysis and design methodologies. Questionnaires,
interviews, document analysis, observation. Data flow
System analysis / design
4.7 diagrams; entity relationship model, etc. Decision tables and 1 2 3 4 5 6
tools and techniques
decision trees. Computer aided software engineering (CASE)
tools. Unified Modeling Language (UML). Object methods.
Process design, data
Application architecture. Technical architecture. Infrastructure
4.8 organization, software 1 2 3 4 5 6
requirements: facilities, hardware, network.
requirements
4.9 Control requirements Availability, security / privacy, integrity, maintainability. 1 2 3 4 5 6
200
Selection of hardware, facilities, networks. Selection of
Infrastructure and software software packages. Selection of vendor / supplier / service
4.10 1 2 3 4 5 6
services provider. Service level agreement. Escrow agreements.
Contracting / leasing / licensing considerations.
Application development environment (programming
4.11 Software development languages / compilers, etc.). Programming aids: Structured, 1 2 3 4 5 6
event driven, object-oriented approaches.
User interface: screen and report design. Database / file design;
system and database integration. Audit trail; transaction flows.
4.12 Systems design 1 2 3 4 5 6
Interfaces. System and network transaction load. Computerized
and user controls. Acceptance testing approach.
Statement of technical requirements. User and operations
4.13 Documentation 1 2 3 4 5 6
manuals.
Change management requirements. User training. User
Systems implementation acceptance. System roll-out. Data conversion. Risk
4.14 1 2 3 4 5 6
plan management. Operation and recovery procedures.
Documentation.
Install / deploy components: infrastructure, software. User /
4.15 Install / deploy systems 1 2 3 4 5 6
operator procedures and controls. Recruit / train personnel.
Acceptance testing approach. Tools and support. Test scripts
4.16 Acceptance testing and related data. Quality assurance / pre-implementation 1 2 3 4 5 6
review.
Data transformation requirements. Automated / manual.
Operational considerations (pilot, parallel running and going
Systems conversion /
4.17 live). Timing consideration. Tests. Risk management. 1 2 3 4 5 6
changeover
Resources required. Tests to ensure data are complete, accurate
and authorized.
Meets business requirements. Impact on users, management
Post-implementation
4.18 and staff. Project schedule and resources (financial and people) 1 2 3 4 5 6
review
consumed. Benefits realized. Opportunities for improvement.
201
Infrastructure. Software. Personnel competencies. Information
architecture. Business processes. Version management.
4.19 Maintenance standards 1 2 3 4 5 6
Implementation controls. Authorization controls.
Documentation standards and controls. Migration planning.
Custody. Change authorization. Emergency change controls.
4.20 Change controls 1 2 3 4 5 6
Testing and quality assurance.
Project sponsorship and funding. Stakeholders. Terms of
4.21 Initiate the project 1 2 3 4 5 6
reference. Apply project management tools and techniques.
Scope, objectives and deliverables. Strategy to achieve
objectives and deliverables. Project schedule, including
sequence of tasks and milestones. Resources and budgets.
4.22 Plan the project 1 2 3 4 5 6
Quality standards that will be used to evaluate the project.
Communication needs of all project stakeholders. Goods and /
or services that will be required to complete the project.
Risk management approach
4.23 Project management risk. Business risk. 1 2 3 4 5 6
on the project
Goods and services are selected and contracted as required.
4.24 Execute the project plan Quality standards are understood. Staff are properly trained 1 2 3 4 5 6
and managed. Define communication strategy.
Control and coordinate changes across the project. Manage the
project budget. Ensure results meet quality standards and
identify methods to rectify any problems noted. Report project
4.25 Control the project performance and revised schedule as necessary. Ensure 1 2 3 4 5 6
effective risk management. Monitor risk mitigation. Identify
new risks and change plan accordingly. Issue identification,
escalation and resolution process.
Stakeholder communication and sign-off. Open items. Post-
4.26 Complete the project 1 2 3 4 5 6
implementation review.
202
Topic 5
Process to create and amend IT organization. Process to
IT policies, procedures and maintain documentation. Alignment with entity’s strategic
5.1 1 2 3 4 5 6
methodologies plan. IT organization to address: infrastructure, software,
people, procedures, data.
Skills assessment. Performance evaluation. Job descriptions.
5.2 IT human resource policies 1 2 3 4 5 6
Training and certifications. Recruitment and retention.
Resources management
Resource procurement. Ongoing support procedures.
5.3 processes used to maintain 1 2 3 4 5 6
Maintenance of updates and upgrades.
organizational efficiencies
Relationship of Developing operational priorities. Compatibility of
infrastructure to components. Planning IT capacity. Impact of IT on procedures.
5.4 1 2 3 4 5 6
applications and user Data / information architecture. IT infrastructure (hardware,
requirements facilities, networks). Software (systems, applications, utilities).
Performance measurement (productivity, service quality).
Monitoring service Service level agreement monitoring. Collaborative computing.
5.5 1 2 3 4 5 6
provider activities Distributed systems. EDI and electronic commerce.
Outsourced services (ISPs, ASPs, etc.).
5.6 Asset life cycle Acquisition. Change. Retirement. 1 2 3 4 5 6
IT inventory. Contracts and licenses and intellectual property
issues. Data ownership, reliability and privacy issues. Cross-
Asset management and
5.7 border transportation and storage of data. Service provider 1 2 3 4 5 6
control
documentation. Privacy. User documentation. On-going
training and end-user support.
Development, test and production. Transport mechanisms.
Segregation of
5.8 Acceptance processes. Authorization processes. Monitoring 1 2 3 4 5 6
environments
and logging.
Impact analysis. Authorization. Internal control. Testing /
5.9 Change control techniques Feedback. Documentation. Human resources, including 1 2 3 4 5 6
training. Approval. Migration plans. Release management.
203
Integration with change control management. Help / Service
desk support system. Problem resolution / escalation
5.10 Problem management 1 2 3 4 5 6
procedures. Routing and assignment of problems. Problem
analysis and trend analysis.
Management of end-user Technology diffusion. Information center, help desk. End-user
5.11 1 2 3 4 5 6
computing system security. Support for end-user applications.
Data centers, outsourced facilities. Storage, media libraries,
5.12 Facilities backup vaults. Physical security, logical security. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Uninterruptible power source (UPS). Disaster recovery sites.
Threats. Impact analysis. Contingency planning. Physical
5.13 Physical security 1 2 3 4 5 6
access. Continuity.
User identification / passwords. Authentication / authorization.
5.14 Logical security Logical access path. Security packages. Password management 1 2 3 4 5 6
/ password change procedures. Firewalls.
Performance metrics: defined, monitored, measured, compared
5.15 Performance metrics 1 2 3 4 5 6
to standards and reported.
Capital budget. Time / expense tracking. Accounting for
system costs. Costs identifiable and measurable. Costing
5.16 IT cost controls 1 2 3 4 5 6
procedures defined and implemented. Billing and charge back
procedures to user departments.
Effectiveness, efficiency, economy of operations.
Reliability of financial reporting. Effectiveness of
5.17 IT control objectives controls (design, operation). IT asset safeguarding. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Compliance with applicable laws and regulations. System
reliability. Data integrity.
5.18 Office software Presentation software. 1 2 3 4 5 6
204
5.21 Office software Spreadsheet. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Computer-assisted audit
5.23 Accounting packages and CAAT. 1 2 3 4 5 6
techniques (CAAT)
Computer-assisted audit
5.24 Professional research tools. 1 2 3 4 5 6
techniques (CAAT)
Computer-assisted audit
5.25 Analytical tools. 1 2 3 4 5 6
techniques (CAAT)
Computer-assisted audit
5.26 Pattern matching / recognition. 1 2 3 4 5 6
techniques (CAAT)
205
Topic 6
General means of
Web communication. E-mail. SMS / MMS. Digital signatures.
6.1 communication supported 1 2 3 4 5 6
Electronic files.
by IT
Privacy – appropriate use of information and relevant data
Risks in communication protection legislation. Secrecy. Copying data from one client
6.2 1 2 3 4 5 6
supported by IT and using it for the benefit of another. Use of USB sticks.
Forwarding data that is not checked for reliability.
Benefits of IT to Web searching. Use of certificates with digital signatures.
6.3 1 2 3 4 5 6
communication Internet tools: e-mail, web browser, FTP.
Local area networks / wide area networks. Wireless / mobile
Network components, systems. Distributed processing networks. Data transmission
6.4 1 2 3 4 5 6
configurations and designs options, public and private carrier services, etc. Data
communication and transmission devices / software.
206
A2
Beliefs and attitudes. IT risk strategy. Policy statements, oral
and written communications and decision-making reflecting
IT risk management the approach. Error, fraud, vandalism / abuse, business
7.1 1 2 3 4 5 6
approach interruption, competitive disadvantage, excessive cost,
deficient revenues, statutory sanctions, social costs. Regulatory
environment.
Acceptability of IT risk level. Relation IT risk / entity risk /
7.2 IT risk tolerance corporate risk / social risk. Qualitative / quantitative risk 1 2 3 4 5 6
approach strategies.
IT governance. Level of IT oversight in the organization.
7.3 IT oversight Knowledge of IT in the oversight board. Pro-active IT risk 1 2 3 4 5 6
detection systems.
Corporate IT social responsibility systems and reports.
Integrity, ethical values,
Corporate IT data integrity policy statements. Organization
7.4 and competence of the IT 1 2 3 4 5 6
structure of IT functions. IT corporate governance processes
personnel
and reports.
Segregation of IT functions. Authority structure.
Responsibility IT control structure:
Authority and
• Board, top management
7.5 responsibility, organization 1 2 3 4 5 6
• IT management and IT personnel
and development
• User departments, individuals
• Auditors.
Mission / Vision / Purpose. Relation entity strategy objectives /
7.6 IT strategic objectives 1 2 3 4 5 6
IT strategy objectives. IT goals / measurements.
IT operations objectives: effectiveness and efficiency of the IT
operations. IT reporting objectives: accurate and complete
7.7 IT objectives management information for IT purpose. IT compliance 1 2 3 4 5 6
objectives: conduct IT activities in accordance with relevant
laws and regulations.
207
7.8 Overlap of IT objectives Integrated framework of entities objectives. 1 2 3 4 5 6
208
IT top-level reviews. Direct IT functional or IT activity
7.18 Types of control activities management. Information processing. Manual controls. IT 1 2 3 4 5 6
performance indicators. Segregation of IT duties and functions.
Control design. Control procedures. Control over data
Controls over information integrity, privacy and security. Availability / continuity of
7.19 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems processing, disaster recovery planning and control. IS
processing / operations. Standards.
Investigation and feasibility study. Requirements analysis and
Systems acquisition / initial design. Detailed design specification / documentation.
7.20 1 2 3 4 5 6
development process Implementation. Systems maintenance and change. Project
management / planning / control methods and standards.
IT strategic and integrated systems. Integration with IT
operations. Depth and timeliness of IT information. IT
information quality. People, procedures, data, software,
infrastructure.
