ERIC Number: EJ922872
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1065-0741
EISSN: N/A
Integrating ICT Skills and Tax Software in Tax Education: A Survey of Malaysian Tax Practitioners' Perspectives
Ling, Lai Ming; Nawawi, Nurul Hidayah Ahamad
Campus-Wide Information Systems, v27 n5 p303-317 2010
Purpose: This study aims to examine the ICT skills needed by a fresh accounting graduate when first joining a tax firm; to find out usage of electronic tax (e-tax) applications in tax practice; to assess the rating of senior tax practitioners on fresh graduates' ICT and e-tax applications skills; and to solicit tax practitioners' opinion regarding integrating ICT skills and tax software into a tax course. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey method was used to collect the data. An online survey was distributed to 385 tax practitioners who worked in the accounting/tax firms that participated in the university's internship programs. A total of 112 usable questionnaires were analyzed. Findings: The survey found that the three most important ICT skills with which fresh graduates should be familiar before graduating were spreadsheet software, word-processing software, and e-mail. The result shows that the usage of e-tax applications is still not pervasive in tax practice. Overall, senior tax practitioners rated fresh accounting graduates' ICT skills as "average". Both senior (75 percent) and junior (73.7 percent) tax practitioners agreed that ICT skills and tax software should be integrated in the tax course offered by the universities. Practical implications: This study has provided insights to policy makers and tax educators to revamp the existing tax curriculum, and to introduce learning tax software in classes, and to place more emphasis in imparting ICT skills in tax education. Originality/value: Scholarly study on tax education and ICT is scant. Little is known about whether the existing tax education is adequate in meeting the needs of the employers in the job market. This paper has emerged to fill a knowledge gap. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Taxes, Knowledge Level, College Graduates, Employment Qualifications, Job Skills, Accounting, Computer Software, Electronic Publishing, Telecommunications, Computer Mediated Communication, Spreadsheets, Word Processing, Electronic Mail, Information Technology, Questionnaires
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A