Auditors' Communication Requirements: A Study of Five MNCs in Singapore

Abstract

This article contributes to the research on preparing new auditors for their work. It investigates the work and communication needs of newly graduated auditors, their senior colleagues, and their managers in five MNCs ( multinational companies ) in Singapore. Much research indicates that accountancy graduates entering the profession are perceived to be lacking some important communication abilities. This study investigates how important auditors perceive interpersonal, oral, and written skills to be to them at different stages of their professional careers and the degree to which they perceive that they need to improve in these skills. As expected, the newly graduated audit assistants perceived the greatest need for improvement in all three skills. However, they also perceived that written skills were of lesser importance to them than interpersonal and oral skills. We suggest that accounting courses could prepare undergraduates more effectively in the oral/interpersonal skills needed in the initial stages of their auditing careers by introducing more case studies and by exploring the potential of the hypertext Internet environment to dovelop realistic simulations. These changes might involve the introduction of cross-disciplinary team teaching.AUDITING IS A PEOPLE-ORIENTED SEGMENT of the lUDITING IS A PEOPLE-ORIENTED SEGMENT of the accounting profession in which interaction with others is necessary in order to obtain information and carry out daily activities. This study investigated which communication skills are perceived to be required of auditors, and particularly newly graduated auditing assistants, in MNCs (multinational companies) in Singapore to find out how well new graduates are perceived to be prepared for their working lives as auditors and to recommend changes in accounting curricula to better prepare students for their future

Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes Important for Present‐Day Auditors

“…We find that oral communication skill is perceived to be more important than written communication skill. Goby and Lewis () report similar perceptions.…”

The written communication skills that matter most for accountants

“…Both of these studies were done in the United States. Surveys concerning the importance of written communication skills for new accountants have been done in New Zealand (McLaren, 1990), the UK (Morgan, 1997), Singapore (Goby and Lewis, 1999), and Australia (Juchau and Galvin, 1984;Zaid and Abraham, 1994). However, only the two studies mentioned have examined which specific written communication skills are needed.…”

Considering Bias in Government Audit Reports: Factors That Influence the Judgments of Internal Government Auditors

“…However, those courses will not rectify the apprehension that practicing accountants often feel toward writing. Nor can they address the fact that accountants place less value on their ability to write as compared to other skills (Faris, Golen, & Lynch, 1999;Goby & Lewis, 1999).…”