The utility of cost accounting skills to AAS accounting graduates for employment in selected Virginia manufacturing plants

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the utility of cost accounting skills to AAS accounting graduates for employment in selected Virginia manufacturing plants. The population of 480 manufacturing plants employing at least 100 persons in the Commonwealth was surveyed. Of the 303 returns--63.1 percent of the population, 58 were not filled in but usually contained explanations, so these returns could not be coded for computer analyses. Although 49 of these questionnaires were from plants still in operation, there appeared to be little employment opportunity for cost accountants in most of these because the majority had accounting services performed at other locations. The remaining 245 returns--51.0 percent of the population--were employed to resolve the seven research questions. Absolute frequencies, percentage frequencies, and chi square tests of significance were used.

Employing the 245 usable responses for this study, the following major conclusions regarding Virginia manufacturing plants were rendered.

1. Cost accounting skills are needed in these plants.

2. Generally intermediate or advanced levels of proficiency in these cost accounting skills are needed.

3. Standard and job order and/or process cost accounting systems are used in over two-thirds of these plants.

4. For non-supervisory accounting positions, these plants prefer to hire trained individuals.

5. For non-supervisory accounting employees, two-year community/junior college accounting programs are the single most preferred source by these plants, with high schools and four-year colleges being the second and third sources respectively.

6. These plants prefer two-year community/junior college accounting graduates trained to fill future openings in non-supervisory accounting positions primarily in plants with computerized cost accounting systems and secondarily in plants without computerized cost accounting systems.

Recommendations rendered for Virginia community colleges preparing AAS accounting graduates for accounting positions in Virginia manufacturing plants were as follows:

1. Two-year community college accounting programs to prepare graduates for employment in non-supervisory accounting positions in these plants should be offered.

2. These community colleges should include as a part of these accounting programs all of the 45 cost accounting skills contained in this study.

3. The levels of proficiency in these 45 cost accounting skills contained in this study should be used to aid in determining the degree of training in the various skills.

4. These community colleges should train their accounting graduates in both computerized cost accounting systems and manual cost accounting systems; however, the former type of preparation should be emphasized.

5. These community colleges should include in-depth instruction in standard, job order, and process cost accounting systems in their training of these graduates.

6. Since for non-supervisory accounting positions in these plants higher preferences were shown first for two-year community/ junior college accounting graduates, second for high school graduates who have taken a bookkeeping class, and third for four-year college accounting graduates, educational opportunities for all three groups should continue to be provided in the Commonwealth.