Research Article Published 1 December 2012

Graduates' perception of career success and skill emphasis in accounting programme in Nigerian institutions: An exploratory study

How to Cite

How to Cite

Mustafa, M. O. A., & Shittu, A. J. K. (2012). Graduates’ perception of career success and skill emphasis in accounting programme in Nigerian institutions: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Management and Accounting, 2(2), 49-64. https://doi.org/10.32890/jbma2012.2.2.8667
Murtala Oladimeji Abioye Mustafa
University of Abuja, Nigeria
Abdul Jaleel Kehinde Shittu
School of Computing, College of Art and Science, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
Full text
PDF View full text 544 KB · 16 pages XML JATS full text 65 KB · machine readable HTML Read online 47 KB
DOI 10.32890/jbma2012.2.2.8667 Cite this article
Share this article
Citations
3 +1 · 2026
OpenAlex, highest of the sources checked
Reads
399
Abstract + full text
Downloads
190 +1
PDF and XML
Percentile
89th
By citations, works of the same year

Article

Abstract

Although a great deal of studies on skills expected of accounting graduates have been conducted in industrially advanced countries, interest of researchers in developing economies is recent. Accordingly, this study explores measures of career success and the perceptions regarding the level of emphasis given to both technical and generic skills in Nigerian tertiary institutions from the perspective of accounting graduates. The study is motivated by concerns of scholars and call by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. Based on data obtained from 192 graduates, salary and frequency of promotion are perceived to be stronger measure of career success while technical skills; business, computing and ethical skills; interpersonal and problem solving skills as well as communication skills emerged as four components of skills taught and it was found that more emphasis was placed on technical skills at the cost of other skills. The findings from this study will have implications for accounting education in developing countries in general and Nigeria especially.

Keywords
technical skill generic skills developing countries accounting education

Metrics & impact

Citations by source

Harvested 08-09-2026

Counts differ by index because each source crawls a different corpus. Crossref counts only registered reference lists; Google Scholar includes theses, preprints and grey literature.

OpenAlex
3
Open corpus, updated daily View →
Crossref
3
Deposited reference lists only View →
OpenCitations
2
Open references only View →
Scopus
0 Not indexed
Indexed titles only View →
Google Scholar
Publishes no citation count that can be read automatically.
Includes theses and preprints Search →
Dimensions
Publishes no citation count that can be read automatically.
Includes policy documents Search →

Citations over time

New citations recorded in each year, as reported by OpenAlex.

1
0
1
1
2023 2024 2025 2026

Reads & downloads

Abstract views 399
PDF downloads 190
XML downloads 0
Full-text HTML 0
Counted under COUNTER Release 5 rules; known robots excluded.

Attention beyond citation

Citation percentile 89th
Field-weighted citation impact 0.00
Works this article cites 33

From OpenAlex. A field-weighted impact of 1.00 is the world average for work of the same field, type and year. No Altmetric key is configured, so news, policy and social attention are not shown.