7.21 Information 1 2 3 4 5 6
Key processes: Identification and recording of all valid
transactions, Proper / timely classification of transactions,
Appropriate measurement / valuation, Appropriate timing /
cut-off, Appropriate presentation.
Business practices, codes of conduct, policy manuals, memos,
7.22 Communication etc. Documentation of systems, operations, user 1 2 3 4 5 6
responsibilities. Reporting relationships. Training, supervision.
Ongoing monitoring
7.23 Management. Regulators. 1 2 3 4 5 6
activities
Systems analysis and documentation (e.g., flowcharting
packages, review of program logic, etc.). Systems / program
testing (e.g., test data, integrated test facility, parallel
simulation, etc.). Data integrity testing (e.g., generalized audit
7.24 Separate evaluation 1 2 3 4 5 6
software, utilities, custom programs, sampling routines, etc.).
Problem solving aids (e.g., spreadsheet, database, on-line
databases, etc.). Administrative aids (e.g., word processing,
audit program generations, work paper generators, etc.).
209
A3
Identify relevant IT control framework to apply to the analysis
and evaluation of internal control. Acceptance testing. Identify
Suitable control criteria to
relevant IT control objectives to apply to the analysis and
8.1 analyze and evaluate 1 2 3 4 5 6
evaluation of internal control. Identify relevant layers of
controls
control to be included in the analysis and evaluation. Identify
areas of responsibility for identified control objectives.
Understand external regulatory controls. Analyze and evaluate
effectiveness of: Board of directors or audit committee
The IT internal control participation; Management philosophy and operating style;
8.2 1 2 3 4 5 6
environment Organizational structures; Assignment of authority and
responsibility; Management control methods; Human resource
policies and practices; Financial policies and practices.
Analyze and evaluate IT strategic objectives, IT objectives,
8.3 The selected IT objectives 1 2 3 4 5 6
overlap of IT objectives, selection of IT objectives.
Analyze and evaluate IT driving events factors and IT event
8.4 The identified IT events 1 2 3 4 5 6
identification techniques.
Analyze and evaluate process for:
• Identifying the entity's exposures to risks
• Estimating probability of loss
8.5 IT risk assessment 1 2 3 4 5 6
• Estimating monetary and non-monetary consequences
• Developing cost-effective preventive / detective / corrective
strategies to address risks.
The selected IT risk Analyze and evaluate effectiveness of response categories and
8.6 1 2 3 4 5 6
responses possible responses.
210
Analyze and evaluate IT control frameworks. Analyze and
evaluate effectiveness of Design and operation of entity's
information processing and communication activities in
support of organizational objectives; Controls over data
integrity, privacy and security; Controls over completeness,
accuracy, timeliness and authorization of systems processing;
Controls over systems availability, continuity of business
processing and disaster recovery planning; Systems acquisition
/ development methodology, including make / buy criteria;
8.7 The IT control activities 1 2 3 4 5 6
Standards for systems development project management and
control. Analyze and evaluate compliance with Standards for
systems investigation and feasibility study; Standards for
determination of user requirements and initial systems design;
Standards for systems design, selection, acquisition /
development; Standards for systems implementation, including
systems testing, training, data conversion and quality
assurance; Standards for systems maintenance and change
management.
Information and
Analyze and evaluate information processes and
8.8 communication in relation 1 2 3 4 5 6
communication processes.
to IT
Analyze and evaluate:
• Internal monitoring processes, including their effectiveness in
leading to changes in controls or control environment
The monitoring process • Performance review process
8.9 and actions taken in • Process for addressing non-compliance or deterioration in 1 2 3 4 5 6
relation to IT compliance identified by monitoring activities of management,
users, internal auditors, external auditors.
Apply appropriate computer-assisted audit techniques to
analyze and evaluate monitoring processes and activities.
211
Apply: Operating systems; Word processing software;
Spreadsheet software; Database software; Internet tools (E-
Appropriate IT systems /
mail, Web Browser, FTP, Other) software; Professional
8.10 tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
research tools; Business presentation software; Anti-virus and
accounting problems
other security software; Utility software and other relevant
software in a relevant accounting / business context.
Demonstrate understanding of Accounting packages; E-
business systems (ERP, CRM, and other business automation
Understanding of business
8.11 systems); Networks (LAN); Electronic commerce features 1 2 3 4 5 6
and accounting systems
(B2C and B2B models, encryption tools, digital signatures /
certificates, key management).
Ensure:
• Processing integrity of IT resources
The application of controls
8.12 • Security and safeguarding of IT resources 1 2 3 4 5 6
to personal systems
• Availability / continuity provisions (back-up and recovery)
for IT resources
212
IEG-11
Apply appropriate IT
9.1 systems / tools to business / Apply operating system (Windows, Other). 1 2 3 4 5 6
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply word processing software in a relevant accounting /
9.2 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
business context.
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply spreadsheet software in a relevant accounting / business
9.3 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
context.
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply database software in a relevant accounting / business
9.4 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
context.
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply Internet tools (E-mail, Web Browser, FTP, Other)
9.5 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
software in a relevant accounting / business context.
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply professional research tools in a relevant accounting /
9.6 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
business context.
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply business presentation software in a relevant accounting /
9.7 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
business context.
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply anti-virus and other security software in a relevant
9.8 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
accounting / business context.
accounting problems
Apply appropriate IT
Apply utility software and other relevant software in a relevant
9.9 systems / tools to business / 1 2 3 4 5 6
accounting / business context.
accounting problems
Demonstrate understanding
9.10 of business and accounting Demonstrate understanding of accounting packages. 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems
213
Demonstrate understanding
Demonstrate understanding of e-business systems (ERP, CRM,
9.11 of business and accounting 1 2 3 4 5 6
and other business automation systems).
systems
Demonstrate understanding
9.12 of business and accounting Demonstrate understanding of networks (LAN). 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems
Demonstrate understanding Demonstrate understanding of electronic commerce features
9.13 of business and accounting (B2C and B2B models, encryption tools, digital signatures / 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems certificates, key management).
Ensure processing integrity of IT resources. Ensure security
Apply controls to personal
9.14 and safeguarding of IT resources. Ensure availability / 1 2 3 4 5 6
system
continuity provisions (back-up and recovery) for IT resources
214
A4
Understand enterprise strategy and business issues and related
IT risks and opportunities. Develop an IT strategic plan to
support the entity’s business plan. Align / integrate IT strategic
Managing an entity’s IT
10.1 plan with entity’s business / program objectives and success 1 2 3 4 5 6
strategy
factors. Translate strategic business / program objectives into
operating principles for IT planning. Facilitate business
process enablement through the use of IT.
Define job functions and responsibilities of the IT department.
Managing an IT Define organization chart / reporting relationships of the IT
10.2 1 2 3 4 5 6
organization department. Define and implement process for recruiting,
staffing, personnel development and performance evaluation.
Measure, analyze and evaluate consistency and compatibility
of system components. Analyze, evaluate and plan IT capacity.
Analyze and evaluate impact of IT on management, jobs and
office procedures. Define / maintain data / information
architecture. Acquire / develop / maintain responsive IT
infrastructure (hardware, facilities, communication networks).
Acquire / develop / maintain software (systems, applications,
Managing IT operations’
10.3 utilities). Plan and schedule system operations priorities and 1 2 3 4 5 6
effectiveness and efficiency
allocate resources. Measure, analyze and evaluate IS
effectiveness and productivity enhancement. Measure, analyze
and evaluate IT function performance, productivity and service
quality, quality assurance processes, continuous improvement.
Monitor outsourced services (ISPs, ASPs, etc.) and inter-
organizational computing such as EDI and e-commerce
services.
Maintaining financial Develop capital budget. Account for system costs. Implement
10.4 1 2 3 4 5 6
control over IT systems for tracking costs. Monitor expenses.
215
Implement physical and logical safeguards for hardware,
facilities, software and information. Implement system and
data security (i.e., physical, logical / electronic access
controls). Implement system availability and business
10.5 Managing IT controls 1 2 3 4 5 6
continuity controls (back-up / recovery, disaster planning).
Implement system processing integrity (i.e., completeness,
accuracy, timeliness and authorization) controls. Implement
data integrity, privacy and confidentiality controls.
Identify and evaluate appropriate development / acquisition
alternatives such as in-house / outsourcing. Implement and
monitor system acquisition / development and implementation
standards. Determine and provide system project staffing
Managing systems requirements and budgets. Implement project management
10.6 acquisition, development processes to manage and monitor system projects. Use 1 2 3 4 5 6
and implementation appropriate methodologies to identify, analyze, evaluate and
select appropriate supplier(s) and system(s). Manage
expectations by communicating system acquisition /
development plans and status to users, top management /
steering committee.
Manage technology diffusion. Implement and manage
information center, help desk; standards and controls
applicable to IS maintenance activities; version management;
Managing systems change
10.7 process for migrating systems from legacy to state of the art; 1 2 3 4 5 6
and problem management
emergency change controls; testing and quality assurance for
all system changes. Manage custody of systems, change
authorization.
216
A5
Identify IT assurance service requirements and opportunities.
Analyze / evaluate and advise on entity's IT assurance needs
based on legal, ethical, professional standards and other
requirements and best practices. Identify nature of particular IT
assurance engagement or project and standards and other
requirements governing the engagement. Analyze and decide
whether to accept the IT assurance engagement or project.
Define the scope of the IT assurance engagement or project.
Planning systems Identify, analyze and evaluate risk factors and business issues
11.1 1 2 3 4 5 6
evaluation affecting the IT assurance engagement or project and their
implications. Define level / frequency of system errors, flaws
and failures that are deemed significant / material. Design
effective and efficient verification procedures to meet
evaluation objectives while complying with professional
standards. Assign and schedule staff with appropriate IT skills,
including: IT specialist personnel, to perform the IT assurance
engagement or project. Conclude on evaluation strategy.
Develop an evaluation plan.
Collaborate with colleagues, client and others, including IT
specialist personnel. Perform planned procedures, exercising
required controls over their execution. Evaluate general IT
controls, application controls. Evaluate relationship between
11.2 Evaluating systems user controls / application controls and IT general controls. 1 2 3 4 5 6
Adjust planned procedures for changes in circumstances.
Document procedures and their findings. Analyze and evaluate
evidence / results of procedures. Perform supervision, review
and quality assurance procedures.
217
Prepare appropriate types of communication, including verbal
communication, "seal" or printed report. Present
Communicating results of
communication verbally, electronically or in printed format to
11.3 evaluations and following- 1 2 3 4 5 6
client or other intended recipients. Update communication as
up
frequently as required (e.g., refresh the "seal" or report posted
on a web site). Follow up as required.
218
A6
Facilitate the development of the entity’s strategic vision for
IT. Identify stakeholders and their requirements. Assess the
business impact of entity’s strategic vision for IT on the entity,
its customers, suppliers and employees. Facilitate
communication between users, technologists and management.
