Communication Skills and Accounting: Do Perceptions Match Reality?

Elsie Ameen, PhD, and Sharon M. Bruns, PhD, and Cynthia Jackson, PhD

A large body of research confirms that accounting professionals and educators believe that communications skills are vital for success in the accounting profession. Over the past few decades, there have been calls for the accounting college curriculum to improve students' communication skills, and many schools have undertaken efforts to address deficient oral or written skills, with varying results. One major issue may be that the profession tends initially to attract students who believe that mathematical or technical skills are most important, including a segment of students who believe that a lack of communication skills will not hinder their progress in the profession.