Developing operational accounting competencies during the pandemic using emergency online learning

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced all the universities in Indonesia to switch their on-campus learning to online learning. Some universities could only provide emergency online learning since they were not ready to conduct proper online learning. This switching may decrease the students’ engagement with learning and impact their perceived competencies. Operational accounting competencies (OAC) are important basic competencies which allow accounting graduates to perform generic jobs in their field. Hence, this study attempts to identify the impact of emergency online learning on students’ perceived OAC. A survey was used to collect data on the students’ engagement with synchronous and asynchronous learning and OAC. The study collected 122 items of data and analysed them using descriptive and path analyses. The students have reported that synchronous learning—online classroom engagement—only had a small impact on improving their perceived OAC. The improvement in the students’ perceived OAC was mainly caused by asynchronous learning in terms of active, collaborative and enrichment learning. Lecturers should improve their skills in organising online learning to increase their students’ engagement. Accounting departments need to provide a more complete structure, better infrastructure, and other necessary technologies to improve online learning, as the pandemic’s duration cannot be predicted.