Faculty of Accounting, Dai Nam University: Training practitioners in Accounting and Auditing

Recently, the unemployment rate of new graduates has increased significantly. There are some professions where it is very difficult for students to find a job in their field after graduation. The accounting industry is no exception to this general trend of society. The current situation of accounting students being unemployed and working in the wrong field is quite high, but the enrollment target of colleges and universities each year is still up to tens of thousands of students, so the supply is increasing. But is the accounting industry really overstaffed? According to the survey results of the Jobstreet human resources company in March 2016, in Vietnam, the demand for recruiting human resources in the Accounting - Auditing industry of enterprises is still in the top 3 industries with the highest recruitment demand.

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Source: according to research by HR Company Jobstreet.com, March 2016

So, in reality, the Accounting - Auditing industry has high supply and high unemployment rate but also high recruitment demand? So why is there such a paradox?

Why are accounting students unemployed?

One of the basic reasons for student unemployment is “Excess quantity but lack of quality”. According to feedback from businesses recruiting personnel for the accounting department, 80% – 90% of recruited students do not have the ability to immediately access the work of a real “Accountant”.

1. Graduates are equipped with quite a lot of accounting theory and principles but lack practice , so their working skills are limited . Meanwhile, businesses want to recruit people who can do professional work immediately to reduce costs and retraining time.

2. The job of a real accountant in an enterprise is not simply to account correctly according to the provisions of the accounting regime and to comply with accounting standards, but also to comply with tax laws and other specialized laws. However, students often do not have a firm grasp of tax laws and other specialized laws , and are not able to apply them flexibly. to handle it in the most beneficial way for the business.

3. The number of students in a class is too large (30 to 100 students/class), while there is only 1 instructor, so training in working skills at schools is extremely limited.

4. Soft skills and foreign language ability are still lacking and weak

How did the Faculty of Accounting, Dai Nam University overcome the above reasons?

The Faculty of Accounting, Dai Nam University was established with the establishment of Dai Nam University. Since its establishment, the Faculty has attracted a large number of students and has increased steadily over the years. Up to now, thousands of students of the Faculty of Accounting have graduated and worked in Enterprises , Banks, financial institutions... accepted by society with relatively high income, making positive contributions to the socio-economic development of the country.

Along with the trend of recruiting Accounting human resources of society and the training goals of the School, the training program and teaching curriculum of the faculty are always updated to meet the practical needs of all types of businesses. The goal of the Faculty is to train practitioners in accounting and auditing who are “ good at their profession and good at working skills ” right from when students are still in school with the motto “ practice as you learn, theory goes hand in hand with practice at businesses”. The Faculty of Accounting, Dai Nam University has proposed practical solutions to solve the reasons why students find it difficult to find jobs in their majors as mentioned above as follows:

1. Implementing the virtual business accounting internship model right at the University for final year students. With this model, instead of doing an internship in a "horseback riding" state at a business, students will experience all the work of an accountant right at a "virtual business" organized and guided by the School. Students are directly guided and shown by teachers with in-depth knowledge as well as practical knowledge. Students can proficiently do tasks such as: preparing documents, processing documents, processing accounting data, reflecting business information on books, preparing financial reports, declaring taxes on HTKK software... The program also organizes "Accounting Game" to help students have the mindset to arrange and organize accounting work at the Business in a scientific and reasonable way.

2. The Faculty's training program reduces academic theory subjects, increases practical skills subjects , and adds subjects on economic law, accounting and auditing law to help students apply them well to their jobs after graduation.

3. The number of students in the virtual accounting internship model is under 30 students/class and is divided into study groups of 4-5 students with a teacher directly instructing. With such a number , students are meticulously instructed on the necessary skills of an accountant . Students can complete the work of an accountant on their own right after finishing the course.

A lesson of Accounting students

4. Right from the time students enter Dai Nam University, the school has focused on enhancing soft skills training (communication skills, behavior, solving difficult and unexpected situations, teamwork skills, etc.). Students' foreign language proficiency is also one of Dai Nam University's top priorities. Students study English in all semesters to ensure that upon graduation, they achieve a minimum TOEIC score of 450 .

Therefore, after 4 years of studying, Accounting students - Dai Nam University are truly different when they are fully equipped with basic knowledge of socio-economics, modern knowledge of economics, finance, banking and monetary law, basic principles of accounting, financial management, marketing ... especially in-depth knowledge and practical skills of accounting in the fields of industry, trade, basic construction, services, banking ... in all fields of production, business and administrative units. Students are also dynamic and confident because of their soft skills and foreign language and computer skills, fully equipped to apply for jobs in businesses or administrative units. According to statistics, more than 90% of Accounting students of Dai Nam University have jobs immediately after graduation within 3-6 months, with stable income. There are cases where after three years of graduation, they have been appointed as Chief Accountants, and are highly appreciated by businesses for their capacity and professional ethics. According to feedback from some employers, Accounting students of Dai Nam University were very confident in the interview and testing process to work at businesses, surpassing many competitors from other universities. Therefore, the rate of candidates who are Dai Nam students being accepted into reputable businesses is relatively high. These are good signs proving that the direction of the Faculty of Accounting in particular and Dai Nam University in general is truly suitable for the current recruitment needs of society, helping students have many opportunities to find jobs in their major after graduation.