This study aims to determine the skills shortages in first-year trainee accountants entering practice in South Africa and to recommend ways to address and overcome those shortages. Questionnaires were administered to registered audit firms in Gauteng Province to gather the perceptions of senior trainees, managers and partners on the skills shortages in first-year trainee accountants. The overall view was that universities did not equip first-year trainees sufficiently with the skills to be successful in practice, especially with regard to professional communication and exposure to computer accounting software packages. It is argued that professional bodies and universities should work together to overcome these skills shortages.