Canadian accountants: examining workplace learning

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to examine workplace learning strategies, learning facilitators and learning barriers of public accountants in Canada across three professional levels – trainees, managers, and partners.

Design/methodology/approach

Volunteer participants from public accounting firms in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick completed a demographic survey, a learning activities survey, a learning barriers survey, and a learning facilitators survey. Quantitative analysis provided total scores for key variables and compared these across the three levels.

Findings

The paper finds that accountants across different levels use a variety of formal and informal learning strategies, although informal strategies predominate. Accountants encounter numerous facilitators and barriers. There are variations in strategies, barriers and facilitators based on professional level; for example, trainees make more use of e‐learning than do either managers or partners.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could focus on the efficacy of accountants' formal and informal learning strategies as well as how e‐learning can be appropriately managed and utilized.

Practical implications

Allocation of work and relationships with people are important to the learning process and should be considered in work assignments. One implication is to encourage informal learning and provide appropriate learning activities and feedback so that informal learning is maximized. There could also be more emphasis placed on assisting partners and managers in developing their roles as coaches and mentors.

Originality/value

The paper provides information on workplace learning for an understudied group of professionals in a Canadian context.

Citation

Hicks, E., Bagg, R., Doyle, W. and Young, J.D. (2007), "Canadian accountants: examining workplace learning", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. 19 No. 2, pp. 61-77. https://doi.org/10.1108/13665620710728457