Concept Paper 1

“The Difference of Opinion of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy students of De La Salle Lipa and Accounting Practitioners in the field of Public Accounting regarding the Necessary Technological Knowledge and Skills for Entry-Level Accountants.”

A Concept Paper Presented to the Faculty of the College of Business, Economics, Accountancy and Management De La Salle Lipa

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ACCOUNTANCY

By: Cosa, John Kenneth A. Gomez, Mattheus Lurenz A. Mistas, Kim Angelo A3C

July 2015

Title of the Study “The Difference of Opinion of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy students of De La Salle Lipa and Accounting Practitioners in the field of Public Accounting regarding the Necessary Technological Knowledge and Skills for Entry-Level Accountants.” Area of the Study The study mainly focuses on the current perception of Bachelor of Science in Accountancy students in De La Salle Lipa and accounting practitioners regarding the required level of technological skills necessary for entry-level accountants. The study will generally revolve around the current training of Accountancy students in terms of technological matters and its significance to acquiring a significant edge in performing their duties and responsibilities as they enter the profession. The practitioners that will be involved in the study would be limited to those who are in the public practice of accounting, considering that this would be the initial field of expertise that most students would chose in pursuing their careers as accountants. Their insights would prove most valuable in determining which technologies are now being used in the field of accounting and what kind of training must students undergo to achieve an increased degree of competence and reliability.

Background of the Study In this generation, the increasing demands of people from the services that they acquire from fields of profession has also affected the advances in technology, especially in business. Nowadays, people firmly believe that the quality of service is inclined with swiftness of its delivery, as well as the matter of presenting it. Considering that the number of people who require the service of those inclined in the field of business has been constantly rising, the dependence of business firms on procuring the technological advancements needed has also increased steadily. Taking matters into the context of the accounting profession, recognized and aspiring to be recognized accounting firms have been constantly exerting effort on attaining technologies that would give their firms an edge in performing services of their clients. SAP, Inventory Systems, Accounting and Auditing Information Systems and similar programs have been a trend

in the accounting profession. Due to this, technological knowledge has been a key attribute that firms are looking for in their applicants, aside from financial familiarity. The study will mostly deal on how students are knowledgeable and prepared they are to handle technologies being used in the profession by comparing it to the insights of accounting professionals as to what kind of technological skills and know-hows that future applicants should acquire before entering the profession.

Statement of the Problem 1. Is there a difference between the opinion of the students and practitioners regarding the necessary technological knowledge and skills for entry-level accountants? 2. What are the causes of the differences between the opinion of students and practitioners? 3. Does acquiring certain technological knowledge and skills have a significant effect on the performance of entry-level accountants? 4. Is technological knowledge and skill deemed important by accounting firms in hiring new practitioners? 5. Is there a way to bridge the gap of difference between the students’ and practitioners’ opinion of technological knowledge and skills for entry-level accountants?

Objectives of the Study 1. Identify the difference between the opinion of the students and practitioners regarding the necessary technological knowledge and skills for entry-level accountants. 2. Identify the causes of the differences between the opinion of students and practitioners. 3. List down certain technological knowledge and skills that may have an effect on the performance pf entry-level accountants. 4. Clarify whether technological knowledge and skills are deemed important by accounting firms in hiring new practitioners. 5. Provide an avenue of reconciliation for the gap between the students’ and practitioners’ opinion of technological knowledge and skills for entry level accountants.

Hypotheses Considering the problem of the study and its elements, hypotheses of the study can be as follows: Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no difference between the opinion of the amount of technological skills and knowledge needed for an entry-level accountant. Also, the researchers formulated the following hypotheses: H1: Technological skills and knowledge is now considered as an important attribute for applicants in the accounting profession. H2: Technological skills and knowledge of students in De La Salle Lipa are sufficient to satisfy the demands of accounting firms from entry-level accountants. H3: Technological skills and knowledge is a contributing factor to the acceptance of applicants in the accounting profession. Literature Review There are two existing papers that were used for this study. The first one is written by Thomas J. Tribunella, M. Pamela Neely and Heidi R. Tribunella, entitled “Academic and Practitioner Interests Regarding Emerging Technologies in Accounting”. The second one is entitled “Comparison of Opinions of Accounting Academics and Accounting Practitioners about Technological Knowledge Needed by Entry-Level Accountants.” The review of other related literature shall consist of other journals, thesis and other written studies will come from EBSCoHost, ProQuest and other research materials from the Learning Research Center of De La Salle Lipa. Conceptual Framework The study will use the findings of the research of Tribunella, Neely and Tribunella regarding the difference of interest of academicians and practitioners regarding emerging and current technologies and the focus of these two parties. This affects the outlook of the students

as to what kind of technological knowledge and skills are needed to enter the accounting profession. The aspects concerning the kind of technologies available in school, the utilization of these technologies and additional technological training are key considerations in comparing what kind of technological knowledge and skills are needed from new applicants in the perception of actual practitioners of public accounting. Proposed Research Design/Methodology The researchers will conduct a survey that will involve two groups: Bachelor of Science in Accountancy Students in De La Salle Lipa and several practitioners in the field of public. There will be two sets of survey questionnaires. The first one will be used by the students in order to assess and accumulate information regarding the kind of technology that is being used in actual practice, as well as the level of technological literacy of the students. The second one will be for the practitioners, which would tackle on what they think are the necessary technological knowledge and skills that students must acquire before entering the professions. The results of these surveys would be compared to see if there are any differences on the perception of the students and practitioners about the necessary technological knowledge and skills of entry-level accountants. Bibliography 

Accounting Education Change Commission, “Objectives of Education for Accounts: Position Statement Number One”, Issues in Accounting Education,

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Fall, Vol. 5, No. 2 Doost, Roger, Gary B. Mc Combs and Mohsen Sharifi, “The State of Accounting Information Systems Education and Accounting Professional Expectations: Is There a Gap?” Accounting Information Systems Educators Conference Archives,

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www.ais-educ.com/archive.htm, Westbrook, Curt, “Impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 on Accounting Information Systems”, Accounting Information Systems Educators Conference Archives, www.ais-educ.com/archive.htm