Abstract
Over the past two decades, higher education institutions, employers, and professional bodies have increasingly emphasised the importance of graduate attributes that enable success in complex professional environments. Among these attributes, critical thinking skills are consistently identified as essential for employability and professional competence. Employers and professional accounting bodies frequently report that graduates should possess well-developed critical thinking skills, yet many are perceived as inadequately prepared to meet workplace expectations. Consequently, higher education institutions face increasing pressure to develop these skills effectively.
Critical thinking is often context- and discipline-specific; therefore, it is important to consider what it entails within particular fields and how it can best be developed in students. This need is especially evident in the accounting profession, where accountants are required to apply sophisticated problem-solving and decision-making skills in increasingly complex business environments. Furthermore, technological advances and automation have reduced the importance of routine processing tasks while increasing the demand for higher-order cognitive abilities, including critical thinking.
Despite this emphasis, research continues to identify a gap between higher education and accounting practice regarding the development and application of critical thinking skills. While considerable attention has been given to teaching strategies that enhance critical thinking, little research has explored how lecturers and students conceptualise critical thinking within accounting practice itself. The literature further highlights a lack of consensus regarding the definition of critical thinking in accounting. Existing studies generally conceptualise critical thinking as either a cognitive skill, a disposition/mindset, or a combination of both. Researchers have also noted uncertainty regarding the specific forms of critical thinking required by the accounting profession. Consequently, calls have been made for further investigation into how critical thinking is understood and demonstrated in accounting practice.
Against this background, the objective of this study was to investigate how financial accounting lecturers and students conceptualise and understand the critical thinking skills required of accountants in professional practice. Specifically, the study sought to deepen understanding of what accountants who demonstrate critical thinking “look like” in practice, thereby contributing to the ongoing conceptualisation of critical thinking within accounting education. A qualitative research approach was adopted. Data were collected through a survey involving 64 participants and six focus group interviews. Participants comprised financial accounting lecturers and accounting students from a South African university. The survey and focus groups explored perceptions of the nature of critical thinking skills required in accounting practice and how professional accountants demonstrate such skills. The collected data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify recurring themes and patterns.
Providing evidence of an education–practice gap, some lecturers and students were uncertain about when and how critical thinking skills are required in professional accounting practice. This finding suggests that not all participants possessed a clear understanding of how critical thinking is demonstrated in workplace settings. It is therefore recommended that accounting lecturers engage more actively with industry to develop a comprehensive understanding of accounting practice and the critical thinking skills it requires and subsequently communicate these insights to their students. Overall, lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of critical thinking in accounting practice were largely consistent with conceptualisations reported in prior literature. Critical thinking was viewed as comprising both an enquiring mindset (a disposition) and a set of cognitive skills, including the analysis of information, the exercise of professional judgement, and the application of accounting knowledge to solve problems.
In addition to the components of critical thinking identified in prior literature, students highlighted lifelong learning as a key enabler of critical thinking in practice. In a continually evolving professional environment, accountants must regularly update their technical knowledge and skills to ensure that their judgements and decisions are informed by current accounting standards, regulations, and practices. Students also identified several elements of critical thinking that were consistent with prior literature but were not mentioned by lecturers, namely a commitment to accuracy, ethical behaviour (both dispositions), and holistic thinking (a cognitive skill). The absence of these aspects in lecturers’ conceptualisations may suggest that lecturers become highly focused on individual subjects or modules and therefore pay less attention to the broader professional context in which critical thinking is applied. To address this, lecturers should actively integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines into their teaching and assessment practices to promote deeper engagement with subject matter and enhance students’ critical thinking skills. For example, ethical considerations could be incorporated into Financial Accounting assessments.
Consistent with prior literature, students also believed that certain non-cognitive (or soft) skills support the effective application of critical thinking. These included communication, interpersonal, and stakeholder-management skills. The fact that lecturers did not associate critical thinking with relational skills may indicate that they conceptualise it primarily as an individual capability developed and demonstrated independently. However, as the literature emphasises that critical thinking is strengthened through collaborative and peer-learning activities, lecturers should provide opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate critical thinking in group contexts. Examples include group discussions, case studies, and project-based learning activities.
The study makes several contributions. First, it addresses a gap in the accounting education literature by examining how lecturers and students conceptualise critical thinking in accounting practice. In doing so, the study deepens understanding of critical thinking within financial accounting and broadens existing conceptualisations of the construct. Second, by comparing lecturers’ and students’ perceptions, the study provides insight into similarities and differences in understanding, revealing evidence of a potential education–practice gap. Third, the findings may encourage reflection among lecturers and students on their understanding of critical thinking in professional contexts and provide recommendations to support its more effective development within accounting education. Finally, the study may facilitate dialogue between higher education institutions and accounting practitioners, contributing to stronger alignment between accounting education and professional practice.
Keywords: accounting practice; critical thinking; gap between higher education and accounting practice; lecturers’ perceptions; skills gap; students’ perceptions
- This article’s featured image was created by Nataliya Vaitkevich and obtained from Pexels.