Analyzing and evaluating Analyze, evaluate and design information architecture (i.e.,
the role of information in role of databases and database management systems including
12.1 1 2 3 4 5 6
the entity’s business knowledge management systems, data warehouses). Analyze,
processes and organization evaluate and design entity’s business processes. Analyze
framework of control. Analyze relations between user controls
/ application controls / general IT controls. Analyze, evaluate
and design entity’s system development life cycle (SDLC)
phases, tasks. Analyze and evaluate system risks and
opportunities. Analyze, evaluate and design controls.
Analyze and evaluate project characteristics and risks.
Organize project into phases and tasks corresponding to
relevant stages of the systems development life cycle. Identify
appropriate staff and other resources and assign to project
phases and tasks. Assign time, expense and other resource
Applying project
12.2 budgets to project phases and tasks. Apply appropriate 1 2 3 4 5 6
management methods
standards and controls to the project phases and tasks. Identify
required project documentation and assign responsibility for its
preparation. Monitor project activities for compliance with
budgets, standards, controls and documentation requirements
and take corrective action when required.
Perform systems investigation. Identify business process
Applying systems
integration / re-engineering opportunities. Research relevant
12.3 investigation and project 1 2 3 4 5 6
technology options. Prepare feasibility study and evaluate
initiation methods
project risks.
219
Apply information requirements elicitation methods.
Document information requirements (including control
Applying user requirements
requirements). Facilitate communication of information
12.4 determination and initial 1 2 3 4 5 6
requirements between team members, users, management.
design methods
Analyze requirements and perform initial design (including
controls).
Prepare and document detailed design specifications. Evaluate
and acquire infrastructure. Evaluate and acquire / develop
Applying detailed systems required system, application and utility software. Select
12.5 design and acquisition / suppliers and service providers. Prepare hardware contracts, 1 2 3 4 5 6
development methods facilities leases, software licenses, network service level
agreements in consultation with legal advisors. Prepare
documentation and operations manuals.
Prepare implementation plan. Supervise installation /
deployment of system components. Develop user / operator
Applying systems procedures and controls and recruit, train personnel. Test
12.6 1 2 3 4 5 6
implementation methods (verify and validate) system against specifications and
requirements. Convert system, balance pre-post data, and start-
up. Perform post-implementation review.
Maintain IT infrastructure; software and control versions.
Applying systems Maintain personnel competencies through hiring and training.
12.7 maintenance and change Maintain IT standards and controls. Maintain information 1 2 3 4 5 6
management methods architecture. Maintain business processes. Test all systems
changes.
220
A7
Identify, analyze and evaluate the effects of IT on an entity’s
business, considering relevant current issues and
(technological) developments. Understand the complexity of
the IT environments. Assign and schedule staff with
appropriate IT skills, including IT specialist personnel, to
Evaluating an entity’s
analyze IT controls at entity level. Analyze risks and controls
13.1 overall IT control 1 2 3 4 5 6
at entity level to Align IT with entity’s business strategy;
environment
Manage the IT organization; Manage IT operations; Manage
IT controls; Manage systems acquisition; Development and
implementation; Manage systems change and problem
management. Evaluating an entity’s overall IT control
environment. Conclude on preliminary audit strategy.
Identify business processes, significant flows of transactions,
significant risks and relevant user controls / application
controls. Identify the supporting IT infrastructure and general
Planning financial
IT controls. Design test procedures on user controls /
13.2 accounting and reporting 1 2 3 4 5 6
application controls / IT general controls. Planning financial
systems evaluation
accounting and reporting systems evaluation. Assign and
schedule staff with appropriate IT skills, including IT specialist
personnel, to test general IT controls and application controls.
Perform planned procedures, exercising required controls over
their execution. Evaluate general IT controls and application
controls. Evaluate relations between user controls / application
Evaluating financial controls and IT general controls. Adjust planned procedures for
13.3 accounting and reporting changes in circumstances. Document procedures and their 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems findings. Analyze and evaluate evidence / results of
procedures. Evaluating financial accounting and reporting
systems. Perform supervision, review and quality assurance
procedures.
221
Prepare appropriate types of communication, including verbal
Communicating results of
communication and / or printed report. Conclude on final audit
13.4 evaluations and following- 1 2 3 4 5 6
strategy. Communicating results of evaluations and following-
up
up. Follow up as required.
222
SLO-5
Select factors that must be considered when developing
controls for information systems. Describe the control
environment and plan to meet control objectives. Identify and
Internal control in compare general controls and application controls for
14.1 accounting / business information systems. Assess the effectiveness and efficiency of 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems control compliance monitoring. Evaluate and design internal
control systems. Demonstrate an understanding of the
contribution that internal controls make to achieving
organisational objectives, that is, their value-adding role.
Describe database management systems and identify the
advantages of different types of database system. Define the
requirements of a database accounting system. Describe the
Standards and practices for
process and documentation requirements of the systems
14.2 accounting / business 1 2 3 4 5 6
development life cycle (SDLC). Describe the system
systems
verification and validation process. Explain how emerging
technologies influence the design of accounting information
systems.
Discuss strategic considerations involved in planning
information systems, including an appreciation of the
importance of project management. Demonstrate an awareness
Management of IT
of security, back-up, and recovery procedures. Evaluate
14.3 adoption, implementation 1 2 3 4 5 6
development acquisition alternatives. Discuss systems
and use
maintenance and control policies. Discuss the importance of
ensuring end user support. Explain the principles of managing
change.
Describe the impact of legal, ethical, and auditing influences
Evaluation of computer- on AIS. Describe evaluation objectives, methods, and
14.4 based accounting / business techniques. Document a system using flow charts and a control 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems matrix. Discuss the effects of rapid change on evaluation of
existing systems.
223
Demonstrate the theoretical application of information systems
technology e.g. database design or project management
14.5 Practical use of technology 1 2 3 4 5 6
implementation of AIS. Apply information systems /
technology to solving business / accounting problems.
224
Bain et al (2002)
Introduction to transaction
15.2 1 2 3 4 5 6
processing systems
225
15.14 Data modeling techniques 1 2 3 4 5 6
System documentation
15.15 1 2 3 4 5 6
techniques
Traditional systems
15.17 1 2 3 4 5 6
analysis and design
Event-based systems
15.18 1 2 3 4 5 6
architecture
Strategic information
15.25 1 2 3 4 5 6
systems
Expert Systems, Decision Support Systems, Artificial
15.26 Intelligent systems Intelligence, Executive Information Systems, Intelligent 1 2 3 4 5 6
agents.
15.27 Programming 1 2 3 4 5 6
226
15.28 IT audit 1 2 3 4 5 6
15.29 Ethics 1 2 3 4 5 6
227
Wessels (2005)
Apply operating systems and utility software in a business /
16.1 Operating systems 1 2 3 4 5 6
accounting context.
Apply word processing software in a relevant accounting /
16.2 Word processing 1 2 3 4 5 6
business context.
Apply spreadsheet software in a relevant accounting / business
16.3 Spreadsheets 1 2 3 4 5 6
context.
Apply presentation software in a relevant accounting / business
16.4 Presentation software 1 2 3 4 5 6
context.
Apply Internet tools (e-mail, web browser) in a relevant
16.5 Internet tools 1 2 3 4 5 6
accounting / business context.
Apply professional research tools in a relevant accounting /
16.6 Research tools 1 2 3 4 5 6
business context.
Apply image processing software in a relevant accounting /
16.7 Image processing software 1 2 3 4 5 6
business context.
Tax return preparation Ability to use tax return preparation software to capture and
16.11 1 2 3 4 5 6
software record relevant information.
Ability to use time management and billing systems that assist
Time management and
16.12 the professional in capturing, managing, billing and reporting 1 2 3 4 5 6
billing systems
time spent on professional duties.
228
Ability to work with knowledge work systems such as
groupware, workflow systems, expert systems, etc. to aid
16.13 Knowledge work systems 1 2 3 4 5 6
accountants in the creation, integration and communication of
knowledge.
Ability to use software that can generate trial balances and lead
16.14 Electronic working papers 1 2 3 4 5 6
schedules for the recording of evidence in the audit.
Ability to use audit software to access client computer files,
16.15 Audit software 1 2 3 4 5 6
extract relevant data and perform audit functions.
Ability to generate and use test data to test a computer
16.16 Test data 1 2 3 4 5 6
application.
Ability to create simulation modules in order to evaluate the
16.17 Simulation software 1 2 3 4 5 6
logic of a computer application.
Flowcharting / data Ability to use software that uses the source code version of an
16.18 1 2 3 4 5 6
modeling application to produce flowcharts of the program logic.
Ability to use embedded audit modules (including real-time
16.19 Audit module audit modules) that are incorporated into an application 1 2 3 4 5 6
program.
Computer-aided systems Ability to use computer-aided systems engineering tools in
16.20 1 2 3 4 5 6
engineering tools designing new accounting systems or spreadsheet modules.
Ability to function in a cooperative client / server environment
16.21 Client / server environment 1 2 3 4 5 6
using local area networks.
Ability to perform EDI (traditional and web-based)
16.22 Electronic data interchange 1 2 3 4 5 6
transactions.
Ability to understand digital communications (including
16.23 Digital communications 1 2 3 4 5 6
wireless communications).
Ability to understand various network configurations (internal
16.24 Network configurations 1 2 3 4 5 6
and external).
Application service Ability to understand the issues around the management of
16.25 1 2 3 4 5 6
providers application service providers.
Ability to understand the issues around the management of
16.26 Internet service providers 1 2 3 4 5 6
internet service providers.
229
Ability to understand the use of anti-virus software to protect
16.27 Anti-virus software 1 2 3 4 5 6
computer systems from infection.
Ability to understand the use of encryption software to change
16.28 Encryption software 1 2 3 4 5 6
data, using some type of encoding / decoding algorithm.
Firewall software / Ability to understand the use of security technology to enforce
16.29 1 2 3 4 5 6
hardware an access control policy between networks.
Ability to understand the use of software and devices to
16.30 User authentication 1 2 3 4 5 6
identify systems users.
Intrusion detection and Ability to understand the use of security technology to identify
16.31 1 2 3 4 5 6
monitoring unauthorized requests for services.
Ability to understand the use of technology for back-up and
16.32 Back-up and recovery 1 2 3 4 5 6
recovery procedures to ensure continuity of IT services.
Ability to understand the use of programmed modules that are
16.33 Agent technologies given certain levels of authority and autonomy to act on behalf 1 2 3 4 5 6
of a supervisor.
Data warehousing and data Ability to understand the use of data warehousing and
16.34 1 2 3 4 5 6
mining extracting trends and patterns using data mining techniques.
