An Exploratory Study of the Digital Competences of Italian Accountants: Some Preliminary Results

Abstract

Purpose - This paper examines the current digital competences of Italian accountants and to what extent these competences are evident in their competence profiles. Methodology - In this study, 6,442 profiles of accountants, extracted from the professional social network LinkedIn, were analysed using the technique for the analysis of textual data. Findings - The results of the study reveal that the male users expose more often in their professional profiles the possession of information technology skills than female accountants. Moreover, the results highlight a limited development of data analytics skills, which are reported in only 13% of the LinkedIn profiles analysed. Furthermore, the findings also show that there is a gap between the digital competences held by accountants who belong to different geographical areas. The accountants living in northern Italy, in fact, report more digital competences in their LinkedIn profiles than those living in central and southern Italy. Originality - This study stimulates the ongoing debate on the competence’s changes of the accountants in the digital technology era.