Compliance of accounting education programs with international accounting education standards: The case of ies 3 in Tunisia

Abstract

Purpose: International literature shows that employability skills of accounting graduates are considered as a major issue in the economies of the 21st. The literature on accounting education shows that little research has been conducted on Arab students in the North Africa region. Studies on accounting education research have used different techniques and methods, but Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) has gained very little concern. The present study aims to empirically assess the employability skills of accounting graduates under Accounting International Education Standards (IESs) in Tunisia as a MENA country. Research Methods: In this study, cross-sectional design with a questionnaire survey is adopted to obtain the perception of different respondents. Our study was based on multi-stakeholder analysis and a survey of 419 respondents, including university teachers, professional accountants and recent graduates in Tunisia. PLS-SEM was performed with Lisrel 8.8, using maximum likelihood estimates, to test the hypothesized models. Findings: The findings showed that the accounting education program in Tunisia allowed the development of intellectual, organizational and general skills significantly. However, interpersonal and communication skills were considered as the weak link of the accounting education program in Tunisia with the agreement of all respondents. In addition, divergent views were noted regarding the ability of the Tunisian accounting education program to develop technical and functional skills and personal skills. Implications for Research and Practice: These findings have implications for accounting academics in different universities, different employers and the target government authorities as well as the target IFAC member bodies.