230
Others
17.1 Accounting software Use of accounting software such as MYOB or Great Plains. 1 2 3 4 5 6
231
Appendix 2 Mean scores from the first and second round of Phase I
232
16.11 Tax return preparation software 4.8 4.8
17.2 ERP systems (SAP, Oracle) 4.8 4.8
Apply appropriate IT systems / tools to business / accounting
9.8 4.7 4.8
problems (Anti-virus software)
15.22 Communication systems and technology 4.7 4.8
Apply appropriate IT systems / tools to business / accounting
9.4 4.7 4.7
problems (Database software)
15.4 Purchasing cycle 4.7 4.7
16.12 Time management and billing systems 4.7 4.7
16.14 Electronic working papers 4.7 4.7
17.6 Database concepts 4.7 4.7
3.3 Effectiveness of the entity’s business processes 4.5 4.7
15.7 HR / Payroll cycle 4.5 4.7
5.18 Office software (Presentation software) 4.3 4.7
15.16 End user computing 4.7 4.5
8.11 Understanding of business and accounting systems 4.5 4.5
15.2 Introduction to transaction processing systems 4.5 4.5
15.21 Computer fraud 4.5 4.5
15.28 IT audit 4.5 4.5
Apply appropriate IT systems / tools to business / accounting
9.7 4.3 4.5
problems (Presentation software)
6.3 Benefits of IT to communication 4.2 4.5
16.15 Audit software 4.3 4.3
9.14 Apply controls to personal system 4.2 4.3
16.27 Anti-virus software 4.2 4.3
5.25 Computer-assisted audit techniques (CAAT) (Analytical tools) 4.2 4.2
8.12 The application of controls to personal systems 4.2 4.2
16.1 Operating systems 4.2 4.2
16.6 Research tools 4.2 4.2
7.19 Controls over information systems 4.0 4.2
16.8 Database software 4.0 4.2
16.22 Electronic data interchange 4.0 4.2
2.6 Attributes of information 3.8 4.2
Computer-assisted audit techniques (CAAT) (Accounting
5.23 4.0 4.0
packages and CAAT)
17.3 Documentation tools (System flowcharts) 4.0 4.0
233
17.4 Documentation tools (Document flowcharts) 4.0 4.0
17.5 Documentation tools (Data flow diagrams) 4.0 4.0
Apply appropriate IT systems / tools to business / accounting
9.9 3.8 4.0
problems (Utility software)
Demonstrate understanding of business and accounting systems
9.13 3.8 4.0
(e-commerce)
16.29 Firewall software / hardware 3.8 4.0
16.32 Back-up and recovery 3.8 4.0
15.12 Database management systems 4.2 3.8
2.13 Input / output devices 4.0 3.8
2.7 Role of information within business 3.8 3.8
5.14 Logical security 3.8 3.8
7.17 IT control objectives 3.8 3.8
Apply appropriate IT systems / tools to business / accounting
9.6 3.8 3.8
problems (Professional research tools)
16.7 Image processing software 3.8 3.8
15.14 Data modeling techniques 3.7 3.8
15.19 Business process modeling 3.7 3.8
17.8 Database design (Access) 3.7 3.8
2.9 Transaction processing phases 4.0 3.7
2.19 Security software 3.8 3.7
2.46 Organization 3.7 3.7
Computer-assisted audit techniques (CAAT) (Pattern matching /
5.26 3.7 3.7
recognition)
15.5 Production cycle 3.7 3.7
16.30 User authentication 3.7 3.7
17.9 Database use (Database query language) 3.7 3.7
7.5 Authority and responsibility, organization and development 3.5 3.7
8.7 The IT control activities 3.5 3.7
Demonstrate understanding of business and accounting systems
9.12 3.5 3.7
(LAN)
14.4 Evaluation of computer-based accounting / business systems 3.5 3.7
15.15 System documentation techniques 3.5 3.7
2.44 Job functions 3.3 3.7
15.24 Enterprise-wide systems 3.8 3.5
15.9 General software issues 3.7 3.5
15.10 Database / file systems architecture 3.7 3.5
234
16.31 Intrusion detection and monitoring 3.7 3.5
3.4 Framework of controls 3.5 3.5
7.22 Communication 3.5 3.5
14.3 Management of IT adoption, implementation and use 3.5 3.5
15.13 Structured Query Language 3.5 3.5
15.30 International issues 3.5 3.5
16.16 Test data 3.5 3.5
3.6 Applications of Internet-commerce 3.3 3.5
4.4 Investigation 3.3 3.5
7.1 IT risk management approach 3.3 3.5
7.18 Types of control activities 3.3 3.5
13.4 Communicating results of evaluations and following-up 3.3 3.5
5.17 IT control objectives 3.2 3.5
7.12 IT risk categories 3.2 3.5
14.1 Internal control in accounting / business systems 3.2 3.5
14.2 Standards and practices for accounting / business systems 3.2 3.5
16.28 Encryption software 3.2 3.5
7.7 IT objectives 3.0 3.5
2.10 Processing modes 3.8 3.3
15.11 File organization and access 3.5 3.3
16.23 Digital communications 3.5 3.3
2.5 Nature and types of information 3.3 3.3
3.2 Business models 3.3 3.3
Computer-assisted audit techniques (CAAT) (Professional
5.24 3.3 3.3
research tools)
7.6 IT strategic objectives 3.3 3.3
13.2 Planning financial accounting and reporting systems evaluation 3.3 3.3
14.5 Practical use of technology 3.3 3.3
15.8 General hardware issues 3.3 3.3
15.25 Strategic information systems 3.3 3.3
16.13 Knowledge work systems 3.3 3.3
16.21 Client / server environment 3.3 3.3
16.34 Data warehousing and data mining 3.3 3.3
1.8 Outcome measurement 3.2 3.3
235
2.8 Types of business systems 3.2 3.3
2.43 Document management 3.2 3.3
3.7 Enterprise systems 3.2 3.3
6.4 Network components, configurations and designs 3.2 3.3
7.2 IT risk tolerance 3.2 3.3
8.8 Information and communication in relation to IT 3.2 3.3
15.23 Client / server and networking 3.2 3.3
5.13 Physical security 2.8 3.3
16.26 Internet service providers 3.5 3.2
1.7 Framework for IT governance 3.3 3.2
2.1 Nature and types of systems 3.3 3.2
2.20 Utility software 3.3 3.2
1.3 Current status of entity’s use of IT to support business strategies 3.2 3.2
8.1 Suitable control criteria to analyze and evaluate controls 3.2 3.2
15.17 Traditional systems analysis and design 3.2 3.2
15.26 Intelligent systems 3.2 3.2
16.19 Audit module 3.2 3.2
4.23 Risk management approach on the project 3.0 3.2
8.2 The IT internal control environment 3.0 3.2
8.5 IT risk assessment 3.0 3.2
13.3 Evaluating financial accounting and reporting systems 2.8 3.2
1.1 Internal and external business issues 3.3 3.0
5.1 IT policies, procedures and methodologies 3.0 3.0
7.10 IT risk factors 3.0 3.0
12.3 Applying systems investigation and project initiation methods 3.0 3.0
16.25 Application service providers 3.0 3.0
16.33 Agent technologies 3.0 3.0
4.18 Post-implementation review 2.8 3.0
5.7 Asset management and control 2.8 3.0
7.21 Information 2.8 3.0
4.9 Control requirements 2.7 3.0
5.6 Asset life cycle 2.7 3.0
2.3 Control and feedback in systems 3.0 2.8
236
7.15 Possible responses 3.0 2.8
2.2 Information system architectures 2.8 2.8
4.5 Feasibility Study 2.8 2.8
4.6 User requirements elicitation 2.8 2.8
5.8 Segregation of environments 2.8 2.8
7.4 Integrity, ethical values, and competence of the IT personnel 2.8 2.8
7.9 Selection of IT objectives 2.8 2.8
7.24 Separate evaluation 2.8 2.8
16.20 Computer-aided systems engineering tools 2.8 2.8
16.24 Network configurations 2.8 2.8
3.5 Barriers and enablers 2.7 2.8
5.12 Facilities 2.7 2.8
8.6 The selected IT risk responses 2.7 2.8
8.9 The monitoring process and actions taken in relation to IT 2.7 2.8
11.3 Communicating results of evaluations and following-up 2.3 2.8
2.12 Processing units 3.0 2.7
2.24 Data management systems 3.0 2.7
2.17 Operating systems 2.8 2.7
2.18 Communications systems 2.8 2.7
2.25 General application software 2.8 2.7
2.38 Data structures and file organization 2.8 2.7
Applying user requirements determination and initial design
12.4 2.8 2.7
methods
2.32 Internet protocols (HTTP) 2.7 2.7
2.42 Database administration 2.7 2.7
4.14 Systems implementation plan 2.7 2.7
5.11 Management of end-user computing 2.7 2.7
5.16 IT cost controls 2.7 2.7
7.23 Ongoing monitoring activities 2.7 2.7
10.1 Managing an entity’s IT strategy 2.7 2.7
10.5 Managing IT controls 2.7 2.7
1.2 Factors that impact IT 2.5 2.7
2.35 Internet protocols (XBRL) 2.5 2.7
4.24 Execute the project plan 2.5 2.7
237
8.3 The selected IT objectives 2.5 2.7
10.4 Maintaining financial control over IT 2.5 2.7
11.1 Planning systems evaluation 2.5 2.7
11.2 Evaluating systems 2.5 2.7
2.33 Internet protocols (HTML) 2.3 2.7
1.4 IT risks and opportunities 2.8 2.5
2.16 Components of a software configuration 2.8 2.5
2.14 Data communication devices 2.7 2.5
2.15 Physical storage devices 2.7 2.5
15.18 Event-based systems architecture 2.7 2.5
Monitoring service level performance against service level
3.1 2.5 2.5
agreements
4.7 System analysis / design tools and techniques 2.5 2.5
15.27 Programming 2.5 2.5
16.17 Simulation software 2.5 2.5
16.18 Flowcharting / data modeling 2.5 2.5
17.7 Database design (Using REA diagrams) 2.5 2.5
2.31 Internet protocols (FTP) 2.3 2.5
2.34 Internet protocols (XML) 2.3 2.5
2.41 Database management systems features, functions, architectures 2.3 2.5
4.3 Standards, methods and controls 2.3 2.5
4.16 Acceptance testing 2.3 2.5
4.25 Control the project 2.3 2.5
5.2 IT human resource policies 2.3 2.5
7.3 IT oversight 2.3 2.5
12.2 Applying project management methods 2.3 2.5
13.1 Evaluating an entity’s overall IT control environment 2.3 2.5
10.2 Managing an IT organization 2.2 2.5
Resources management processes used to maintain
5.3 2.0 2.5
organizational efficiencies
2.26 E-business enabling software 2.7 2.3
7.8 Overlap of IT objectives 2.6 2.3
1.5 Envision future status of the entity’s system 2.3 2.3
2.45 Recruiting / developing IT human resources 2.3 2.3
4.17 Systems conversion / changeover 2.3 2.3
238
4.20 Change controls 2.3 2.3
5.9 Change control techniques 2.3 2.3
7.16 IT control frameworks 2.3 2.3
7.20 Systems acquisition / development process 2.3 2.3
1.6 Align future IT strategy with business strategy 2.2 2.3
2.23 Library management systems 2.2 2.3
4.12 Systems design 2.2 2.3
4.13 Documentation 2.2 2.3
5.10 Problem management 2.2 2.3
7.14 Response categories 2.2 2.3
10.3 Managing IT operations’ effectiveness and efficiency 2.2 2.3
10.7 Managing systems change and problem management 2.2 2.3
Analyzing and evaluating the role of information in the entity’s
12.1 2.2 2.3
business processes and organization
2.4 Systems development life cycle 2.2 2.2
2.40 Types of data files 2.2 2.2
4.8 Process design, data organization, software requirements 2.2 2.2
4.26 Complete the project 2.2 2.2
Relationship of infrastructure to applications and user
5.4 2.2 2.2
requirements
7.13 Assessment techniques 2.2 2.2
12.6 Applying systems implementation methods 2.2 2.2
2.36 Internet protocols (IRC) 2.0 2.2
10.6 Managing systems acquisition, development and implementation 2.0 2.2
4.2 Acquisition / development phases 2.2 2.0
8.4 The identified IT events 2.2 2.0
5.5 Monitoring service provider activities 2.0 2.0
Applying detailed systems design and acquisition / development
12.5 2.0 2.0
methods
12.7 Applying systems maintenance and change management methods 2.0 2.0
4.19 Maintenance standards 2.0 1.8
2.22 Programming aids, interactive programming software 1.8 1.8
2.30 Internet protocols (DNS) 1.8 1.8
2.37 Standard-setting organizations 1.8 1.8
4.15 Install / deploy systems 1.8 1.8
239
2.29 Internet protocols (URL) 2.2 1.7
2.27 Common standards 2.0 1.7
4.1 System acquisition / development approaches 1.8 1.7
5.15 Performance metrics 1.8 1.7
7.11 IT event identification techniques 1.8 1.7
4.10 Infrastructure and software services 1.7 1.7
4.21 Initiate the project 1.7 1.7
4.22 Plan the project 1.7 1.7
2.28 Internet protocols (Packet switching) 1.7 1.5
2.39 Access methods 1.7 1.5
2.21 Programming languages / compilers 1.5 1.5
4.11 Software development 1.5 1.5
240
Appendix 3 Questionnaire for Phase II
Thank you for participating in this research which is about the information technology
knowledge and skills required by accounting graduates in New Zealand. IT is developing
at a rapid pace. It is important that we know which IT knowledge and skills are relevant
and which ones are not for today’s accounting graduates. With this knowledge, accounting
educators can design effective and up-to-date IT content in accounting major programmes
to prepare graduates for the workplace.
