ORAL COMMUNICATION IN ACCOUNTING PRACTICE: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE PHILIPPINES

With Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN 2015) ushering market integration, including free exchange of human resources among member countries, employer expectations from university graduates adapt to the increasingly competitive demands of the global workplace. Such development makes more urgent the alignment of academic and professional prioritization of work-related skills. Specifically, this study compares the oral communication skills deemed essential by accounting supervisors and the proficiency of entry-level accountants based on their selfassessment. To achieve this research objective, two questionnaires were prepared and administered through electronic mail-one for 100 accounting supervisors and another for 100 entry-level accountants, both randomly selected from the Big Four Audit Firms in the Philippines. Respondents rated each oral communication skill based on essentiality and proficiency, respectively. The results suggest that listening is the most essential oral communication skill in the work of new accountants. Also, entry-level accountants perceive themselves as “very proficient” in four out of five oral communication skills which accounting supervisors consider “highly essential.” The ability to “describe situations accurately and precisely to superiors” is the only highly essential skill that the entry-level accountants need to improve. Generally, the findings reflect positively on the work-readiness of the entry-level accountant respondents in relation to oral communication skills.