Study on Undergraduate Accounting Education Based on Accountant Vocational Ability in China

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1 Study on Undergraduate Accounting Education Based on Accountant Vocational Ability in China LI Shanshan School of economics and management, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, Henan, P.R. China, Abstract: The goal of undergraduate accounting education is for college graduates to be professional accountants. With the continuous development of the market economy, social demands on the accounting profession have undergone tremendous changes. Based on accountant vocational ability, this article first analyses components of vocational ability for professional accountants, then discusses the difference between undergraduate accounting education and professional needs of accountants, finally this article proposes the countermeasure of undergraduate accounting education reform. Keywords: Undergraduate accounting education, Accountant, Vocational ability, Education reform 1 Introduction Since 1980's, the international accounting organization and many accounting professional bodies have undertaken some researches on accountant vocational ability and methods. They generally believe that these researches are crucially important for the accountancy profession to face the challenges of intellectual economy times. The undergraduate accounting education, an important component of accounting education, has undertaken the essential missions that cultivate all levels of society-needed accountants based market-oriented culture. Along with the development of market economy in depth and international economic integration, the aims and acts of accounting professional education are gradually improving. But the undergraduate accounting education in our country still lags behind the needs of the market. In the new accounting education environment, university undergraduate accounting should pay more attention to the training on vocational ability for professional accountants, and improve education quality in the end. 2 Basic Components of Vocational Ability for Professional Accountants Vocational ability is the basic ability for people who are engaged in a variety of industries. According to the general view, vocational ability consists of required knowledge, skills, and competencies. The development of vocational ability is an important way of the forming of the manpower capital. The demands for accounting personnel in practice circle have shift from just focusing on accounting knowledge to concentrating professional ethics, practical ability, interpersonal communication and other vocational skills. With the development of knowledge-based economy and business environment, enterprises show a group of forms of organization, information transmission network, diversification of operating direction, capital flows in international development, and business activities range from domestic market to international market, the traditional professional skills can no longer meet the needs of accounting career development. According to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC),vocational ability for professional accountants consist of professional knowledge professional skills and professional values. 2.1 Professional knowledge Professional knowledge includes three aspects:1accounting, finance and relevant knowledge; 548

2 2organization and enterprise knowledge; 3IT knowledge, accounting, finance and relevant knowledge provides the technological foundations. Organizations and enterprise knowledge provides specific environment for professional accountants. IT knowledge consist of general knowledge control knowledge and etc. 2.2 Professional skills According to International Education Standards, the proper technique is helpful for professional accountants to get knowledge by making use of accounting education. Accountants doesn't always get skills from the specific course, more knowledge is obtained from education plan and experienced practice. Professional skills for accountants include five aspects: 1intellectual skills; 2technical skills; 3personal skills; 4communication skills; 5business management skills. 2.3 Professional values According to International Education Standards, the professional accountants should get professional values professional ethics and professional attitude. Professional values run consistently through accountants jobs. The appropriate moral behavior is the same important as professional skills. Professional values include four aspects: 1high social responsibility; 2sustainable development and lifelong learning; 3remaining reliability, timeliness and modest; 4abiding by the law and administrative regulations. 3 The Theoretical Relationship Between Undergraduate Accounting Education and Professional Needs of Accountants At the age of intellective economy, accountants must be knowledge workers. So accountants should receive some formal education to obtain competence about how to apply the theory and analyze accounting practices. In recent years the social requirements for accountants are higher and higher. The proportion of demand for undergraduate increases more. The secondary vocational education is far from being able to meet the needs of various kinds of units. Students for Ph. D and M. S are unwilling to work in business enterprise because of their strong theory and higher welfare pay. Given the above analysis, undergraduate accounting education is the core of accounting education system. Undergraduate accounting is the main force in cultivating high level accounting professionals in the long term. Consequently, how to train the talent accounting undergraduate which can meet the social demands is the main problem for undergraduate accounting education. 4 The Difference Between Undergraduate Accounting Education and Professional Needs of Accountants 4.1 Importance of the undergraduate accounting education content appear deviation The college is the base that develops person with ability of high administrative levels. At present the teaching in college pay more attention to professional knowledge, lacking of education in vocational morality. With the increase of listed companies, they are playing an increasingly important role in the economy of modern society. In our listed - corporations, the accounting information has more information users and more influence. If some accountants lose their occupational ethics, enables them to maintain the market economy order and the social public benefit. For accountancy students, the education in morality stayed low, so far as to completely neglect. This education easily led to the deficiency of vocational morality, these would certainly have the students credibility bring hidden dangers. In recent years, accounting misstating reflect that there has been serious slide in accountant professional morals. In the next place, lacking of developing professional skills has already been one of the important reasons 549

