Students’ experience of pervasive skills acquired through sponsored projects in an undergraduate accounting degree

An accounting graduate should not only possess technical knowledge, but also core competencies and pervasive skills necessary to meet the needs of employers and society as a whole. This study is centred on the undergraduate accounting programme of a South African university where several sponsored projects are offered to develop these skills. An exploratory design using purposive sampling was used to gain insights into the perceptions of students on whether these skills were developed throughout their degree. It was found that the students perceived the projects to have developed their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, promoted their ethical awareness and enhanced their communication skills. Students further gained a better understanding of the role of an accountant through their participation in the sponsored projects and found them effective learning experiences. The challenges reported by students were the social aspect of the projects and the ability to work successfully in a team.