Teaching transversal competences in the area of accounting: Fact or Fiction?
Author
Patricia Crespo – (Universitat Pompeu Fabra – Escola Universitaria del Maresme)
Ester Oliveras – (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Received March 1, 2017; accepted May 25, 2017.
Abstract
A high percentage of graduates in Economics and Business start a professional career in jobs related to accounting, auditing or finance. These areas have been characterized in recent decades by a large international as well as numerous financial scandals due to fraud and accounting manipulations. In Higher Education is necessary to ensure that key transferable skills are developed in the accounting subjects. The case method has been applied, by analyzing the accounting subjects of a Business Degree. The elements of the case are: syllabus analysis, faculty’s opinion and actual practice and video recording of seminars. A detailed analysis shows that the transversal competences that are currently being taught and evaluated are oral communication skills and to a lesser degree written communication skills and teamwork. The ethical and social responsibility of the company is discussed tangentially through case studies in one compulsory subject. In this work, we show in which areas there can be inconsistencies in the development and evaluation of transversals skills in higher education and specifically in the accounting area.
Un alto porcentaje de graduados en Economía y Negocios comienzan una carrera profesional en trabajos relacionados con contabilidad, auditoría o finanzas. Estas áreas se han caracterizado en las últimas décadas por un gran escándalo internacional y por numerosos escándalos financieros debido al fraude y las manipulaciones contables. En la educación superior es necesario asegurar que se desarrollen habilidades transferibles clave en las materias contables. El método del caso se ha aplicado, analizando los temas contables de una Licenciatura en Negocios. Los elementos del caso son: análisis del plan de estudios, opinión del profesorado y práctica real y grabación de video de seminarios. Un análisis detallado muestra que las competencias transversales que actualmente se enseñan y evalúan son las habilidades de comunicación oral y, en menor grado, las habilidades de comunicación escrita y el trabajo en equipo. La responsabilidad ética y social de la empresa se discute tangencialmente a través de estudios de caso en un tema obligatorio. En este trabajo, mostramos en qué áreas puede haber inconsistencias en el desarrollo y la evaluación de habilidades transversales en la educación superior y específicamente en el área de contabilidad.
Citation
Crespo, P., & Oliveras, E. (2017). Teaching transversal competences in the area of accounting: Fact or Fiction?. European Accounting and Management Review, 3(2), 65-74.
Figures
Keywords
- Evaluation
- Transversal competences
- Accounting
Palabras clave
- Evaluación
- Competencias transversales
- Contabilidad
Share this article
Related Posts
Article 3, Volume 10 Issue 1
Web communication of the SDGs in Catalan universities Author Núria Arimany-Serra – (Universitat de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya) Anna Sabata-Aliberch – (Universitat de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya) Josep Burgaya – (Universitat de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya) DOI: 10.26595/eamr.2014.10.1.3 Download PDF View HTML Received May 1, 2024; accepted October 19,
Article 2, Volume 10 Issue 1
WPPM Index Reporting – How can the key figure of women’s quota be appropriately integrated into a reporting system? Author Bettina Binder – (Hochschule Pforzheim) DOI: 10.26595/eamr.2014.10.1.2 Download PDF View HTML Received October 31, 2023; accepted June 13, 2024. Abstract English While women in particular were employed less or not at all in the companies
Article 1, Volume 10 Issue 1
Analysis of the sustainability of swimming pools: Water and energy cycles Author Núria Arimany-Serrat – (Universitat de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya) Juan José Gómez Guillén – (Universitat de Vic – Universitat Central de Catalunya) DOI: 10.26595/eamr.2014.10.1.1 Download PDF View HTML Received February 25, 2024; accepted April 9, 2024. Abstract English The objective of