Graduate perceptions of personal and interpersonal skills development in an Australian accounting degree: the first step

The importance and development of non-technical skills and competencies in accounting graduates is receiving increasing attention in higher education business faculties. This paper reports on a project whose first step is to investigate the development of those personal and interpersonal skills that are highly valued by the accounting profession and modern workplace environments. From this work, an attempt is made to establish to what extent personal and interpersonal skills were learned during the course and how it might be possible to facilitate development through the units of a business accounting degree. Ultimately, business faculties may need to further enhance graduates' development of personal and interpersonal skills through innovative curriculum initiatives