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Effect of Accounting Competency Mapping on Students’ Identification of Professional Skill Gaps in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

The changing requirements of the accounting profession have increased the need for accounting education programmes to clearly identify the knowledge, technical abilities, digital competencies, analytical capabilities, and professional behaviours required for successful performance in contemporary accounting roles. Accounting competency mapping provides a structured approach for identifying, organizing, and comparing the competencies required in professional accounting practice with the competencies possessed or developed by students. By making expected competencies explicit, competency mapping may enable accounting education students to assess their current abilities, recognize areas of weakness, and identify specific professional skill gaps requiring further development. In Nigerian universities, where differences may exist between university learning outcomes and evolving workplace expectations, accounting competency mapping may provide a useful mechanism for improving students' awareness of professional competency requirements and supporting targeted skill development. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of accounting competency mapping on students' identification of professional skill gaps in Nigerian universities. The study will be anchored on Human Capital Theory, Competency-Based Education Theory, and Self-Regulated Learning Theory. Human Capital Theory explains how investment in relevant knowledge and skills improves individual competence, productivity, employability, and career opportunities. Competency-Based Education Theory emphasizes clearly defined competencies, measurable performance standards, and the demonstration of knowledge and skills required for professional practice. Self-Regulated Learning Theory emphasizes students' ability to monitor their learning, evaluate their performance, identify areas of weakness, establish learning goals, and regulate their efforts toward improvement. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how accounting competency mapping may influence students' identification of professional skill gaps. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise undergraduate accounting education students enrolled in selected public and private universities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, universities, faculties or departments, levels of study, and eligible accounting education students. Accounting competency mapping will be assessed using indicators such as identification of professional accounting competencies, competency frameworks, technical accounting competencies, financial reporting, auditing, taxation, management accounting, accounting information systems, digital accounting, data analytics, artificial intelligence awareness, cybersecurity, sustainability reporting, professional ethics, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, professional judgement, employer competency requirements, professional-body competency standards, competency self-assessment, performance benchmarking, competency-rating scales, skills profiles, career competency frameworks, and feedback on identified competencies. Students' identification of professional skill gaps will be assessed using indicators such as awareness of required professional skills, recognition of personal strengths and weaknesses, comparison of current abilities with professional requirements, identification of technical accounting gaps, digital skills gaps, analytical skills gaps, communication gaps, ethical competency gaps, professional judgement gaps, problem-solving gaps, workplace-readiness gaps, career-specific competency gaps, prioritization of skill deficiencies, development of personal improvement plans, and ability to identify appropriate learning opportunities for addressing identified gaps. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, competency-mapping instruments, professional competency frameworks, self-assessment tools, standardized professional-skills assessments, competency gap-analysis tasks, career-readiness assessments, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental design is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize students' demographic and academic characteristics, competency awareness, mapping experiences, and identified professional skill gaps. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of accounting competency mapping on students' identification of professional skill gaps. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, students' competency-gap identification scores before and after exposure to competency mapping may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that accounting competency mapping has a significant positive effect on students' identification of professional skill gaps in Nigerian universities. Students exposed to structured competency mapping are expected to demonstrate greater awareness of the competencies required for contemporary accounting roles and a stronger ability to identify differences between their existing capabilities and professional expectations. Competency mapping may help students recognize specific weaknesses in areas such as digital accounting, data analytics, financial reporting, auditing, taxation, professional communication, ethical decision-making, problem-solving, and professional judgement. By making competency expectations explicit, students may become more capable of evaluating their own performance, setting targeted learning goals, selecting relevant training opportunities, and developing personal strategies for closing identified skill gaps. Exposure to employer and professional-body competency requirements may further improve the realism and relevance of students' self-assessments. However, inaccurate self-assessment, limited understanding of professional accounting roles, outdated competency frameworks, inadequate career guidance, limited access to professional assessment tools, and insufficient student engagement may reduce the effectiveness of competency mapping. The study therefore expects structured, current, professionally informed, and student-centred accounting competency mapping to contribute significantly to improved identification of professional skill gaps among accounting education students in Nigerian universities. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on accounting competency mapping, professional skill gaps, accounting education, competency-based education, self-regulated learning, career readiness, employability skills, professional competence, accounting pedagogy, and higher education in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the National Universities Commission, universities, accounting education departments, accounting educators, professional accounting bodies, employers, accounting firms, career development centres, curriculum developers, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening students' awareness of professional competency requirements. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for developing current accounting competency frameworks, incorporating employer and professional-body input into competency mapping, integrating competency self-assessment into accounting courses, providing students with individualized competency profiles, strengthening career guidance, developing targeted skill-development plans, incorporating emerging competencies such as digital accounting and data analytics, and creating continuous opportunities for accounting education students to identify and address professional skill gaps before entering the labour market.

Keywords: Accounting competency mapping, professional skill gaps, accounting education students, competency-based education, career readiness, employability skills, professional competence, self-regulated learning, accounting education, Nigerian universities, Nigeria.