Investigating the Role of Professional Accounting Education in Enhancing Meta-Competency Development

Abstract

A broad set of business competencies, meta-competencies (MCs), include influencing/persuading, teamwork/relationship building, critical/analytical thinking, self/time management, leadership, strategic thinking, presentation, and communication. This chapter incorporates research from two studies examining MCs in undergraduate and professional business programs. The MISLEM project found that, in comparison to graduates, employers demonstrated less optimism about graduates' competencies. Subsequently, Morpurgo investigated differences in the perception of competency acquisition between professional accountants (PAs) and supervisors in Canada by posing three questions: 1) Is there a MC importance gap between Canadian PAs and their supervisors? 2) Do professional accounting programs contribute to bridging the MC capability gap? and 3) What factors contribute to MC development? The study found perceptual differences between PAs and supervisors regarding the importance and capability of MCs as well as differences in work experience and classroom learning for competency development.