Please complete Section I and II of this questionnaire before the interview. I will collect
the completed questionnaire from you when we meet for the interview.
SECTION I
1. What is your position title?
Chief Financial Officer / Finance Director / Financial Controller [1]
Chief Accountant / Manager of Accounting Department [2]
Accounting Assistant / Accounting Clerk [3]
Audit Manager / Chief Audit Officer [4]
Internal Auditor [5]
Others _______________________________[6]
______________________________
3. What is the position title of the person responsible for IT in your company?
______________________________
241
4. Which of the following industry is your company engaged in?
Manufacturing [1]
Retail / Trading [2]
Logistics / Distribution / Shipping / Transportation / Warehousing [3]
Public Accounting / Audit firm [4]
Public Solicitors / Law firm [5]
Financial services / Banking / Insurance [6]
Hospitality / Tourism / Entertainment [7]
Publishing / News / Media [8]
Telecommunications [9]
Information Technology [10]
Real Estate / Property Management [11]
Health care [12]
Education [13]
Government [14]
Non-profit organisation [15]
Others ______________________________[16]
6. How many staff members are employed in the accounting / audit department?
less than 5 [1] 5 to 10 [2]
10 to 20 [3] 20 and above [4]
242
7. How many staff members are employed in the IT department?
less than 5 [1] 5 to 10 [2]
10 to 20 [3] 20 and above [4]
8. How many years have you been working in the accounting profession?
less than 2 years [1] 2 to 5 years [2]
5 to 10 years [3] 10 to 20 years [4]
Over 20 years [5]
243
SECTION II
For each of the following questions, please circle the number that best describes your
opinion relating to the IT knowledge and skills requirements of an accounting graduate in
his / her first five years of employment in an accounting capacity.
244
Appendix 4 Interview main points
245
J09 Excel useful functions, sub-total, sorting, filtering, hide rows, columns, freeze panes
MYOB enterprise
Need to understand and interpret numbers rather than just using formulas
Good to have some overlaps in some topics between courses
Consider more connection between courses
Once you know how to use one package, others are similar
You don’t want to come out from your studies with too many things that you don’t need
because you will forget them anyway
J10 Excel – VLOOKUP, matching and indexing, pivot tables, NPV, graphs and charts
Spreadsheet is needed for everything
Great importance placed in database
Research tools
AIS course did not help
Tertiary education did not have real life examples
J11 Not trained as an accountant
Self trained through the CIMA qualification
More on management accountant role
Financial accounts/reports/tax done by CA firm
People don’t know how important database concept is for accounting
Wish list if going back to Uni – background in accounting, Excel, Access, Open Office
software
Emphasized correct input otherwise Garbage-in-Garbage-out
Accountants need presentation skills
J12 Excel – macros not that scary, goal seek
Analytical methods important before Excel
J13 Good Excel knowledge before start work – VLOOKUP, IF, Solver, Goal Seek
Like to learn macros and SQL
Learn one accounting package, understand the flow and others will be the same
SDLC very useful
Use procedure flowcharts
Accountants are very much involved in IT
As you progress, the conceptual and strategic knowledge learned from school starts to
become useful
Keep AIS compulsory
J14 Most important is MYOB Accountant’s Office software
Excel as user of a complex working paper worksheet
Like to understand sub-ledgers and accounting cycles instead of just journal entries
Like to know more about different commercial software packages available to be able
to advise clients
The AIS course is too stretched. It could be shortened quite a lot
S01 Excel absolutely used extensively
Web-site is the front window of the company
Research is important
Someone develops an Access database but they fall apart after he’s left
Better for programmers to learn basic accounting
Degree students have the power to think. They have the X factor which gives them the
ability to research and present them, must be from doing assignments and deadlines,
etc.
Quality of accounting graduates has improved, happy with their ability
246
S02 Don’t believe graduates can be trained on using audit software
Excel is very important
If they want improvement, then learn database interrogation
Just get the general IT knowledge (including accounting systems knowledge) and learn
on the job
People and communications skills (soft skills) are important
Never met a graduate without necessary IT skills at that level
If they have too much IT skills, not helpful with their area of distinction
S03 Most frequent contact is ecommerce – about design and security of Internet based
applications for clients
90% is learned on the job
It is not absolutely necessary for a person to have studied accounting as major to be
hired by PWC in the Audit Department
Important attributes from Uni are personal and communication skills and self-
motivation
Cannot remember REA
Understanding what is a database is important but not how to design and model a
database
SDLC is quite important
IT control frameworks are important
SOX not relevant for NZ
More training on Excel because no matter what you do, you use it on a regular basis
S04 University provides only 10% of what PWC needs in specialized areas such as IT
security
Spreadsheet is bread and butter
Understanding of business systems/ accounting cycles should be in detail
COSO more important
Actual work of the team involves ensuring proper authorization of function in IT
systems of clients
Excel training is a bit lacking
pivot tables, VLOOKUP, nested IF,
Macro not needed
S05 Understand, understand, understand accounting systems, how they work
Most are essential in the sense that they need to be understood, not actually able to use
everything
Excel at medium level, but trust data/reports from main computer systems rather than
Excel reports
Awareness of many IT topics to get started in the graduates job, employers will train
them anyway
S06 Use accounting software on a daily basis.
Need to understand how to filter data.
Graphs and pivot tables in Excel
Important to understand accounting cycles
Data flow diagrams not relevant
Don’t remember REA diagrams
Need to understand SOX
Internal control is important
Should have used Access instead of Excel for some applications
S07 Pivot table, IF functions in Excel
Understand accounting systems
Internal control very relevant
Need to know how to use Research tools
247
S08 This is from a review of the hand written notes because the participant did not agree to
have voice recording.
248
Appendix 5 Summary of interview responses
249
Participant JIQ01 JIQ02
J07 Accounting software and spreadsheet Awareness of IT control concepts
used daily. Spreadsheets are pre- needed.
designed by company; use of
spreadsheet is for input only, such as
electronic working papers, tax returns
and time sheets. Frequent use of
Internet for looking up information
mostly from IRD web site. Word
processor used frequently.
J08 Accounting software and spreadsheet Flowchart is not required.
used daily. Need to use ‘sub-total’
function in spreadsheets. Company
provides training on spreadsheet as it
is important. Understanding
accounting systems and tax return
software is important.
J09 Accounting software and spreadsheet Presentation software less important
used daily. Functions used in but needed. There is no need to build a
spreadsheet include filtering, sorting, database but need to know how to get
sub-total, IF and hide rows or columns. information from it. Word processing
Internet used frequently to find basics only. Flowcharts not used in
information from IRD web site. Ethics work.
is important. Research skills are also
important.
J10 Accounting software and spreadsheet Presentation software used
used daily. Knowledge of accounting occasionally.
systems essential in carrying out daily
work. Frequent use of Internet for
finding information.
J11 Accounting software and spreadsheet Word processing and flowcharts
used daily. Need IT control concept on needed occasionally.
a daily basis.
J12 Accounting software, spreadsheet and Word processing used regularly but
e-mail used daily. Ethics is important. not daily. Data backup not required as
Goal-seek function used in it is done by IT supplier. Flowchart
spreadsheets. knowledge needed occasionally. Need
to be aware of IT controls but do not
think accountants need to implement
them.
J13 Spreadsheet and accounting software Audit software not needed. Occasional
used daily. Spreadsheet functions use of presentation software and word
include LOOKUP, IF, SOLVER, processing.
SEEK, etc. Document flowchart also
used frequently. IT control is an
important concept and well as the use
of Internet to do research.
250
Participant JIQ01 JIQ02
J14 Accounting software, e-mail and Tax return software used periodically.
electronic working paper (spreadsheet) Knowledge of flowcharts is useful
used daily. Knowing how to search for when learning new software.
information is important. Ethical Presentation software used
standard is important. Spreadsheet skill occasionally.
is important although not required to
develop complex spreadsheets.
251
Participant SIQ01 SIQ02
S06 Use of two different accounting Flowchart knowledge needed
software on a daily basis. occasionally when reading training
Understanding of accounting system manuals. Sometimes flowcharts are
cycles is very important. developed to document procedures but
Understanding of database concepts is may not be in proper format as long as
also important in order to extract data the procedures are properly described.
from the accounting software’s
database. Spreadsheet use involving
graphs and pivot tables.
S07 Spreadsheet, accounting software (in- Knowledge of flowcharts and database
house) and general systems knowledge concepts are required.
(end-user computing) needed on a
daily basis. Concept of IT control is
important.