Identifiers
DOI · 10.32890/jbma2012.2.2.8667
OpenAlex · W4318611120

References

References 36
Deposited to Crossref with the article DOI
  1. Accounting Education Change Commission (1990). Objectives of education for accountants; position statement number one. Issues in Accounting Education, 6(2) 307-313. AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants), 1999, Core competency framework for entry into the accounting profession (AICPA, New York, NY). ICAEW (1996).
  2. Ahadiat, N. & Smith, K.J. (1994). A factor-analytic investigation of employee selection factors of significance to recruiters of entry –level Accountants. Issues in Accounting Education, 9(1) 59-81.
  3. Ahmad, N. S. &Gao, S. S. (2004). Changes, problems and challenges of accounting education in Libya. Accounting Education : an International Journal, 13(6) 365-390.
  4. Awayiga, J. Y. Onumah, J. M &Tsamenyi, M. (2010). Knowledge and skills development of accounting graduates: The perceptions of graduates and employers in Ghana. Accounting Education: An International Journal, 19(1-2) 139-158.
  5. Babalola, Y. A. (2012). The prospects and challenges in accounting education. A case study of Nigerian Tertiary Institutions. The Review of Financial and Accounting Studies, (1) 44-52.
  6. Belverd E. Needles Jr. ( 2010). Accounting Education: The Impact of Globalization..Accounting Education : an International Journal, 19(6) 601-605.
  7. Bennett, M. Bouma, J.J &Ciccozzi, E. (2004). An institutional perspective on the transfer of accounting knowledge: a case study. Accounting education: The impact of globalization’, Accounting Education : an International Journal, 13(6) 329–346.
  8. Bui, B. & Porter, B (2010). The expectation performance gap in accounting education: an exploratory study. Accounting Education: an International Journal, 19(1-2) 23-50.
  9. Dearing, R. O. N. A. L. D. (1997). The dearing report. The National Committee of Enquiry into Higher Education.
  10. De Lange, P., Beverley Jackling, B. & Gut, A. (2006). Accounting graduates perceptions of skills emphasis in undergraduate courses: an investigation from two Victorian universities’, Accounting and Finance 46, 365–386. Graduates’ perception of career success and skill emphasis in accounting programme in Nigerian institutions: An exploratory study 63 : 49-64
  11. De Lange, P.&Watty, K. (2011). Accounting Education at a Crossroad in 2010 and Challenges Facing Accounting Education in Australia..Accounting Education: an International Journal, 20(6), 625–630.
  12. Enthoven, A. J. (1983). US accounting and the third world. Journal of Accountancy, 155(6), 110-115.
  13. Estes, R. W. (1979). The profession’s changing horizons: A survey of practitioners on the present and future importance of selected knowledge and skills. The International Journal of Accounting Education and Research, 14(2), 97-110.
  14. Gattikcr, U.E., & Larwood, L. (1988). Predictors for managers’ career mobility, success, and satisfaction. Human Relations, 41, 569-591.
  15. Ingram, R. W., & Frazier, C. R. (1980). Developing communications skills for the accounting profession. Sarasota, FL: American Accounting Association.
  16. Jaskolka, G., Beyer, J.M., & TVice, H.M. (1985). Measuring and predicting managerial success. Joumal of Vocational Behavior, 26,189-205.
  17. Jones, A. (2010). ‘Generic attributes in accounting: The significance of the disciplinary context’, Account Education: An International Journal, 19(12), 5-21.
  18. Judge, T.A., Cable, D.M., Boudreau, J. W., & Bretz, R.D. Jr. (1995). An empirical investigation of the predictor of executive career success. Personnel Psychology, 48, 485-519.
  19. Judge, T.A., & Bretz, R.D. (1994). Political influence behavior and career success. Joumal of Management, 20, 43-65.
  20. Kotter, J. P. (1982). The general managers. New York: The Free Press.
  21. Likert, R. (1932). A technique for the measurement of attitudes. Archives of psychology.
  22. Lin, Z. J. (2008). A factor analysis on knowledge and skill components of accounting education: Chinese case. Advances in Accounting, 24(1), 110-118.
  23. Lovell, A & Dixon, K.(2004). Experiences of the transfer of accounting education (based upon Anglo/American notions of accounting and education) into less developed economies. Accounting Education: an International Journal, 13(6) 285-288.
  24. Mainoma, M.A. & S Aruwa, S.A. (2010). Accounting research and development of Accounting profession’, International Conference on Research and Development, University of Ghana, Accra.
  25. Mathews, R., Jackson, M. & Brown, P. (1990). Accounting in higher education: Report of the review of the accounting discipline in higher education: Volume 1 (Australian Government), Canberra, ACT.
  26. Matthews M. R. (1994). An examination of the work of the Accounting Education Change Commission 1989-1992. Accounting Education, 3(3) 193-204.
  27. Morgan, G. J (1997). Communication skills required by accounting graduates: practitioner and academic perceptions. Accounting Education 6, 93–107.
  28. Okafor, R.G. (2012). Accounting education in Nigerian universities: Challenges and prospects. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 3(14) 205-214.
  29. Onakoya, B. O. A., Tella, A. S. &Osoba, M.A. (2012). Investment in telecommunications infrastructure and economic growth in Nigeria: A Multivariate Approach. British Journal of Economics, Management & Trade, 2(4) 309-326.
  30. Rebele, J. E. (1985). An examination of accounting students’ perceptions of the importance of communication skills in public accounting. Issues in Accounting Education 3, 41–50.
  31. Stanga, K. G. & Ladd, R. T. (1990). Oral communication apprehension in beginning accounting majors. Issues in Accounting Education,. 6(2) 180-195.
  32. Thomas, W. H. N. G, Lillian, T. E.B. Y., Kelly, L.S., & Daniel, C.F.(2005). Predictors of objective and subjective career success: A Meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 58, 367-408
  33. Turner, R. J. (1960). Sponsored and content mobility and the school system. American Sociological Review, 25, 855-867.
  34. Usoff, C. & D. Feldmann( 1998). Accounting students’ perceptions of important skills for career success. Journal of Education for Business 73, 215–220.
  35. Vikineswaran, A. M., & Jegak, U., (2011). Exploring career success perceptions among managers. IPCSIT, 20, 1-6.
  36. Zaid, O. A & Abraham, A. (1994). Communication skills in accounting education. Perceptions of academics, employers and graduate accountants. Accounting Education, 3(3) 205-221.