3 that block the cultivation of qualified talents. For the lack of flexibility and adaptability, and poor communication; many employers believe that the new university graduates do not meet local requirements. Besides professional Technical ability, accountants must have a high level of self-management team spirit and communication. The present educational system can t satisfy accountants demands. 4.2 Importance of the undergraduate accounting practice teaching appear deviation A successful accountant is trained from aspects of the education and practice. Practical teaching and theoretical teaching have the equal position. It is an important way to develop the students' practical ability and enterprising spirit. Under the traditional educational systems, university training project overweight theoretical knowledge-based training. The proportion of practice operation is low, failing to equip the student with operation technical ability. As for practical teaching mode, most universities arrange the practical teaching after theoretical teaching. However, this model easily make students lack of experience, facing the problem of "Theory Divorced from Practice". Consequently, strengthening accounting practice can allow the students to fully theory with practice. 5 Countermeasures of Undergraduate Accounting Education Reform 5.1 Redefined undergraduate accounting training objective to meet market demand Considering that the knowledge and skill what the accountant has, the undergraduate accounting training objective should reflect the demands of the accounting profession. This accounting major aims to train compound professionals (Accountant or CPA) which possess fine professional ethics and knowledge, and meet the requirements of corporations or non-profit organizations. The training objective should follow the principles: Firstly, the goals should fit the masses education, setting up requirements in terms of skills, knowledge and quality; Secondly, the aim should vary from level to level; Thirdly, the accounting major should be subdivided into specific professional orientations,with respective goal and course. Therefore, the educational goals for the accounting should be: to acquire the knowledge of accounting, economy, management and law; to be able to do some relative jobs; to be able to deal with the accounting matters, financial management and audit jobs in enterprises, accountant offices and some government offices; to get proficient in a foreign language and computer skills. In one word is to become high quality, versatile and creative accounting professionals. 5.2 Construct training curriculum system to improve teaching efficiency and teaching quality In order to meet the requirements of vocational ability for professional accountants, we need for accounting curriculum system innovation to resolve the enormous challenges that accounting higher education in our country is faced with. Accounting is an economic management application subject with stronger technique and practice. The understanding and research must be based on complete grip of economic activity process and accurate judgment of economic business character. As for curriculum system, the universities should consider the courses as a whole, centering on the accounting education goal, and treat the courses as an object rather than a process. To build a reasonable curriculum system, specific say, courses basically express range of the following aspects: courses names should be standardized, course materials reasonable, courses combined closely, teaching hours reasonable. The new curriculum should pay attention to develop students' intelligence potential, to enhance their lessons, master and apply knowledge. 5.3 Improve traditional teaching method to optimizing the teaching mode Practice of the interactive teaching In the past, a taking-in teaching mode was often adopted in the accounting courses, which was inclined to more explaining and less analyzing. Therefore, teaching is designed to enable students to actively 550