S08 Accounting software and spreadsheet Flowchart is being used to understand
used on a daily basis. Accounting systems during projects. Presentation
software is SAP and spreadsheet software required for communications.
functions used include LOOKUP, Database design occasionally.
pivot tables and download from main
system for analysis. In-house
developed database also being used on
a daily basis. Knowledge in supply
chain flow is important. Knowledge
and awareness on internal and IT
control is a general requirement in
today’s environment.
S09 Daily use of accounting software Flowchart used when doing
(SAP), spreadsheet and database. presentations explaining how
Functions used in spreadsheet include processes work. DFD more important
pivot table, sorting, filtering and followed by document flowchart.
LOOKUP.
252
Summary of responses from Juniors for RQ3
Participant JIQ03 JIQ04 JIQ05 JIQ06 JIQ07
J01 Daily interaction on Weekly interaction on Different terminologies N/A. When needed.
accounting systems system testing and used by IT people.
regarding interfaces whenever there are IT
between different problems.
modules.
J02 Weekly when there are On systems Different terminologies IT people should take a N/A.
IT problems. implementation matters. used by IT and basic accounting course.
accounting people.
J03 When there are IT When there are IT Terminologies. N/A. N/A.
problems or grant access problems.
to users.
J04 Seldom. When there are IT No problems. N/A. From newspapers and
problems. suppliers.
J05 Daily when IT problems Frequently when IT IT supplier does not N/A. From Internet,
occur. problems occur. have same version of newspapers, journals and
software. IT people.
J06 N/A. When there are IT No problems. N/A. From Internet.
problems.
J07 N/A. When there are IT No problems. N/A. Company provides
problems. training.
J08 Rarely. When there are IT N/A. N/A. N/A.
problems.
J09 As a mentor for new Rarely. N/A. N/A. Training provided by
colleagues and support employer.
to clients.
253
Participant JIQ03 JIQ04 JIQ05 JIQ06 JIQ07
J10 Frequent interaction on Frequent interaction Terminologies. Communication skills. Read magazines, books
accounting systems with IT department on IT people take basic and journals.
matters. system change requests accounting courses.
or when there are IT
problems.
J11 Weekly when there are Whenever there are IT N/A. N/A. News and magazines
IT problems especially problems. from professional
with the web site of the association.
company.
J12 Rarely, only when there When needed for No problem in N/A. N/A.
are IT problems. example when new log communications with IT
on or e-mail accounts people.
are needed for new staff
or when there are IT
problems.
J13 Daily discussions with When there are IT Sometimes there are Keep up with the jargons Training provided by the
colleagues on how to problems or when there difficulties in the IT people use. employer. Research on
improve IT systems, are requests for system understanding of the Internet. Short
processes and methods. improvement. terminologies. courses provided by
education providers.
J14 Not required because When there are IT Terminologies. Attending seminars. N/A.
only senior managers are problems.
responsible for IT.
254
Summary of responses from Seniors for RQ3
Participant SIQ03 SIQ04 SIQ05 SIQ06 SIQ07
S01 Daily on IT problems. Daily on IT problems It is better for IT people General system We struggle. Perhaps by
and requests for system to increase their knowledge, database employing younger staff.
changes. knowledge in accounting knowledge, basic
than accounting people flowcharts. DFD
to increase their diagrams not needed.
knowledge in IT.
S02 Reconciliation problems All sorts of matters on a None. N/A. From professional
between different regular basis. associations.
systems.
S03 Daily on IT problems. Weekly on IT control N/A. N/A. Interaction with clients,
issues. reading, discussions with
peers in overseas
branches and going to
conferences.
S04 Daily on IT controls. Occasionally when there N/A. N/A. From journals, IT
are IT problems. magazines and
presentation by IT
vendors.
S05 Daily on IT and system IT problem when they Accountants look at N/A. Go with the IT trends.
implementation issues. occur. things from an
accounting point of view
but IT people and
coming from an IT point
of view.
S06 Daily on accounting Occasionally on None. N/A. Through accounting
system. accounting software professional body.
support.
255
Participant SIQ03 SIQ04 SIQ05 SIQ06 SIQ07
S07 Daily on accounting Weekly on IT problems. Difficulties in explaining Full understanding of the Attend short course if
system errors, problems what the problems are to accounting and business supported by the
or how to run queries. the IT people. system. company.
S08 Weekly on system Whenever there are IT None. N/A. Maintain an active
improvements. problems. interest in technologies.
S09 A few times a week. Once or twice a month None. Best way is for IT IT users have a lot of
Mainly in sharing when there are IT people to understand end-user computing
knowledge on how to problems or queries. accounting people’s work and that requires
use IT systems, information needs. constant update on IT.
spreadsheets and
database.
256
Summary of responses from Juniors for RQ4
Participant JIQ08 JIQ09 JIQ10 JIQ11
J01 N/A. Theory is good Full AIS course and
but not enough understanding of database query
practice. accounting language
systems and the
impact of
journals on the
system. More
knowledge on
spreadsheet and
flowcharts.
J02 Sufficient. More practice on Nothing. Macros in
accounting spreadsheets,
software needed. database query
language, more IT
terminologies.
J03 Not sufficient. N/A. Advanced Database practice.
spreadsheet and
Macros in WP.
J04 N/A. N/A. Graphics in IT control and tax
spreadsheets. return software.
Payroll module in
accounting
software.
J05 Sufficient. Self taught XML. Different Programming,
REA, XBRL not accounting XML, LOOKUP
needed. Not software such as and macros in
enough practice. SAP, Oracle, spreadsheet.
More advanced Peoplesoft,
accounting XERO.
software and end- Advanced
to-end spreadsheet.
understanding of
accounting
systems.
J06 Not sufficient. N/A. Knowledge on IT N/A.
More control. SDLC is
spreadsheet and also important.
database.
J07 Spreadsheet not MYOB useful. Formulas in Another
enough. Word processing spreadsheet. accounting
sufficient. software.
Database, e-
commerce and
flowcharts not
required. IT
control useful.
257
Participant JIQ08 JIQ09 JIQ10 JIQ11
J08 Had enough Database not Accounting More spreadsheet.
knowledge required. package used by Internet
learned from company. knowledge.
school but really Advanced
difficult in the spreadsheet.
first three
months on the
job.
J09 Sufficient. N/A. Advanced More spreadsheet
spreadsheet. and SPSS.
J10 Not sufficient. Don’t seem to N/A. Basic
Learned more at use as much as programming.
work than from what you learned Database concepts.
school. from school. Spreadsheet
functions
(LOOKUP and
pivot table).
J11 Degree was not N/A. Use of Access More in-depth
in accounting but database. knowledge of
in transport and Download data accounting
logistics. Studied from accounting software. More
accounting systems to advanced
through spreadsheet for spreadsheet.
Chartered manipulation and Access database.
Institute of reporting. Open office
Management software packages.
Accounting
exams. Most
knowledge and
skills learned on
the job.
J12 Yes. N/A. Cannot think of No additional IT
anything. knowledge
necessary as an
accountant.
J13 Would like to Really good. Macros in Excel. Database query
have more IT Practical and Access database. language (SQL).
knowledge and related to real Systems
skills. world. development
project
management
knowledge.
258
Participant JIQ08 JIQ09 JIQ10 JIQ11
J14 Above average. N/A. Knowing more General PC skills
accounting like backup,
software zipping,
packages. unzipping, loading
and saving files.
Knowing more
accounting
software package
and be able to
advise clients on
which accounting
package to use.
259
Participant SIQ08 SIQ09
S08 Half of the staff has adequate Full understanding of accounting
skills while the other half and business systems. Knowledge
needs more IT knowledge and and awareness in internal control.
skills. Spreadsheet skills can easily be
self-taught. Research skills should
also be further developed.
S09 Yes. More data analysis skills.
260
Summary of responses from Seniors for RQ5
Participant SIQ10 SIQ11
S01 Do not think there are any more Keep up with IT developments
required, but being able to search and e-commerce.
and find answers to problems is
important.
S02 More in-depth understanding of Graduates are expected to be
accounting systems. able to manage a small project
after four or five years.
S03 Real world knowledge and be More detailed knowledge in
able to apply it in different business systems.
situations.
S04 Less technical knowledge and N/A.
more on conceptual
understanding and people and
communication skills.
S05 Total understanding of N/A.
accounting systems and be able to
answer questions from staff.
S06 Advanced knowledge and skills Less data input more problem
in spreadsheet, presentation solving skills.
software, word processing and
database / data analysis skills.
More strategic thinking.
S07 How to download and extract Full understanding of how
data from main system or accounting and business systems
database to a spreadsheet for work.
analysis and reformatting for
printing.
S08 Better communication skills More competent in database.
through better use of presentation More knowledge in Internet and
and word processing software. e-commerce. Handle technology
More knowledge in internal changes with the aim to
control. Some project improving IT systems.
management knowledge and
skills. Further development in
database design skills.
S09 More commercial exposure and More knowledge in web based
business experience. and EDI applications.
