Valmistuvan taloushallinnon merkonomin ammatillisen osaamisen kehittyminen. Tapausesimerkkinä tilitoimistot

Abstract

The development of the professional competence of vocational school business and administration students is studied during a process of on-the-job-learning before graduation. The empirical material of this study has been gathered through semistructured interviews with graduates from one educational institution and from accounting firm professionals in the on-the-job learning sites. The aim is to study the students' experiences and the experiences of the accounting professionals in process of developing students' competence during the on-the-job learning. In the empirical part, the level of experienced competence is compared with professional criteria, such as the knowledge-based ratings of the Erityisalojen liitto (Union of Private Sector Professionals) and the Taloushallintoliitto (Association of Finnish Accounting Firms). In addition, the results of the dissertation are compared with previous international and domestic studies. In Finland, the vocational qualifications in business and administration have not been studied in relation to financial accounting work tasks and work life expectations. In basic business economics education and also in the workplace, the concept of financial management is commonly used instead of accounting, so the empirical material also often refers to the tasks and competence of financial management. This research is a qualitative and interpretative field research. It is a methodology that, in accordance with the phenomenological-hermeneutical approach, examines the development of the professional competence of a graduate student in the on-the-job learning process. Initially it defines the professional competence of accounting and its construction as a professional competence in performing specific professional tasks in accordance with the organization's expectations of competence. In line with the hypothetical expectation gap model of Buin and Porter (2010), learning in real working life situations and the development of skills and the growth of professionalism are studied. On-the-job-learning at the accounting firm is considered in accordance with the theory of competence transfer (Koskinen & Pihlanto 2006) and the professional socialization theory (Anderson-Gough et al. 1998). Student learning and sharing habits or even operational cultures and values are studied in the accounting work context. The research showed that the development of accounting professional competence is influenced by personal factors, and that professional competence requires not only learning accounting but also professional socialization and customer service skills, analytical skills and communication skills. Keywords: accounting, competence, on-the-job learning, expectation gap, professional socialization