Communication Difficulties as Perceived By the Accounting Profession and Professors of Accounting

In an effort to bridge the gap between classroom experience and "real world" activity, the authors developed a survey instrument for measur ing the accounting professional's expectations of the newly hired em ployee's communication skills. After collecting the results of the survey, including responses from accounting educators and recently graduated accountants, the authors were able to conclude that some general agree ment did exist about the communication needs of accountants: most lack the skill to articulate conceptual ideas. But there seems to be very little agreement on how to develop this skill in the classroom.