261
Appendix 6 Codes for interview data analysis
Code
AcSW Accounting software
AcSYS Accounting / business systems
AIS Accounting information systems
AP Accounts payable
AR Accounts receivable
AuditSW Audit software
BKUP Data backup
BUD Budgeting
COBIT IT control framework
COSO IT control framework
CRYSRPT Crystal report writer
DANL Data analysis
DBASE Database
DBASE-C Database concepts
DBASE-D Database design
DBASE-S Database skills
DBQL Database query language
DFD Data flow diagrams
DLOAD Download data
DYNAMICS Microsoft Dynamics accounting package
ECOMM ecommerce
EDI Electronic data interchange
EMAIL e-mail
ERM IT control framework
ERP Enterprise resource planning system
ETHICS Ethical standards
EWP Electronic working paper
FLWCHRT Flowcharts
GenSys-K General system knowledge
GL General ledger
HTML HTML
INTERFACE Interface between different sub-systems in an accounting system
Internet-K Internet knowledge
Internet-S internet search
Internet-T internet tools
ITCtrl IT control
ITPROB IT problem
Macro Macro language in spreadsheet or word processing software
MYOB MYOB accounting package
ORACLE ORACLE ERP
OS Operating system
262
PP Presentation software/PowerPoint
PROG Programming
REA REA diagrams
Recon Reconciliation
RptGEN Report generation
RSRH Research
SAP SAP ERP
SDLC Systems development life cycle
SOX Sarbanes Oxley Act
SPSS Statistics software package
SS Spreadsheet/Excel
SysIMPL System implementation
SysREQ Systems requirements
SysTEST System testing
Tax SW Tax return software
TERM Terminology
Time Mgmt SW Time management and billing software
WP Word processor
XBRL XBRL
XERO XERO accounting package
XML XML
XPA Xcede Professional accounting (for CA firms)
263
Appendix 7 Descriptors for interview data analysis
Descriptor
ADV Advanced level
AWARE Awareness
BASIC Basic
DAILY Daily
FREQ Frequent (more than once a week)
IMP Important
INTER Intermediate level
LessIMP Less important
MONTHLY Monthly
NEED Need to know
NEVER Never
NONE None
NotIMP Not important
NotREQ Not required/not needed/not used
NotSUFF Not sufficient
OCC Occasional
RARELY Rarely
SELF Self taught/self train
SUFF Sufficient
TRAIN Company train
UNDRS Understanding
USEFUL Useful
VAGUELY Vaguely
WANT Want to learn/know
WEEKLY Weekly
WHENNEEDED When needed
264
Appendix 8 Descriptive statistics
Accounting software
14
12
10
0
3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Accounting software
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Accounting software 23 3 6 5.35 6.00 0.885
by Seniority
Accounting software Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Junior 1 2 11 14 5.71 6.00 0.611
Seniority
Senior 1 2 4 2 9 4.78 5.00 0.972
Total 1 3 6 13 23
by Industry
Accounting software Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Commercial 2 5 5 12 5.25 5.00 0.754
Industry CA firm 1 1 4 6 5.33 6.00 1.211
Gov/Edu 1 4 5 5.60 6.00 0.894
Total 1 3 6 13 23
by Experience
Accounting software Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
<5 1 6 7 5.71 6.00 0.756
5 to 10 1 1 1 2 5 4.80 5.00 1.304
Experience
10 to 20 4 3 7 5.43 5.00 0.535
>20 1 1 2 4 5.25 5.50 0.957
Total 1 3 6 13 23
265
Accounting systems
14
12
10
0
4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00
Accounting systems
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Accounting systems 23 4 6 5.48 6.00 0.665
by Seniority
Accounting systems Total Mean Median Std Dev
4 5 6
Junior 1 4 9 14 5.57 6.00 0.646
Seniority
Senior 1 4 4 9 5.33 5.00 0.500
Total 2 8 13 23
by Industry
Accounting systems Total Mean Median Std Dev
4 5 6
Commercial 1 5 6 12 5.42 5.50 0.669
Industry CA firm 1 2 3 6 5.33 5.50 0.816
Gov/Edu 1 4 5 5.80 6.00 0.447
Total 2 8 13 23
by Experience
Accounting systems Total Mean Median Std Dev
4 5 6
<5 1 2 4 7 5.43 6.00 0.787
5 to 10 1 1 3 5 5.40 6.00 0.894
Experience
10 to 20 3 4 7 5.57 6.00 0.535
>20 2 2 4 5.50 5.50 0.577
Total 2 8 13 23
266
Data security
7
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Data security
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Data security 23 1 6 3.30 3.00 1.490
by Seniority
Data security Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Junior 1 2 2 6 1 2 14 3.71 4.00 1.437
Seniority
Senior 1 4 3 1 9 2.67 2.00 1.414
Total 2 6 5 6 1 3 23
by Industry
Data security Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 1 3 5 3 12 2.83 3.00 0.937
Industry CA firm 1 2 2 1 6 3.00 3.00 1.549
Gov/Edu 1 1 3 5 4.80 6.00 1.789
Total 2 6 5 6 1 3 23
by Experience
Data security Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
<5 2 3 1 1 7 3.86 4.00 1.464
5 to 10 1 1 2 1 5 3.60 4.00 1.817
Experience
10 to 20 1 1 4 1 7 2.71 3.00 0.951
>20 3 1 4 3.00 2.00 2.000
Total 2 6 5 6 1 3 23
267
Database concepts
7
0
2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Database concepts
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Database concepts 23 2 6 4.35 5.00 1.265
by Seniority
Database concepts Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
Junior 2 3 3 2 4 14 4.21 4.00 1.477
Seniority
Senior 1 3 4 1 9 4.56 5.00 0.882
Total 2 4 6 6 5 23
by Industry
Database concepts Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 1 1 3 4 3 12 4.58 5.00 1.240
Industry CA firm 1 3 1 1 6 3.33 3.00 1.033
Gov/Edu 2 1 2 5 5.00 5.00 1.000
Total 2 4 6 6 5 23
by Experience
Database concepts Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
<5 1 3 1 2 7 3.86 3.00 1.574
5 to 10 1 1 1 2 5 3.80 4.00 1.304
Experience
10 to 20 2 3 2 7 5.00 5.00 0.816
>20 2 1 1 4 4.75 4.50 0.957
Total 2 4 6 6 5 23
268
Database software
10
0
3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Database software
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Database software 23 3 6 4.26 5.00 1.176
by Seniority
Database software Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Junior 3 7 4 14 4.36 4.00 1.151
Seniority
Senior 4 2 1 2 9 4.11 4.00 1.269
Total 7 9 1 6 23
by Industry
Database software Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Commercial 2 5 1 4 12 4.58 4.00 1.165
Industry CA firm 4 2 6 3.33 3.00 0.516
Gov/Edu 1 2 2 5 4.60 4.00 1.342
Total 7 9 1 6 23
by Experience
Database software Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
<5 3 3 1 7 3.86 4.00 1.069
5 to 10 1 3 1 5 4.00 4.00 0.707
Experience
10 to 20 2 1 4 7 4.86 6.00 1.464
>20 1 2 1 4 4.25 4.00
Total 7 9 1 6 23
269
Documentation tools
8
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Documentation tools
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Documentation tools 23 1 6 3.96 4.00 1.331
by Seniority
Documentation tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Junior 1 3 1 3 5 1 14 3.79 4.00 1.528
Seniority
Senior 2 4 2 1 9 4.22 4.00 0.972
Total 1 3 3 7 7 2 23
by Industry
Documentation tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 2 1 5 4 12 3.92 4.00 1.084
Industry CA firm 1 1 1 1 2 6 3.33 3.50 1.633
Gov/Edu 1 1 1 2 5 4.80 5.00 1.304
Total 1 3 3 7 7 2 23
by Experience
Documentation tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
<5 1 3 1 1 1 7 3.14 2.00 1.864
5 to 10 2 2 1 5 3.80 4.00 0.837
Experience
10 to 20 2 5 7 4.71 5.00 0.488
>20 1 2 1 4 4.25 4.00 1.258
Total 1 3 3 7 7 2 23
270
e-commerce
12
10
0
2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
e-commerce
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
e-commerce 23 2 6 4.04 4.00 1.224
by Seniority
e-commerce Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
Junior 3 7 3 1 14 3.93 4.00 1.207
Seniority
Senior 1 1 4 1 2 9 4.22 4.00 1.302
Total 4 1 11 4 3 23
by Industry
e-commerce Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 2 1 5 3 1 12 4.00 4.00 1.206
Industry CA firm 2 3 1 6 3.50 4.00 1.225
Gov/Edu 3 2 5 4.80 4.00 1.095
Total 4 1 11 4 3 23
by Experience
e-commerce Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
<5 2 3 1 1 7 3.86 4.00 1.464
5 to 10 2 2 1 5 3.60 4.00 1.673
Experience
10 to 20 5 2 7 4.29 4.00 0.488
>20 1 1 1 1 4 4.50 4.50 1.291
Total 4 1 11 4 3 23
271
General systems knowledge
12
10
0
2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
General systems knowledge 23 2 6 4.57 5.00 0.992
by Seniority
General systems knowledge Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
Junior 1 5 7 1 14 4.57 5.00 0.756
Seniority
Senior 1 1 1 4 2 9 4.56 5.00 1.333
Total 1 2 6 11 3 23
by Industry
General systems knowledge Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 2 3 6 1 12 4.50 5.00 0.905
Industry CA firm 1 2 3 6 4.17 4.50 1.169
Gov/Edu 1 2 2 5 5.20 5.00 0.837
Total 1 2 6 11 3 23
by Experience
General systems knowledge Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 3 4 5 6
<5 1 2 3 1 7 4.57 5.00 0.976
5 to 10 1 2 1 1 5 4.20 4.00 1.483
Experience
10 to 20 2 5 7 4.71 5.00 0.488
>20 1 2 1 4 4.75 5.00 1.258
Total 1 2 6 11 3 23
272
Internet knowledge
10
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Internet knowledge
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Internet knowledge 23 1 6 3.83 4.00 1.466
by Seniority
Internet knowledge Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 6
Junior 1 1 5 4 3 14 3.71 3.50 1.490
Seniority
Senior 1 1 5 2 9 4.00 4.00 1.500
Total 2 1 6 9 5 23
by Industry
Internet knowledge Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 6
Commercial 1 4 4 3 12 3.92 4.00 1.505
Industry CA firm 1 1 2 2 6 2.83 3.00 1.169
Gov/Edu 3 2 5 4.80 4.00 1.095
Total 2 1 6 9 5 23
by Experience
Internet knowledge Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 6
<5 1 1 3 1 1 7 3.14 3.00 1.574
5 to 10 1 3 1 5 3.80 4.00 1.789
Experience
10 to 20 3 3 1 7 3.86 4.00 1.069
>20 2 2 4 5.00 5.00 1.155
Total 2 1 6 9 5 23
273
Internet tools
14
12
10
0
3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Internet tools
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Internet tools 23 3 6 5.09 6.00 1.083
by Seniority
Internet tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Junior 1 4 1 8 14 5.14 6.00 1.099
Seniority
Senior 1 2 2 4 9 5.00 5.00 1.118
Total 2 6 3 12 23
by Industry
Internet tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Commercial 2 2 1 7 12 5.08 6.00 1.240
Industry CA firm 2 2 2 6 5.00 5.00 0.894
Gov/Edu 2 3 5 5.20 6.00 1.095
Total 2 6 3 12 23
by Experience
Internet tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
<5 1 1 1 4 7 5.14 6.00 1.215
5 to 10 1 1 3 5 5.40 6.00 0.894
Experience
10 to 20 1 3 1 2 7 4.57 4.00 1.134
>20 1 3 4 5.50 6.00 1.000
Total 2 6 3 12 23
274
IT audit software
10
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
IT audit software
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
IT audit software 23 1 6 3.48 4.00 1.592
by Seniority
IT audit software Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Junior 4 2 4 2 2 14 3.43 4.00 1.828
Seniority
Senior 2 2 4 1 9 3.56 4.00 1.236
Total 4 2 4 8 2 3 23
by Industry
IT audit software Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 3 1 3 4 1 12 2.92 3.00 1.379
Industry CA firm 1 1 3 1 6 3.83 4.00 1.329
