Ghanaian accounting students report acceptable but uneven technical and professional skills

A descriptive cross-sectional survey of 105 final-year Bachelor of Education (Accounting) students at the University of Cape Coast found acceptable but uneven self-reported development of technical competence and professional skills. Technical competence had an overall mean score of 3.89 on a five-point scale, while professional skills averaged 4.07. The students also reported a strong, statistically significant association between the two areas: the partial least squares structural equation model estimated a path coefficient of 0.708 (t = 10.681, p < .001; f² = 1.007).

The study, published as research in Discover Education, used a closed-ended questionnaire based on the International Accounting Education Standards IES 2 and IES 3. It included 11 items measuring technical competence and 12 measuring professional skills. Respondents rated each item from 1, representing no development, to 5, representing full development. The questionnaire was piloted with 13 level 400 accounting students at a comparable Ghanaian university, where the reported Cronbach’s alpha was 0.83. Face and content validity were assessed by the researchers’ supervisors, and ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Cape Coast institutional review board.

Technical development was strongest in taxation, management accounting and economics, each with a mean score of 4.08. Governance, risk management and internal control received the lowest mean, 3.51. Information technology scored 3.68 and had the largest standard deviation among the technical areas, 1.02, indicating greater variation in students’ self-assessed development. No technical subject area reached the scale maximum of 5.00, which represented full development.

The researchers proposed several explanations for the pattern, without establishing them through a separate curriculum analysis. They noted that professional certification examinations often focus on taxation and management accounting, while case studies and quantitative problem-solving may strengthen learning in those areas. They also suggested that governance and risk management may receive less practical instruction. The lower IT score, together with the variation in students’ responses, was interpreted as raising questions about whether IT training in the programme was sufficiently consistent for a profession affected by digital technologies.

Professional skills were rated somewhat more strongly overall. The ability to work with others received the highest mean, 4.28, while communication and leadership were also described as areas of acceptable development. The lowest-rated professional domain was the ability to engage with experts to settle conflicts, with a mean of 3.83. The authors associated the stronger teamwork result with the use of group projects, team-based assignments and presentations that reproduce some workplace dynamics, while suggesting that conflict resolution receives less direct attention in technical accounting courses.

The structural model supported the study’s hypothesis that technical competence and professional-skills development are related among these students. The measurement model showed strong internal consistency: Cronbach’s alpha was 0.941 for technical competence and 0.932 for professional skills, while composite reliability was 0.944 and 0.935, respectively. Average variance extracted was 0.721 for technical competence and 0.689 for professional skills. The Heterotrait-Monotrait ratio between the constructs was 0.734, indicating that they remained empirically distinct despite their relationship.

The findings are consistent with the study’s use of consensus theory and human capital theory, which respectively emphasize alignment with workforce expectations and the contribution of education to skills and employability. The observed association does not show that technical instruction alone causes professional capability. The authors note that technical learning can provide opportunities to practise communication, teamwork, problem-solving and other professional skills, but earlier research discussed in the paper indicates that this transfer may depend on collaborative or applied teaching. The study itself did not compare different instructional designs or directly measure such teaching practices.

The research was conducted in a distinctive Ghanaian setting because Bachelor of Education (Accounting) programmes prepare students for both teaching and professional accounting roles. The authors argue that dividing course content, instructional time and practical placements between these two purposes may make it harder to provide extensive experience in every competency area. They also describe earlier Ghanaian studies that used employer perspectives after graduation, while the present study instead focuses on students’ perceptions during their final year. This student-centred approach may inform curricular interventions before graduation, although the findings are based on self-reports rather than workplace assessments.

The study has important limitations. It included only final-year Bachelor of Education accounting students at one university, limiting transferability to other programmes, institutions and countries. Its cross-sectional design cannot establish a causal direction or show how competencies developed over time. Self-reported assessments may be affected by social desirability or differences in students’ ability to evaluate their own abilities, and the closed-ended questionnaire prevented participants from describing their experiences in their own words. The model did not include potential control variables such as gender, age or prior work experience. Within these boundaries, the results provide evidence of acceptable but uneven competency development and a strong association between students’ technical competence and professional skills at the University of Cape Coast.

Subject of Research: A cross-sectional survey assessed self-reported technical competence and professional skills among final-year accounting students in Ghana.

Article Title: Evaluating business students’ technical competence and professional skills development in business education

Article References: Effah, E. D., Kwarteng, J. T., & Brown, M. (2026). Evaluating business students’ technical competence and professional skills development in business education. Discover Education, 5(1), Article 927. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-026-01917-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44217-026-01917-9

Keywords: accounting education, technical competence, professional skills, student competency, cross-sectional survey, Ghana, University of Cape Coast, PLS-SEM, accounting curriculum, Evaluating, business, students