Abstract:
The objectives of this independent study were 1) to study the qualifications of desirable accountants in a digital era, and 2) to compare the qualifications of desirable accountants in a digital ERA classified by nature of industry. The sample group used in the study was accountant managers from 240 workplaces in Bangchan Industrial Estate in Bangkok and Bangpoo industrial estates in Samut Prakarn province. Data were collected by using questionnaires. The statistics used for data analysis were descriptive statistics consisting of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation and Inferred statistics consisting of independent sample t-test and a One-way ANOVA at the statistical significance level of 0.05.
The study result indicated that the level of opinions of accounting managers on the qualifications of desirable accountants of the enterprises in the digital era as a whole was high. When taking each qualification into account, it was found that they were at the high level in every aspect. The first need of qualifications was professional skills. The area needed was personality skills which included responsibility in duties and the ability to manage oneself. The second desirable qualification was accounting professional knowledge.
The areas in demand were accounting, finance, and professional ethics. The third need was the knowledge of digital technology. The demand side was the electronic document submission system which included the internet payment system. The fourth need was language skills. The demands needed were English and other languages in terms of reading skills in foreign languages.
The hypothesis test result were found that enterprises with different types of operations, duration of time in operating, and proportion of joint ventures with foreigners required different qualifications of accountants. Additionally, enterprises which had registered capital, size of the organization, types of registration in the stock market, and distribution channels did not need different qualifications of accountants.