For a career in public accounting, it is becoming increasingly transparent that accounting students need to have strong analytical and critical thinking skills that include using Excel technology (Grant Thornton 2012; Cory and Pruske 2012). Managers at public accounting firms are stressing, for example, that new hires need to be proficient in using Excel because the skill improves efficiency in the audit function (Welch, Madison, and Welch 2010). The purpose of the current study is to explore the emphasis being placed on Excel skills in accounting education.
We survey 245 faculty at over 100 accounting programs. We find that even though a majority of faculty incorporate Excel in their accounting classes, there is a disconnect between the Excel skills that faculty believe is important for public accounting and the Excel skills used most often by new hires at public accounting firms. (Data for the new hires is from Ragland and Ramachandran 2014). We also find that students are not fully proficient in Excel based on faculty perceptions.
Our study contributes to the educational accounting literature by expanding our knowledge of Excel skills used (possibly needed) in an accounting curriculum. Specifically, the results from our study should help educators better understand differences between the emphasis being placed on Excel in the accounting classroom and the emphasis being placed on Excel in public accounting. Further, while previous research (e.g., Drew 2012; Convery and Swaney 2011) suggests the importance of accounting students understanding how to use Excel, the findings from our study can be used to help identify specific Excel skills that are (may need to be) incorporated into accounting programs to help students prepare for possible future careers in public accounting.
