Accounting Graduates’ Preparedness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Belinda Schutte (), Ben Marx () and Rozanne Smith ()
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Belinda Schutte: University of Johannesburg
Ben Marx: University of Johannesburg
Rozanne Smith: University of Johannesburg

A chapter in Embracing Technological Agility in Accounting and Business – Vol. 1, 2026, pp 141-155 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a technological revolution that has fundamentally changed the way in which people live, work, and relate to one another and will be characterised by a fusion of technologies blurring the line between physical, digital, and biological spheres. It is, therefore, important that universities prepare their accounting graduates to ensure that they are provided with a good understanding of what the 4IR is, the technologies used in the 4IR, and the necessary skills and competencies that will be required in the 4IR. This study examines accounting graduates’ perceptions of their undergraduate education in preparing them for the 4IR. Specifically, it explores whether their studies provided a solid understanding of 4IR concepts, exposure to relevant technologies, and the development of essential skills and competencies. A literature review was conducted to examine the 4IR landscape, including key technologies and required competencies for accounting professionals. Insights from the review informed the design of a survey, which was distributed via social media to accounting graduates. A total of 131 responses were received and the survey findings were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The findings indicate that the accounting graduates believe the current undergraduate accounting curriculum provided a good understanding of the 4IR and introduced them to some technologies of the 4IR. The findings further indicated that the undergraduate accounting curriculum sufficiently develops the necessary soft skills. However, digital skills are not adequately developed in the current undergraduate accounting curriculum. It is therefore recommended that the universities revisit their undergraduate accounting curriculum to ensure that the curriculum develops the necessary digital skills to ensure accounting graduates are prepared for the 4IR.

Keywords: 4IR; Skills and competencies; Accounting education; Soft skills; Digital skills; Accounting undergraduate curriculum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-13380-9_10

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