Narrowing the gap between employers' expectations and accounting graduates’ skills in saudi arabia

Background: The dynamic business environment in Saudi Arabia and the world at significant increases the volatility of the labour market. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia experiences high rates of unemployment among the youth. Objective: This study aims to explore ways of narrowing the gap between employers' expectations and accounting graduates' soft and technical skills. Materials and Methods: A survey was conducted among a group of 55 employers in the taxation, auditing, and accounting firms and 60 accounting graduates from higher learning institutions in Saudi Arabia. Results: This study showed that accounting graduates overrate their soft and technical skills. A significant gap is identified in employability with all soft skills, except for entrepreneurial skills. Besides, technical skills also have a considerable difference, except in auditing and taxation. Discussion: Accounting graduates’ professional qualifications after garnishing their studies do not meet the expected standards of their employers. Higher learning institutions should revise their courses to equip students with soft and technical skills that need the expectation of the labour market. Conclusions: Higher learning institutions should have a responsibility for the achievement of Saudi Vision 2030. They need to increase the employability of accounting students to reduce the high rate of youth unemployment in Saudi Arabia.