4 participate in the learning process in development capacity. During the course time, professors mainly act as steerers and lead students to form their opinions and viewpoints. The interactive teaching, a teaching method born with teaching, is a good way to achieve the effects of education. The interaction teaching method can cause both teachers and students to display own subjective initiative; transfer the students to participate in the teaching, raise students' innovation spirit. For example, Britain will have an interactive teaching method, group discussions, including many operations are operating group, and then your team members to contribute. Taking full advantage of interactive teaching will benefit not only the students but also the teachers in medical studies Strengthening practical teaching Accountant is a utility very strong discipline, only then the apply theory to reality, can receive the ideal effect. The accounting specialty is a practical strong discipline, is very strict to specialists' actual operation ability request. Accounting education should focus on students competence-building instead of their knowledge accumulation, focus on professional skills training, as well as the formation of the overall quality. During accounting education, we must strengthen practical teaching. As for teachers, the school should make policies to encourage teachers to adopt case-teaching in professional teaching, and encourage the young teachers to further their study, allow the teacher to take part-time job in the enterprises. Practical teaching includes social practice teaching and campus practice teaching. Social practice takes many forms, such as visiting the factory, on-the-job experience. Campus practice teaching mainly refers to teaching at accounting laboratory. During the course of teaching reform, every institution of higher learning puts much emphasis on the construction of laboratory. The lab should be expanded to cover the financial accounting, the analysis of financial reports and audits etc. Practice includes computerized work as well as manual one. And college will be able to employ financial and taxation departments, accounting firms,enterprises and institutions director, such as who has abundant of accounting practice and the educated personnel for part-time teachers, ask them to come to school for teaching or lectures. Facts speak louder than words,to use their personal experience, work practices and tora of the experience to educate and influence the students, may receive unexpected results. Only by close interconnection of in-class and after-class practice, and of school and social practice can students' versatile practice skills be better cultivated. 5.4 Improve course assessment Course assessment is an important link in teaching activities. Scientific and reasonable assessment plays an important role in raising students professional abilities and enhancing students full development. Traditional course assessment examined students by means of examination paper. This assessment highlights the importance of theory study, reflecting learning ability of students. But there are some problems in it. First, this standard focused upon one paper, which made students passive learning, distorting the tests' educational purpose. Second, this standard focused on theory and memory in traditional exam, single exam method, and can t play student's main body role fully. Third, evaluation criteria did not accord with social requirement of the accountant-work. The university laid great emphasis on the students' integrated development. But, grades depend heavily on performance on examination. The examination's requirements seem over-conceptual and superficial. So changing the current ways of accounting education curriculum assessment and launching a diversified and competency-based assessment system is the key that quality educates to be carried out. First, for accounting major courses, the college should set up the examination standards suitable for the ability cultivation, and advertise these standards to students, and make them know the basic requirement of every course. Second, establishing practical teaching appraisal system is necessary. We should construct a performance evaluation system of this practical teaching scheme which includes achievements, abilities, and process. Third, the colleges do some checks on vocational ability. 551

5 5.5 Strengthen honesty and credibility education Accounting higher education is an important link in developing accounting professional ethics. Then accounting professional ethics education are essential ways to improve the level of the accounting professional ethics. To enhance accounting professional ethics, culture is an important measure for high-quality personnel. Some experts say, corruption of accounting professional ethics is mostly due to lacking of moral education. We should make it more capable to penetrate moral education into all phases of education, help them built Honoring credit for a lifetime. Thus, reform is needed and the diversity in teaching methods and in teaching contents should be encouraged. In the higher grades, we can design relevant elective courses such as accounting professional ethics and case, accounting system design etc. In the last year, professional ethics could be strengthened through series lecture series on accounting policies professional judgment and choice under the restraints of professional ethics. Then the students professional ethics could be effectively improved, the graduates competitiveness could be increased. 6 Conclusion Along with the constant development of the market economy, the role of accountants is getting attention widely from government, investors and other social communities. The traditional undergraduate accounting education teaching method can not keep up with the advancement of society. It is necessary to carry out reform of accounting talent education mode. This situation sets a severe task for accounting educational circles, that is, how to foster qualified graduates possessing vocational ability. References [1]. Hu Xinghui. College Accounting Status and Improvement of Undergraduate Education in China [J]. Journal of Hubei Financial and Economic College, 2010(04) (in Chinese) [2]. GaoYuan. Discussion of High-quality Application-oriented Accounting Undergraduate Training Model [J].Journal of Jilin Province Economic Management Cadre College,2010(03) (in Chinese) [3]. Li Rong. Research on Applied Talents Training of Accounting Undergraduate under Background of Financial Crisis [J]. Journal of Changchun Normal University(Natural Science),2009(10) (in Chinese) [4]. Cheng Fengyan. Reform in Practice Teaching for Application-based Accounting Undergraduate Students[J], Journal of Liaoning Institute of Science and Technology,2009(03) (in Chinese) 552