Gov/Edu 1 1 1 2 5 4.40 5.00 2.074
Total 4 2 4 8 2 3 23
by Experience
IT audit software Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
<5 2 3 2 7 4.29 4.00 1.254
5 to 10 2 1 1 1 5 2.60 2.00 1.817
Experience
10 to 20 2 2 2 1 7 3.00 3.00 1.528
>20 1 2 1 4 4.00 4.00 1.633
Total 4 2 4 8 2 3 23
275
IT controls
8
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
IT controls
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
IT controls 23 1 6 4.61 5.00 1.373
by Seniority
IT controls Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Junior 1 1 1 3 4 4 14 4.43 5.00 1.555
Seniority
Senior 1 2 3 3 9 4.89 5.00 1.054
Total 1 1 2 5 7 7 23
by Industry
IT controls Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 1 5 3 3 12 4.67 4.50 0.985
Industry CA firm 1 1 2 2 6 4.50 5.00 1.643
Gov/Edu 1 2 2 5 4.60 5.00 2.074
Total 1 1 2 5 7 7 23
by Experience
IT controls Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
<5 1 1 3 2 7 4.57 5.00 1.512
5 to 10 1 1 2 1 5 4.00 5.00 2.000
Experience
10 to 20 4 1 2 7 4.71 4.00 0.951
>20 1 1 2 4 5.25 5.50 0.957
Total 1 1 2 5 7 7 23
276
Operating systems
10
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Operating systems
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Operating systems 23 1 6 3.13 3.00 1.290
by Seniority
Operating systems Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Junior 2 2 3 6 1 14 3.14 3.50 1.231
Seniority
Senior 1 2 3 2 1 9 3.11 3.00 1.453
Total 3 4 6 8 1 1 23
by Industry
Operating systems Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 1 2 4 5 12 3.08 3.00 0.996
Industry CA firm 1 2 1 2 6 2.67 2.50 1.211
Gov/Edu 1 1 1 1 1 5 3.80 4.00 1.924
Total 3 4 6 8 1 1 23
by Experience
Operating systems Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
<5 1 1 2 3 7 3.00 3.00 1.155
5 to 10 2 2 1 5 3.00 4.00 1.871
Experience
10 to 20 3 2 2 7 2.86 3.00 0.900
>20 2 1 1 4 4.00 3.50 1.414
Total 3 4 6 8 1 1 23
277
Presentation software
8
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Presentation software
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Presentation software 23 1 6 4.43 5.00 1.308
by Seniority
Presentation software Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Junior 1 2 4 5 2 14 4.29 4.50 1.326
Seniority
Senior 1 3 2 3 9 4.67 5.00 1.323
Total 1 1 2 7 7 5 23
by Industry
Presentation software Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 1 3 6 2 12 4.75 5.00 0.866
Industry CA firm 1 1 2 1 1 6 4.00 4.00 1.414
Gov/Edu 1 2 2 5 4.20 4.00 2.049
Total 1 1 2 7 7 5 23
by Experience
Presentation software Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
<5 2 2 1 2 7 4.43 4.00 1.272
5 to 10 1 1 1 1 1 5 3.60 4.00 2.074
Experience
10 to 20 3 4 7 4.57 5.00 0.535
>20 1 1 2 4 5.25 5.50 0.957
Total 1 1 2 7 7 5 23
278
Research tools
7
0
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Research tools
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Research tools 23 1 6 4.09 4.00 1.443
by Seniority
Research tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Junior 1 1 2 4 4 2 14 4.07 4.00 1.439
Seniority
Senior 1 3 2 3 9 4.11 4.00 1.537
Total 1 2 5 6 4 5 23
by Industry
Research tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
Commercial 2 5 3 2 12 4.42 4.00 0.996
Industry CA firm 2 1 1 2 6 4.00 4.00 1.897
Gov/Edu 1 2 1 1 5 3.40 3.00 1.817
Total 1 2 5 6 4 5 23
by Experience
Research tools Total Mean Median Std Dev
1 2 3 4 5 6
<5 1 1 2 1 2 7 4.29 4.00 1.496
5 to 10 1 1 1 1 1 5 3.20 3.00 1.924
Experience
10 to 20 2 2 3 7 4.14 4.00 0.900
>20 1 1 2 4 4.75 5.00 1.500
Total 1 2 5 6 4 5 23
279
Spreadsheet
30
20
10
0
5.00 5.50 6.00
Spreadsheet
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Spreadsheet 23 5 6 5.91 6.00 0.288
by Seniority
Spreadsheet Total Mean Median Std Dev
5 6
Junior 14 14 6.00 6.00 0.000
Seniority
Senior 2 7 9 5.78 6.00 0.441
Total 2 21 23
by Industry
Spreadsheet Total Mean Median Std Dev
5 6
Commercial 1 11 12 5.92 6.00 0.289
Industry CA firm 6 6 6.00 6.00 0.000
Gov/Edu 1 4 5 5.80 6.00 0.447
Total 2 21 23
by Experience
Spreadsheet Total Mean Median Std Dev
5 6
<5 7 7 6.00 6.00 0.000
5 to 10 5 5 6.00 6.00 0.000
Experience
10 to 20 1 6 7 5.86 6.00 0.378
>20 1 3 4 5.75 6.00 0.500
Total 2 21 23
280
Values
16
14
12
10
0
2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Values
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Values 23 2 6 5.35 6.00 1.027
by Seniority
Values Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 4 5 6
Junior 1 3 2 8 14 5.14 6.00 1.231
Seniority
Senior 3 6 9 5.67 6.00 0.500
Total 1 3 5 14 23
by Industry
Values Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 4 5 6
Commercial 2 2 8 12 5.50 6.00 0.798
Industry CA firm 1 2 3 6 5.00 5.50 1.549
Gov/Edu 1 1 3 5 5.40 6.00 0.894
Total 1 3 5 14 23
by Experience
Values Total Mean Median Std Dev
2 4 5 6
<5 1 1 2 3 7 4.86 5.00 1.464
5 to 10 1 1 3 5 5.40 6.00 0.894
Experience
10 to 20 1 1 5 7 5.57 6.00 0.787
>20 1 3 4 5.75 6.00 0.500
Total 1 3 5 14 23
281
Word processing
16
14
12
10
0
3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
Word processing
Descriptive statistics
N Min Max Mean Median Std Dev
Word processing 23 3 6 5.43 6.00 0.896
by Seniority
Word processing Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Junior 2 2 10 14 5.57 6.00 0.756
Seniority
Senior 1 1 2 5 9 5.22 6.00 1.093
Total 1 3 4 15 23
by Industry
Word processing Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
Commercial 1 1 3 7 12 5.33 6.00 0.985
Industry CA firm 1 5 6 5.67 6.00 0.816
Gov/Edu 1 1 3 5 5.40 6.00 0.894
Total 1 3 4 15 23
by Experience
Word processing Total Mean Median Std Dev
3 4 5 6
<5 1 6 7 5.71 6.00 0.756
5 to 10 1 4 5 5.60 6.00 0.894
Experience
10 to 20 1 3 3 7 5.29 5.00 0.756
>20 1 1 2 4 5.00 5.50 1.414
Total 1 3 4 15 23
282
Appendix 9 Test of variance
The sample of participants consisted of junior and senior accountants from different
industries and with different years of experience. The participants were grouped by
‘Seniority’ (Junior, Senior), ‘Industry’ (Commercial firm, CA firm, Gov/Edu) and
‘Experience’ (< 5 years, 5 to 10 years, 10 to 20 years, > 20 years). Statistical tests were
used to test if there were significant differences between the scores from different
participant groups.
The normality of distribution of the scores of the 18 topics was first inspected to determine
the appropriate tests to be used. A visual inspection of the histograms of the 18 topics
revealed that the majority of the topics displayed non-normal distributions (see Appendix
8). The Kolmogorov-Smirnov and the Shapiro-Wilk tests were used to test the normality of
the distribution of scores of the 18 topics. Table A9.1 shows the results of the tests. With
the exception of the variables ‘Data security’ and ‘Research tools’, all other variables show
significant results (p<0.05) for non-normal distribution of scores by either or both of the
tests. Parametric tests such as t-test or ANOVA therefore could not be used as these tests
assume that the scores of the variables are normally distributed. Non-parametric tests
(Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test) were used instead to test the difference in
median scores between participant groups.
283
Table A9.1 Test of normality of distribution of variables
Kolmogorov- Shapiro-
Smirnov Wilk
Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.
Accounting software 0.335 23 0.000 * 0.746 23 0.000 *
Accounting systems 0.349 23 0.000 * 0.727 23 0.000 *
Data security 0.157 23 0.146 0.919 23 0.062
Database concepts 0.175 23 0.065 0.911 23 0.042 *
Database software 0.283 23 0.000 * 0.799 23 0.000 *
Documentation tools 0.209 23 0.011 * 0.921 23 0.070
e-commerce 0.268 23 0.000 * 0.872 23 0.007 *
General systems knowledge 0.278 23 0.000 * 0.873 23 0.007 *
Internet knowledge 0.235 23 0.002 * 0.885 23 0.013 *
Internet tools 0.322 23 0.000 * 0.771 23 0.000 *
IT audit software 0.194 23 0.025 * 0.913 23 0.047 *
IT controls 0.221 23 0.005 * 0.865 23 0.005 *
Operating systems 0.185 23 0.041 * 0.926 23 0.089
Presentation software 0.196 23 0.022 * 0.891 23 0.016 *
Research tools 0.133 23 0.200 0.927 23 0.094
Spreadsheet 0.532 23 0.000 * 0.324 23 0.000 *
Values 0.346 23 0.000 * 0.686 23 0.000 *
Word processing 0.388 23 0.000 * 0.681 23 0.000 *
* p<0.05
The following sections present the tests of hypotheses for the 18 IT topics by different
participant groups.
A Mann-Whitney U test was conducted with ‘Seniority’ as the independent variable and
each of the 18 topics as the dependent variable. Only one variable (Accounting software)
284
displayed significant difference in scores. For the variable ‘Accounting software’, the
Junior group, median = 6.00, displayed a significantly higher median score than did the
Senior group, median = 5.00, U = 26, p<0.05. Table A9.2 shows the results of the Mann-
Whitney U test and Table A9.3 shows the descriptive statistics of the variable ‘Accounting
software’.
H01 for ‘Accounting software’ can be rejected and therefore the alternative hypothesis is
accepted. There is significant difference for the topic ‘Accounting software’ between the
median scores of the ‘Junior’ and the ‘Senior’ participants.
H01 cannot be rejected except for ‘Accounting software’ as there were no significantly
different median scores in the ‘Seniority’ participant group for these topics. Hypothesis 1 is
therefore rejected except for the topic ‘Accounting software’.
285
Comparison of scores by Industry group
Hypothesis 2
There are differences in the perception of the importance of IT knowledge and skills
between accountants from different industries.
A Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted with ‘Industry’ as the independent variable and each
of the 18 topics as the dependent variable. None of the 18 dependent variables displayed
significantly different median scores between the groups ‘Commercial firm’, ‘CA firm’
and ‘Gov/Edu’ (p>0.05). Table A9.4 shows the results of the Kruskal-Wallis test.
H02 cannot be rejected as none of the IT topics displayed significantly different median
scores in the ‘Industry’ participant group. Hypothesis 2 is therefore rejected.
286
Comparison of scores by Experience group
Hypothesis 3
There are differences in the perception of the importance of IT knowledge and skills
between accountants with different years of experience.
A Kruskal-Wallis test was conducted with ‘Experience’ as the independent variable and
each of the 18 topics as the dependent variable. None of the 18 dependent variables
displayed significantly different median scores between the participant groups < 5 years, 5
to 10 years, 10 to 20 years and > 20 years, (p>0.05). Table A9.5 shows the results of the
Kruskal-Wallis test.
287
H03 cannot be rejected as none of the IT topics displayed significantly different median
scores in the ‘Experience’ participant group. Hypothesis 34 is therefore rejected.
288